ADEL Bios

Rakan Aboneaaj was 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 Planning at the World Bank. Prior to this, she was 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.

Camila Crescimbeni is a political scientist and Argentine politician, currently serving as Chief Business Development Officer at The Future Co, a purpose-driven company that puts the SDGs into action through technology and multidimensional approaches to generate sustainable prosperity in poor rural communities. From 2019 to 2023, she served as National Congresswoman for the Province of Buenos Aires, having been elected at the age of 29.

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 is the Director of European Government Affairs at Newcleo. Priori to that, she 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 Policy Advisor at Global Affairs Canada.

Elizabeth is a mental health clinician and International Relations scholar who completed her PhD in Japan as a Japanese Government Scholar. She is currently a Rotary Scholar at Cambridge University’s Brain Science Unit, researching neuropolitics specifically how brain chemistry can inform policymaking and global governance.

Khadija Hamouchi is 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 -Geneva-, Kiron Open Higher Education, and Theirworld.

Mannat Jaspal serves as the Director & Fellow – Climate and Energy at ORF Middle East, responsible for expanding the research center to support innovative, impactful, and policy-relevant efforts in the region and beyond. Her research and programmatic focus lie at the intersection of geopolitics, geoeconomics, and climate & energy policy, with expertise in climate finance, transition finance, carbon markets, MDB reforms, and just energy transitions.

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 founder and managing partner at Umaniq, a consulting firm specialized in AI governance, risk and compliance. He is also an international keynote speaker as well as a researcher and advisor at various organizations across four continents. Jens has also published multiple books, most recently at Bloomsbury (UK).

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.