Tonia Dabwe is a Dutch-Liberian business consultant and growth strategist, who embodies a commitment to fostering economic empowerment and sustainable development.

As the driving force behind SoVenture, she leverages her expertise to advise businesses, governmental bodies, and multilateral organizations across Europe, the US, Latin America and Africa. As the Founder of Guide My Growth, an online consultancy dedicated to empowering SMEs in the Global South, Tonia pioneers’ strategies for organic growth and enhanced profitability. Moreover, her visionary leadership extends to the Mineke Foundation, an acclaimed NGO she established in Liberia, which provides entrepreneurship training and microloans to women and youth, and affordable private education through Damiefa School. Tonia’s impactful contributions have earned her recognition, including the prestigious International African Woman of the Year 2013 award from Women4Africa. A passionate investor herself, she actively supports SMEs and champions various microloan initiatives to bolster entrepreneurial endeavors, exemplifying her unwavering dedication to fostering a vibrant investment climate and inclusive economic prosperity.

Mrs. Monowara Begum is a distinguished leader in the NGO sector in Bangladesh, commended for her pioneering work in women’s empowerment, community development, and sustainable livelihoods. As the founder and Executive Director of PROTTYASHI, she has dedicated over forty years to advancing the rights and welfare of marginalized communities, with a special focus on women and children.

Under Mrs. Begum’s visionary leadership, PROTTYASHI has not only made significant strides in humanitarian response, such as early interventions for Rohingya refugees and ongoing support in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasanchar, but has also transformed its microfinance program into one of the top 20 microfinance providers in the country. Her strategic oversight has been crucial in shaping this program, which now plays a vital role in supporting sustainable livelihoods for countless individuals.

Mrs. Begum’s commitment to creating a positive work environment at PROTTYASHI is equally noteworthy. Her efforts to foster a supportive and productive workplace reflect her broader dedication to excellence and ethical practices. Beyond PROTTYASHI, she has served as Chairperson of the Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB) and as a member of the PKSF Board, Vice-Chairperson of Scouts Movement in Chattogram to foster volunteerism and youth engagement, pivotal role in nurturing women NGO leader forum, advocating for enhanced NGO networks and collaboration with the government.

Her academic background, including a Master of Arts in Islamic History & Culture from Chittagong University, combined with extensive international training, underscores her expertise and dedication. Mrs. Begum’s ongoing commitment to social justice and community development continues to inspire and drive impactful change across Bangladesh.

Kathryn has over 18 years of professional experience in humanitarian and development program design, implementation, and monitoring & evaluation with several global organizations, in various sectors including food security, livelihood, child protection, education, women empowerment, and WASH.

She has experience to oversee programs and initiatives in collaboration with field partners in India, strategizes program development and growth, and leads monitoring and evaluation efforts at Embers International, an anti-human trafficking organization based in New Jersey, USA, which seeks to protect, restore, and empower victims of injustice with a goal to end intergenerational exploitation and prevent human trafficking. Prior to Embers, Kathryn led programming, research and advocacy at the Women’s Refugee Commission, a global NGO supporting women and girls who are affected by crises across southern Africa, Middle East and Africa, and South Asia for nearly ten years. Previous to that, Kathryn worked with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), serving its country relief programs and operations in the Caribbean, South Caucasus, and West and East Africa. Kathryn has a master’s degree in International Policy from Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and earned her bachelor’s degrees from the University of California at Irvine and Centre Parisien d’Études Critiques in France.

ASM Rahmat Ullah Bhuiyan is a seasoned development and humanitarian professional with over 20 years of experience. Since 2014, working with Save the Children across the country, regional, and global levels in strategic leadership roles focused on partnerships, localization, program quality, strategic program delivery and fundraising, he has oversighted the Country Office’s program.

He has worked extensively with both international and national organizations in Bangladesh which has brought his deep expertise in civil society engagement, capacity strengthening, and humanitarian response, including managing large-scale regional and global multi-country programs across Asia supported by major institutional donors such as the Global Fund. He holds academic degrees in Anthropology and Public Health, a Diploma in Population Science, and additional training in project management (PMD Pro), outcome mapping from the University of Bologna, Italy, and partnership from the UK. He is a certified Partnership Broker and a Fellow for the U.S Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).

More than 18 years of relevant experience with international development programs, including hardwiring gender in major programs in developing and post-conflict countries, JOE. K. GBASAKOLLIE is experienced over 5 years of Education portfolio management while serving as the head of World Bank Education Portfolio Project Delivery Team in Liberia with three projects implemented by the Ministry of Education (MoE), over 12 years of senior-level management experience in working with the Ministries of Education (10 years), Youth and Sports, Finance and Development Planning, and Gender, Children and Social Protection; offices of the President of Liberia, Vice Present, President Pro Tempore, Speaker, the House of Representatives and Senate committees on Education, and Youth and Sports. He has over 5 years of Global Leadership experience serving as the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) partner countries’ representative on its board committee on Performance, Impact and Learning for 3 years representing the views of 86 countries; and GPE Developing Country Partner Focal point for Liberia for 6 years; He is a Dedicated, motivated, and innovative professional with 10 years of proven experience in implementing education projects targeting ECE, primary and secondary education, and capacity building for education officers (CEOs & DEOs) and central MoE staff. He also played vital role in United Nations Development Program (UNDP), New Life Group International Pharmaceutical and Laboratory Corporation (NLGIPL), Climate Action and Sustainable Development (CASD), Bridge International Academies (BIA), Transtec Belgium, Children Development Program (CDP), World Vision and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

His prior experiences demonstrate his Excellent abilities to advocate for children and youth, including young women and girls’ rights to access education, knowledge of strategic planning, administrative, procurement, and financial management systems, skill in qualitative and quantitative data management, ability to undertake high-level policy dialogue with expertise in building effective relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including Government, international organizations, private sector, Good understanding of various international donors’ guidelines and procedures (Like World Bank, GPE, UNICEF, UNDP, USAID, IFC, etc.), Strong resource mobilization skills and ability to negotiate and manage contracts, High knowledge in Research, education policy development, health sector investment, monitoring and evaluation.

Joe holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Liberia along with the Bachelor of Arts (BA) major in Sociology and minor in Demography and a Master’s Certificate in Development Project Management from LAVAL University, Quebec. He is a Certified Effective Project Design and Management Specialist and has completed 19 professional programs in Education Development, Leadership, Statistics, Project Management, Financial and Procurement Management, Research, Public-Private Partnerships, and Design Thinking from Harvard Kennedy School and Stanford Graduate School of Business in USA, Turin School of Development in Italy, IDEA Institute at Nairobi, World Bank Institute in USA; PM4DEV in USA, GIMPA in Ghana.

Additionally, he attended in several High-level Educational Conferences for the last five years notably Harvard University Climate Forum at Massachusetts, Boston, USA in 2023, GPE Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) Research Forum at Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in October 2023, GPE Africa Constituency meetings at Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in November 2023, United Nations General Assembly / Transforming Education Summit- New York, USA in September 2022, GPE KIX Continental Symposium for Educational Research and Innovation on “Reimagining Education for a better impact on learning outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa,” at Ethiopia in October and May 2022 as well as May 2023, Global Education Summit at London, United Kingdom in July 2021, Regional GPE Developing Country Partner (DCP) Meeting at Nairobi, Kenya in December 2019, Global DCP Constituency Meeting at Nepal in May 2019, The 3rd Africa-China-World Bank Education Partnership Forum on Teacher Education at Jinhua, China in November 2019, GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub Community of Practice Meeting on Gender-responsive Education in Sub-Saharan Africa on February – April 2024 (online).

He has membership of different Boards and Professional Organizations such as New Life Group International Pharmaceutical and Laboratory Corporation (NLGIPL), Climate Action and Sustainable Development (CASD) as a Secretary of the board, Apostolic Outreach Assembly of Jesus Christ (AOAJC) as the Vice Chairperson of the Board with over 40 churches in and out of Liberia.

He is a member of Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Alumni Association, Project Management for Development (PM4DEV) Alumni Association, Project Management Institute (PMI), Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Board Committee on Performance, Impact and Learning representing 86 partner countries. He is the Focal Point of GPE Developing Country Partner for Liberia – representing the Africa 3 Constituency of six countries (Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and The Gambia).