ADEL Bios

Rakan Aboneaaj is a research associate on the Sustainable Development Finance team at the Center for Global Development, where he focuses on multilateral development bank reform and climate finance. He also consults on the World Bank’s Private Capital Facilitation unit. Previously, he worked at Altman Solon, a strategy consulting firm, and the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Yusuf was appointed to serve as a Commissioner by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in March 2022.

Aïcha Baldé is currently an analyst for the Threat Assessment Division for Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa, Canada. Before this, she was a Socio-economic analyst for the Pan-Africa Affairs division at Global Affairs Canada, where she would prepare briefing notes for ministers focused on reactive files for climate change, climate finance, biodiversity, gender equality components and renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Bitania is an award-winning young leader with notable contributions toward the inclusion of youth and women in public policy at regional and global levels. She is currently the youngest Programme Director at Amref Health Africa Global Headquarters, leading the Y-ACT, Youth in Action initiative.

Dr Hillary Briffa is a Lecturer in National Security Studies and the Assistant Director of the Centre for Defence Studies in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, where she read for her Ph.D, specialising in the security of small states. Previously, she has taught security and strategy courses across the Royal College of Defence Studies, the UK Defence Academy, UCL, Birkbeck University and Queen Mary University.

Stella Chelangat Mutai is currently working as a Geospatial consultant for World food Programme where she is tasked with monitoring the implementation of standards related to mapping and supporting country regions by developing procedures and workflows to improve the management of geospatial assets. Prior to this, Stella also worked with International Fund for Agriculture Development as a Consultant – Geographic Information System.

Camila Crescimbeni is 33 years old and currently one of the youngest voices in Congress, elected at 29 when she was president of the youth wing of her party (Pro). She works on sustainable development and childhood and family issues, and presides over the Population and Human Development Commission.

Joy leads the Tony Blair Institute in Nigeria, where her role involves establishing effective delivery structures in the Presidency for their priority initiatives. Additionally, she leads a team dedicated to helping a State Governor at the subnational level translate his vision into tangible benefits for the community. 

Marisa DeAngelis is a Director at BlackRock based in New York. Marisa began her career as a Special Assistant to former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Washington, DC. In that role, she advised executives of multinational corporations on navigating political and economic developments globally. From 2014-2016, Marisa was based in Myanmar with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where she managed investment and advisory engagements with financial institutions.

Carlotta has been working at Snam for seven years as International Relations Manager, representing and promoting the company’s business strategy and key policy initiatives before Italian and foreign Government officials at all levels. Prior to joining Snam, she worked for the Italian Government as climate and energy expert during Italy’s last G7 Presidency.

Currently serving as a Municipal Councillor for the City of Casablanca, Morocco, she advocates for green infrastructure, gender equality, sustainable transportation, and waste reduction initiatives. Her innovative approach has resulted in securing funding for youth-led climate projects and streamlined processes for youth associations to thrive.

Marissa Fortune is a passionate advocate for youth leadership in policy-making at the local, national and global levels. She is the Programs Lead for the Young Diplomats of Canada, a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum, and a member of the Canadian Coalition for Youth Peace and Security. Marissa is currently a Senior Analyst at Global Affairs Canada.

Elizabeth is currently a researcher at the PRI in Tokyo. Her educational expertise includes conflict analysis, International Relations, and mental health. Prior to this, she worked at the OECD NEA Division of Radiological Protection and Human Aspects of Nuclear Safety, where she conducted research on women’s participation in the nuclear sector and enhancing trust between nuclear regulators and the public.

Khadija Hamouchi is currently an international development professional with expertise in education, technology, and innovation. A pedagogue at heart, she has a great interest in optimising the talents, programmes, and internal business operations of international development programmes in the global south. Her previous professional experiences include working for the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union, Kiron Open Higher Education, and Theirworld.

Mannat Jaspal is an Associate Fellow with the Geoeconomics Studies Programme at ORF. Mannat is deeply interested in exploring matters on sustainability and development – particularly around green innovation & technology, global climate change policies, energy transition and sustainable finance including carbon markets.

Ala’a Kolkaila, an economist and sustainability expert, has over a decade of experience in various roles, including working for the Egyptian government and international organizations, focusing on sustainability and economic development. Ala’a has served as an advisor to ministers in Egypt, significantly influenced national and regional programs, and developed impactful policies in various sectors. Ala’a earned her MA in Economics from Universität Phillips Marburg, Germany, in 2013.

David Lawless is an environmental scientist and policy-maker serving as a senior advisor in the Government of Canada. His work focusses on creating climate policies to ensure a net-zero future. Prior to joining government, David worked as innovation specialist at MaRS, Canada’s largest innovation centre, where he designed a cleantech device that empowers citizens to conserve energy.

Igor Malgieri is the International Affairs Lead of Edison Institutional Affairs department. He manages Edison’s relations with international stakeholders, fostering the development of strategic projects and representing the company in the related business fora. After several experiences in the field of international cooperation in the Mediterranean area, joined Edison in 2020 to coordinate its international activities.

Chadia Mathurin is a Saint Lucian woman currently resident in Accra, Ghana. She is an author, an international luxury and commercial real estate consultant, an entrepreneur, and the Founder and Director of Wakonté. Wakonté is a group of companies dedicated to bringing Africa and the Caribbean into the fray of global development via the portals of tech, enterprise/commerce, and stories.

Jens Meijen is a doctoral researcher at the University of Leuven and a Europaeum Scholar in the University of Oxford's Europaeum Network. He is also a team leader at the Center for AI and Digital Policy in Washington as well as a Global Policy Fellow at the Institute for Technology & Society in Rio de Janeiro. He has been working as a journalist and author for almost ten years and has published three prize-winning books.

In his current role, Marcos leads financial transformation initiatives, financial modeling, business control and analysis that impact over 24 markets in the Latin American and Caribbean Region. An Economist, Financier and Consultant born and raised in Managua-Nicaragua, Marcos has performed and led different roles in his career, ranging from Auditing, Central Banking, Venture Capital, to Consulting and Corporate Finance in the United States and Latin America.

Marco Mendieta is a 36-year-old Ecuadorian social and for-profit entrepreneur, professor, and speaker. As the co-founder of Megamobilier, he has empowered individuals to start their own businesses through furniture manufacturing. He is also the founder and director of the Misión Ecuador Foundation, which has raised nearly USD 2million and granted 1,400 fully funded transformative fellowships to entrepreneurs across Ecuador, positively impacting over 10,000 people.

Othman Mezouar has been deeply involved for several years in leading innovative, sustainable, and high-impact development projects through sport and play in multiple countries across East and West Africa (Kenya, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Senegal).

Luanda Mpungose is an experienced Partnership Manager and International Relations scholar with over eight years of professional work experience. Excellent work ethic with an enthusiasm for global affairs and Africa's development. In her work, Luanda has endeavoured to influence development policy and advocacy through evidenced based research and capacity building initiatives. She has built up a solid network of thought leaders across the country and various regions of the African continent.

Roxy Ndebumadu is a visionary leader recognized for her groundbreaking work in ethical AI, government technologies modernization, and assessing the impacts of geoeconomics and online harms on consumer behavior. As an elected official, angel investor, and technology visionary, she is reshaping the innovation landscape globally. 

Carolina Novac is the State Secretary on Decarbonisation covering renewables and energy efficiency at the Ministry of Energy. For the past year she was the Energy Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova in the midst of the country's biggest crisis. She is a European energy public affairs professional with seven years of experience. Previously, she was the EU Policies and Regulations Manager at National Grid in Brussels.

For eight years, Stephanie has worked as a researcher in the field of ocean governance and maritime security. During this period, she served as a panelist in the Ad-Hoc Experts Group for the Contribution and Finalisation of Draft Annexes to the Lomé Charter. Stephanie Schandorf has also contributed expertise to the G7++FoGG plenaries held in both Berlin and Abidjan and the 7th International Marine Debris Conference in Busan, South Korea, where she chaired a technical session.

Working at the World Bank within the Environment, Natural Resources and the Blue Economy Global Practice for Europe and Central Asia(ECA), Miriam is as part of Design4Climate team supporting task teams to meet climate commitments and to ensure that all World Bank’s projects in ECA are aligned with the Paris Agreement. Previously, she worked for the OECD’s Environment Directorate.

Lucia Ragazzi is a research fellow in the Africa Programme at ISPI. Prior to this, she worked as a project manager at the University of Liège (Belgium), as an editor and independent researcher at the African Studies Centre Leiden (the Netherlands), and as a project officer in the development sector. She has been a Blue Book trainee at DG INTPA in Brussels, working in the unit dedicated to Strategic Partnerships EU-ACP and EU-African Union.

Camila Peralta Ramos serves as Advisor and Communications Manager to the Mayor’s Chief of Staff of Buenos Aires. She currently oversees cross-department communication strategies to promote public policies. She is also a Modern History Professor at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. Previously, Camila represented Argentina at the International Society of Substance Use Professionals' annual forum. 

Laura Reyna is a recognized leader in technology policy and a social entrepreneur committed to positive change. Equipped with a degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Monterrey, a Master's in Technology Policy from the University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration, she possesses a strong academic foundation.

Hamza Saidi is currently the Project Manager at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s Regional Program for Energy Security and Climate Change in the Middle East and North Africa (KAS – REMENA), based in Rabat, Morocco. He plays a pivotal role in managing and executing dialogue programs, training sessions, and workshops across the MENA region, focusing on resource security, climate change, and sustainable development.

Thiago Elert Soares is the Head of Partnerships for the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Guinea-Bissau. He was previously based in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, where he supported WFP's emergency operations with external relations and resource mobilisation. His earlier professional experience includes Partnerships Assistant for the UN University (UNU) in Germany and Research Fellow for the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) in Rwanda.

June Syowia is currently the Managing Director of Beiless Group, where she spearheads the development of cutting-edge technology solutions spanning agriculture, logistics, health, and digital storytelling. She is an experienced youth leader with a decade of demonstrated history in steering businesses and organizations toward problem-solving within her community and beyond. June contributed to the Expert Group for Entreprise Network Africa by the Africa Union (AU) Commission.

Ismaeel Tharwat is an Assistant Professor of Economics at The American University in Cairo (AUC). He holds a PhD in Economics from Paris-Saclay University where his research focuses on innovation & technology policy; globalization; economic development; leadership; entrepreneurship & venture capital.

Since 2015, Tatiana has been providing advice on international cooperation and strategy to senior decision-makers in the public sector. With a focus on security, defense, and diplomacy, her expertise in these areas is supported by various positions, including service at UNICEF UK, the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the National Colombian Army, the Colombian War College, Universidad del Rosario, and the United Nations Development Programme.