Speakers

Syed Muhammad Abubakar is a 2018 Chevening Scholar with an MA International Journalism from Cardiff University, UK. He specializes in environmental communication to raise awareness of environmental degradation, climate change, biodiversity, and sustainability among the masses.He is currently associated with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) based in Kathmandu, Nepal, to promote conservation of the Hindu Kush Himalayas and raising awareness for the protection of mountains and natural resources.Abubakar is the recipient of several international journalism awards for his reporting on climate change, wildlife, and sustainable development in The Third Pole, D+C, Dawn, and The News on Sunday.

Hooria Adnan is currently enrolled in the MSc. Digital Marketing program at University of Reading's Henley Business School. She has experience of working in digital communications and HR, and has been previously associated with Fatima Group, which is one of Pakistan's most progressive conglomerates. During her free time, she enjoys volunteering with NGOs that are working in the areas of food security, peace education, and gender equality. This year, Hooria joined Peace Partners, a UK-based charity, as their Content and Community Manager. In this role, she has helped Peace Partners to heighten their profile as a charity focused on seeking peace and basic human rights. Through her contributions, she has spread awareness of the charity's transformational work through their digital platforms. She has helped Peace Partners successfully run three key partnership projects: these include the Fundraising Campaign for Centrepoint UK, COVID-19 fundraising appeal for India and Brazil in collaboration with The Prem Rawat Foundation, and the first ever Virtual Fundraising Quiz.

Wasim Akram is a conservation innovator working on developing human-wildlife conflict mitigation solutions and wildlife crime control for the past 8 years. An environmental geologist by training, Wasim Akram received the prestigious Chevening Scholarship Award in the year 2019 to pursue a specialisation course in conservation biology at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, Kent University UK.Wasim Akram is the Deputy Director, Special Projects Division at Wildlife SOS - one of South Asia's largest conservation organisation. His key projects at Wildlife SOS include setting up India's First Elephant Hospital, developing India's first mobile Primate surgical unit, designing India's first elephant ambulance, and International repatriation operations of Indian wildlife. He also heads the Delhi Rapid Response Unit for round the clock wildlife rescue emergencies.He is also a Tedx speaker and an expert on urban wildlife.

Joelle is the first recipient of the Rebecca Dykes Chevening Scholarship. She holds an MSc in Children Youth and International Development from the University of Birkbeck. She has been appointed by UNICEF to support the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health in responding to COVID19 pandemic in her capacity as Risk Communication and Community Engagement Specialist. Previously Joelle worked with UNICEF Lebanon in the context of the Syria crisis and is experienced in the field of emergency response and humanitarian aid.

Evans Lyndon Baines-Johnson is an Environmental Policy Analyst at the Mayor's Delivery Unit, Freetown City Council where he leads the Environmental Management and Disaster Risk Reduction. Mr Baines-Johnson is currently part of the Mayor's #TransformFreetown Programme leading The #FreetownTheTreeTown Campaign, an initiative to plant one million trees in Freetown as part of the Urban Greening Program. Mr Baines-Johnson holds a BA from the University of Sierra Leone and an MA in Governance and Public Policy from the University of Sheffield, where he was a Chevening Scholar in (2015-16). Further information: linkedin.com/in/evans-lyndon-baines-johnson-2a790ab8

Richard Barlow is Head of Political and Bilateral Affairs at the British High Commission, New Delhi. Richard arrived in India in September 2018.Richard is a historian who has studied Indian history at Bachelor, Masters and post-graduate level:- 1999-2000: study of India/Goa events of 1961, Royal Holloway, University of London.- 1998-1999: Masters in Decolonisation, Royal Holloway, University of London.Including a study of Indian history 1945-47, Indian Naval Mutiny of 1946, and an oral history of present-day Tamil Hindu refugees living in South London.- 1993-96: BA in Modern History, University of Oxford. Including a final year course in the Indian Independence struggle in the 1920s and 1930s.Richard is a UK career diplomat who joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2000. Richard has previously served as:- Deputy Head of Mission, Buenos Aires, Argentina - 2013-17.- Head of Political and Economic Affairs, British Embassy Mexico - 2009-13.- Head of Team, European Union Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 2006-09.- Second Secretary Political, Brasilia, Brazil - 2002-06.Richard speaks Spanish, Portuguese and has a working knowledge of Hindi.

Nari is based in London and works in the SME Finance and Development Team of the EBRD. She's managing the Star Venture programme, the EBRD's new tech start-up support programme currently operating in over 10 countries especially in the North African and Western Balkan regions.Prior to joining the EBRD, Nari worked in an OECD, global private equity firm and investment banks in France, Japan, and Korea. She studied an MBA at the University of Cambridge in the UK, MA at Waseda University in Japan, and BA at Cornell University in the US.Nari is an enthusiast for economic development, entrepreneurship, education, and diversity & inclusion.

Lydia's background is in Public Health and she is currently a havening scholar at the University of Oxford reading for a masters in International Health and Tropical Medicine. Prior to her masters, she worked in the programs department of Last Mile Health supporting community health worker's capacity across counties in Liberia. She has academic research experience conducted in multiple countries. During those times she explored healthcare and the impact of community and culture to access, quality and costs of the health system. This developed her qualitative research skills within low resource settings. Lydia has also been able to develop and strengthen her monitoring and evaluation of skills via her work with various local NGOs in Sierra Leone which has fuelled her keen interest in strengthening health systems across Africa.

Akari is a 2019-2020 Chevening Alumnus and did her MA in International Education and Development at the University of Sussex. She is a passionate educator and a teacher who is particularly interested in the role of education for social justice, education for peacebuilding and the role of education in combatting climate injustice. She has been working at an education foundation and takes part in some of the volunteer teaching programs.

Silvester has 14 years' experience in Supply Chain, Procurement, Logistics, Operations and Project Management in Telecom, Network Infrastructure, ICT and Retail. He also holds a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology from Makerere University, Professional Certificates in Management and Leadership from the Chartered Management Institute UK. He is a chartered member of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI UK) and a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK), as well as an Associate of the Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA) and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS UK).He is currently a Chevening Scholar completing MSc Global Supply Chain Management at Brunel University London where he has deepened his understanding of sustainable supply chains, Enterprise Resource Planning Systems and the global context of supply chain. Undertaking an internship with Premier Ship Models in the UK leading their Supply Chain and Operations Management Projects.He also hopes to contribute to the success of African supply chains especially for public organisations and their competitiveness and efficiency in the global context of the world today.

Youssef Cherif is the founding director of the Columbia Global Centers | Tunis. He is a Tunis based political analyst and a Carnegie Civic Activism Network member as well as a regular contributor/commentator to number of think-tanks (IEMed, Carnegie, ISPI, IAI, etc.) and media outlets (France 24, Al Jazeera, Euronews, BBC, TRT, etc.). He consulted previously for IWPR, IACE, the United Nations, The Carter Center, etc. Cherif is a former expert at the Tunisian Institute for Strategic Studies (ITES). He holds a Chevening Master of Arts in International Relations (War Studies) from King's College London and a Fulbright Master of Arts in Classical Studies from Columbia University.

Felix Chong is an Audit Manager at Grant Thornton Singapore, with 9 years of experience in the accounting industry, and currently returned from a 2-year secondment at Silicon Valley. He is primarily responsible for understanding business models, their finances and operations, and advises clients on risks. A strong believer in the principles and language of business, he is a Chartered Accountant with both the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants. Felix writes for Probocon, and mentors with The Advisory (Singapore), both non-profit organisations providing career advice for graduates and school leavers.

Ilayda Ciloglu graduated from Bogazici University, Department of Political Science and International Relations in 2018 and she has been working as the Chevening Programme Assistant at the British Embassy in Ankara since 2019.

George joined the Chevening team as a Programme Officer - UK in May 2021, and has been deeply impressed by scholars knowledge, commitment and passion in his short time here! Outside of work, George is a musician, sound artist and nature lover- so if you want to talk about synthesisers or spring blossom, he's all ears!

Sarah Cooper leads on employability support for Bristol's international students. She is a member of the AGCAS Internationalisation Task Group, which helps professionals across the UK to develop their expertise in international student career support. Sarah is also a committee member of UKCISA and the International Student Employability Group, a cross sector group coordinating a strategic approach to international student employability across the UK.

Hande graduated from Ankara University in 2001 and continued her executive education on project management and marketing planning, strategy issues. Hande joined the FCDO as Chevening Officer in 2013 and is responsible for leading the Chevening Programme in Turkey. Before joining the FCDO Hande worked at the British Council for ten years and worked on the successful delivery of the UK-Turkey Education projects and scholarship programmes.

Suraj is an avid pizza-loving, linguist, who has a passion for travelling, learning about new cultures and bhangra dancing. He has been working as a Programme Officer - UK at the Secretariat since July 2018. Thanks to all of the interactions with Chevening scholars and their personal recommendations, the list of countries around the world that he would like to explore continues to grow longer and longer.

Linda's background includes working for international organisations to promote education, health, democracy and human rights. With a master's degree in Human Rights and Democracy, she feels privileged to have worked with non-governmental and local organisations in several countries, including Albania, Burundi, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania and Ukraine.

Before joining the CIDB, Bongani worked for Royal HaskoningDHV in the capacity of Director for the company's Water Unit in Southern Africa. Before that, he was the Associate Director of Digital and Innovation for the same company. Bongani started his professional engineering career at Umgeni Water as a Civil Engineer.Bongani has a long list of academic qualifications including a Master's degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development from Cambridge University, a BSc in Civil Engineering (Cum Laude) and a Management Development Programme from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.Professional career awards Bongani has received in 2017 200M&G Young South African and Chevening Fellowship amongst others.When he is not at the office, or taking a break from his studies, you can find him at tennis court, or swimming. Bongani also enjoys putting his culinary skills to the test.

Sophie has worked with the Chevening Secretariat for almost three years and enjoys the opportunity to hear about the journeys and interests of her scholars. She has visited nearly 40 countries and is always keen to explore more of the world! In her spare time you'll find her running (she just completed her first ultra marathon!), watching the formula 1 or in the cinema.

Josephine Gauld joined the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in 2002. She has previously served in Kinshasa, Nigeria and twice in Cote d'Ivoire, most recently as Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire between 2016 -2020. She has held several positions in the FCDO in London covering the Balkans and the South Caucasus. She has a degree in Italian and Philosophy from Leeds University, a Master's in Development Management from the London School of Economics and in European Public Policy from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne as well as a Diploma in Public Administration from l'Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) in France. She speaks English, French and Italian.

Oluwakemi is a 2020/2021 Chevening Scholar from Nigeria, studying MA Education, Gender, and International Development at the University College London (UCL). At UCL, she is a Member of the Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees of the UCL Student's Union, and the Student Representative for the MA Education, Gender, and International Development Programme. She holds a LLB (Law) and BL (Law) degree from the University of Abuja and Nigerian Law School, Lagos respectively. She also holds a Master's degree in Communications and Public Relations from LUCT, Malaysia. Before Chevening, she was the Regional Advocacy and Communications Manager for AIDS Healthcare Foundation (an International NGO in the field of HIV/AIDS with a presence in 45 countries globally) based in the Africa Bureau Office in Kampala, Uganda. At AHF, she supported 13 African Countries on HIV/AIDS Communication and Campaigns, and 6 out of those countries on HIV/AIDS Advocacy and Policy. She is the co-initiator of the AHF's Girls Act Initiative, which has so far reached more than 7,000 young women and girls across AHF's countries of operation with support services ranging from education sponsorship, Sanitary supplies, and building life skills etc.She sits on the Advisory Board of various Organisations such as Stand To End Rape Initiative (STER), Nigeria Youth SDGs Network, Youth Initiative for Sustainable Development (YISHDA) and Evolve Mentorship Programme (EMP). She is a two-time recipient of the EMP Most Outstanding Mentor Award. Kemi is a TEDx Speaker (TEDx Kampala, 2018) and an internationally Certified John Maxwell Coach, Speaker and Trainer. She has also had the privilege of speaking at various platforms such as the UNwomen CSW63 side event, The World Bank and NextGen Summit Youth Symposium in Abuja, The International AIDS Conference, South African AIDS Conference, International Conference on HIV/AIDS and STI in Africa among others. She is the Founder of The Girls Initiative - an initiative that connects out-of-school girls with sponsors who can help them return to school.

Fadi is an engineer and blogger from Aleppo, Syria. Fadi holds an MSc in Governance, Development and Public Policy from the University of Sussex. Fadi is the co-founder and CEO of Basmeh & Zeitooneh, a Lebanese organisation that works mainly with Syrian refugees living in Lebanon.

Abidllahi Hassan Jama, a journalist and documentary filmmaker studying MA Media and Creative Industries at Loughborough University London.

Sally has been a Chevening Programme Officer - UK for close to 3 years now, having previously worked within academic research and events. Sally's favourite part of her role is being able to meet the wonderfully inspiring range of scholars every year and learning about their ambitions and goals for the future. In her free time, Sally enjoys taking extremely long walks and dabbling in DIY projects. She is also a keen baker, novice gardener and an aspiring beekeeper.

Alicia Herbert OBE is the Director for Education, Gender, Equality and Special Envoy on Gender Equality at the FCDO. Alicia Herbert, OBE, has more than 20 years' experience in international development. She has worked with a huge range of organisations including multilaterals, academia and since 1999, the Department for International Development (DFID) now, the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) She has previously held the post of Head of DFID Mozambique.

Luisa is from Derbyshire but lives and works in London. She studied in Sheffield and has been at Chevening for almost two years. She loves travelling and exploring, has travelled around Southeast Asia for several months and has lived in America and Poland. She loves running half marathons and is also very keen to learn salsa.

Basak Ilisulu has been in business life for 20 years. She is Board Member of GirisimTürk since 2015. At this joint venture company, she is in process of strategy, technology, business plan evaluation of start-ups and decision for investment. Company has an 11-startup-portfolio that are monitored for exit.Basak Ilisulu also works with Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSIAD) since 2019, as Programme Coordinator of TÜSIAD Digital Industry Programme which aims to extend digital transformation ecosystem in Turkey, through co-working of technology user companies in automotive, energy, FMCG, mining, textile etc. sectors with technology providers experienced in AI, big data, automation, robotics, blockchain etc.In 2014-2019 period, Basak Ilisulu was Secretary General of TÜGIAD. She was responsible for management and coordination of TÜGIAD's HQ and branches in Turkey and almost 10 representatives in different countries. In addition, cooperation with G20, YES for Europe and JEUNE was on her agenda.She was Sherpa for G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance for 5 years. During Turkey's G20 presidency, she was responsible for development of policy recommendations regarding entrepreneurship ecosystem, to submit G20 Leaders. Besides, she was team leader for design and organisation of G20 YEA Summit in Istanbul.Working at Ministry for European Union Affairs of Turkey as of 2001, was her first institutional experience. She coordinated Twinning and TAIEX programmes, studied for EU Progress Reports, worked for accession negotiations. Then, she was responsible for preparation and management of Turkey's EU Communication Strategy, as Director of Communication Directorate until 2014.Basak Ilisulu has bachelor's degree on International Relations from Political Science Faculty of Ankara University, and master's degree on European Studies from METU. She visited College of Europe for a research study on Poland's EU Accession Process, for her master thesis. Later she had a research study in LSE on Europeanisation with Chevening Scholarship.

Jenny is a Programme Officer - International in the International Team at Chevening, liaising with British Embassies and High Commissions in West and Central Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean.

Margretha is a Communications Professional in the International Development sector. She is finalising a master's degree in Media and Communication Industries, focusing on sustainable developmental studies at the University of East London (UEL). She holds a bachelors (honours) degree in Media, Communications and English Studies from the University of Namibia. Her professional experiences include working in the Communications Department of the UN Development Programme (UNDP Namibia, 2017-2020). Margretha has a robust interest in how the media, communications and creative industries feature and impact the development of communities. She also has interests in environmental justice and sustainability, poverty reduction, youth development, and good governance. Her time in the UK has offered Margretha the opportunity to develop networks and build vital relationships with professionals in her field and beyond. Volunteering for three organisations in London, and within her immediate community: the University of East London's Career Services department, as a Communications Officer; the Disability-access organisation called WeCanAccess as a Social Media Specialist, offering much-needed marketing and communications services; and as a food packer for local charity, the Felix Project, which collects and redistributes fresh, nutritious food that cannot be sold. Margretha recently received certificates of recognition from the Chevening Secretariat and the University of East London for her volunteering activities in the UK.Apart from her studies and volunteering activities, Margretha is an avid traveller and is constantly exploring the beauty of the UK and what it has to offer. Excitedly waiting for the day she is able to go beyond those borders!

Mahmoud works as a Programme Manager at the Syria Office in the British Embassy in Beirut. He leads the Syria Chevening Programme, the prestigious UK government international scholarship scheme. Prior to joining the British Embassy, he worked with Jusoor, a Syrian-American educational nonprofit, where he held several roles including Finance and Operation Manager responsible for running the finances and operations of educational centres, and as a Scholarship Manager leading Jusoor's regional scholarship initiatives. Mahmoud holds a BSc in Computer Science from the Lebanese American University (LAU), and a diploma in leadership from Columbia University in New York.

Hammad Naqi Khan is the Director General of WWF-Pakistan. With a career spanning over 30 years, with both domestic and international experience, Hammad has successfully managed multi-donor national programmes and global initiatives, and currently heads Pakistan's largest environmental NGO. A visionary leader, with tireless energy and a positive attitude, Hammad leads a team over 800 employees collaborating on more than 30 projects. Previously, he has served as the Global Cotton Leader (till July 2014) under WWF-International's Market Transformation Initiative (MTI), where he managed and strategized WWF's engagement on market transformation related to cotton and textiles. He also led advocacy work and represented the organization at multiple international fora and policy dialogues. Hammad is a member of the Senior Executive Team (SET) for Asia Pacific Growth Strategy (APGS) and has also represented the Asia Pacific region in WWF's Network Executive Team (NET) from 2015 till 2018. Moreover, as Director Programmes, WWF-Pakistan, Hammad worked on and developed the Freshwater and Sustainable Agricultural Programmes to where they stand today; the two largest programmes at WWF-Pakistan. Hammad is a non-official member of the Pakistan Climate Change Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and is also a Fellow of the Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) Program.

Pei Kian is a financial services practitioner with experience across external management consulting as well as banking roles requiring B2B and B2C sales, product and segment management and operational risk management capabilities. She is currently an Executive Director with Standard Chartered Global Business Banking division. Previously she was with the Development Bank of Singapore and PwC in London and Singapore.

Aparna has been working in the field of wildlife conservation for the past eight years with Nature Conservation Foundation, India. Before this she worked as a software engineer at a firm in Bengaluru for five years. Aparna has worked as a wildlife researcher studying human-leopard conflict, corridor ecology and the impact of roadways of wildlife movement. She completed her masters with the University of Exeter in Wildlife science and conservation in 2019 through Chevening scholarship. Aparna is interested in identifying strategies for biodiversity conservation through integrating methods from statistics, GIS, and remote sensing towards understanding anthropogenic threats to large mammals and is currently working on a wildlife corridor conservation project in South India through a grant from WWF-India. She is a mother of 10-month-old who enjoys painting and creating art during her free time. She also enjoys bird and butterfly watching and long walks.

Matthew is a Programme Officer - International, managing relations with Posts in MENAD, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Yuliia is a Chevening Programme and Policy Officer in British Embassy Kyiv. She is an alumna of Global UGRAD and has received an International Masters in Security, Intelligence, and Strategic Studies.

Valeria is leading the national media literacy project at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy in Ukraine. She has a background in journalism and strategic communications and has undertaken various positions in the media companies - from a correspondent for the morning show in Ukraine

Rhian is the Programme Officer - International, liaising with British Embassies and High Commissions in South and Central Asia, and the Middle East.

Tom Lisboa holds a Master's degree in Photography and Urban Cultures, from Goldsmiths, University of London and a Master's degree in Communication and Languages, from the Tuitui University of Paraná, Brazil. He works as a visual artist, professor of cinema and photography and independent curator. He was one of the guest artists at the Cerveira Biennial (2013), in Portugal; Photovisa (2015), in Russia and Encuentros Abiertos (2008), in Argentina. He also participated of the main photography festivals in his home country. Chevening had a great impact on his fourth book called New Maurilias that was released in 2021. Having as starting point the creation of the first postcards of the ten smallest municipalities of Paraná state, in Brazil, all of them with population between 1,500 and 2,500 inhabitants, this publication brings to the surface stories and images of these almost invisible towns.

Paul Lynch has been with Prudential Corporation Asia since May 2014 as Regional Director overseeing Government Relations in markets in Asia Pacific. From 1992-1996 Paul served in a number of positions in the UK Home Office and as Private Secretary to the Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office. Paul joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1996. In his diplomatic career Paul was posted as First Secretary Science and Technology at the British Embassy Tokyo, Commercial Consul and later HM Consul General West Japan, based in Osaka; HM Consul General, Houston as the UK's most senior representative to six states in the south of the USA; and Deputy Head of Mission and Director Trade and Investment, British Consulate General, Hong Kong. Paul helped to establish and was a founding member of the Investment Advisory Committee to the Mayor of Osaka, and was an Associate to Baker College, Rice University, Houston. Paul has a BSc. (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Hertfordshire, and a MSc. in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Initially studying chemistry, Colin completed a PhD in heparin biochemistry, including links to tumour angiogenesis, before joining Torry Research Station where he investigated the structure of fish lipids and their nutritional benefits. He subsequently investigated organic contaminants in the marine and terrestrial environments, pathological samples, food-producing animals and food products with a specific interest in their biological effects on marine biota.Colin has specialised in the methodology associated with determining the state of marine ecosystems. He lead on the production the OSPAR Intermediate Assessment 2017, an assessments of the North-East Atlantic, and Scotland's Marine Assessment 2020. Both utilised new indicators and methodologies, providing an assessment of progress towards achieving a clean, healthy and biologically diverse ocean. Colin was also instrumental in laying some of the foundations for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021 - 2030).Colin continues to study contamination of marine systems by microplastics, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants and pharmaceuticals, as well as the impacts of ocean acidification and climate change. He is a member of the Pool of Experts for the United Nations World Ocean Assessment 2 and recently retired from the post of Chief Scientific Advisor Marine to the Scottish Government.

Nora is a Programme Officer- International and looks after posts across Southern Africa, Eastern Europe and the Pacific.

Tishauna Mullings is a Serial Social Entrepreneur and master personal development trainer with over 10 years of experience in training and development who emerged from St. Thomas, the parish recorded as the poorest in Jamaica; surmounting mammoth challenges to become a notable Jamaican youth leader. On the journey to achieve her social mission to help rural youth become globally competitive she has achieved many accolades to include: Governor-General Award Recipient for the parish of St. Thomas 2015, Northern Caribbean University (NCU) graduating class valedictorian of 2012, National Farm Queen 2014, delegate for Barack Obama's Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative 2016, two-time nominee and winner of Prime Ministers Youth Award for a track record in community and national development and currently serves as Brand Ambassador for the Bank of Jamaica's National Financial Inclusion Strategy. As founder and manager of NexxStepp Educational Services she works with over 500 students' annually through her teaching and mentorship programmes. She also works as a Training Consultant for HEART Trust NTA in areas such a business readiness skills, customer service and professional development. Her work landed her organization an award for Rural Regeneration from USAID and JN Foundation in 2018. She now specializes in corporate training especially to assist millennials to perform at optimum levels. She continues to excel in this course of work. In May 2019, she received an award for being a one of the 30 most influential young leaders under 30 of Caribbean American Heritage from the Institute of Caribbean Studies. She is the pioneer for the MasterPeace Club in Jamaica; an international peace building organization. She also serves St. Thomas as Secretary of the St. Thomas Chamber of Commerce amongst many other personally initiated parish development efforts.

Karis Musako was born in Otele/Cameroun on 5 March 1979. He spent his early childhood in Germany with a couple of years in between in the DR Congo which is his country of origin. After completing High School he started his law studies in Germany and finished them in France with a double degree in French and German law. He completed his studies in France with a Master's degree in Diplomacy and Negotiations. Karis started his professional life as a Protection Delegate with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sudan and Sri Lanka. He then worked with the United Nation's Development Programme (UNDP) in the DRC and Algeria. Karis was awarded a Chevening scholarship in 2010 and graduated from the London School of Economics in 2011 with a MSc in Social Policy and Development. Karis started working with the UK embassy in Kinshasa, DRC in 2018 as a Programme Manager for the FCO managed Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) and since 2019 as a Senior Programme Manager with the Governance Conflict and Inclusion team of DFID DRC which is now the FCDO. Karis is passionate about development topics and the fight against poverty and would like to contribute to supporting the stabilization efforts of the Congolese government via UK Aid. He feels that the Chevening programme has helped him to acquire specialized knowledge in the development sector and get the necessary connection that later allowed him to work for international organizations like the UN and more importantly with UK FCDO in the DRC.

Günel Musayeva, currently works at sovereign wealth fund of Azerbaijan at Investments department. She completed MSc Finance and Economics at Warwick Business School and has been awarded with UK government's prestigious Chevening Scholarship. She worked on Central Bank Digital Currencies implementation strategies for her dissertation. Previously, she has completed her bachelors in Finance and minor in Economics at Bahcesehir University where she graduated as the valedictorian of the class of 2017 and has been awarded with Golden Brain award among 3,100 university graduates. During her junior year, in 2015-2016, she continued her education in the US at Syracuse University where she completed her studies with 4.00 GPA and has been selected to the Dean's High Honor List. Her first masters degree is in Capital Markets and Finance and she completed the program with 4.00 GPA as the first of the department.

Stela established NTT Muda, a movement to improve East Nusa Tenggara's students' ability in accessing higher education and develop their skills through mentorship programme. She is a journalist with over than 8 years of experience with VOA and MetroTV Indonesia. She currently works as Head of Public Affairs, East Territory at Grab Indonesia, where she is managing stakeholders particularly local governments in East Indonesia to support Grab's initiatives in empowering the potential of digital economy.

As a senior manager in Deloitte Tanzania's tax practice, Samuel leads client service teams to deliver tax efficient compliance, planning and advisory services. With experience across the African continent and beyond, he assists clients navigate the rapidly changing tax environment. Samuel has advised some of world's biggest multinationals and has worked with tax authorities, to resolve tax disputes and agree on private rulings / Advance Pricing Agreements. He has specific experience in the area of international tax and transfer pricing as well as the use of technology enabled tools to draw business and tax insights from data.Samwel regularly produces thought materials and has published articles, conducted trainings and have spoken in various professional and business associations such as the Parliament of Tanzania, ACCA (UK), CPA (T), CEO's Roundtable, the British and European Union Business Groups. He sits on the country network panel with the ACCA Tanzania chapter.

Chevening Alumni 2015/16, Aston University, Birmingham; Executive Team Lead for CVCM since 2019 (Season 4); Worked in Consulting (before Chevening) and Seafood Processing & Trading (after returning to Vietnam) industries; Currently on a career break.

Adv. Pravin Nikam is a lawyer from in Pune city in India. He is a human rights defender and believes in upholding democratic values. He is currently studying MSc Human Rights and Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) as a Chevening Scholar. He has Masters of Laws (i.e. LLM in Constitution and Administrative Law). And also studied a bachelor in Law (LLB) and a Bachelors in Political Science (BA) from Savitribai Phule Pune University. He also completed Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Media from the Department of Communication and Journalism Savitribai Phule Pune University.Pravin is also the founder of Action for Impact Foundation and Convenor at Nitikushal - ???????? Centre for Policy Research (NCPR) is a non-profit think tank and a voluntary organisation with interventions in education, policy and grassroots democracy to influence public policy and impact social change. He is the Founder of the ROSHNI Foundation (https://roshnifoundation.in/), a non-profit organisation, focused on mentoring and enabling adolescents, young people, men, women, transgender, educators, and organizations on issues around Menstrual Hygiene Awareness, WASH, Gender Equality and Peacebuilding initiatives. Pravin has also served as a Commonwealth Election Observer for the Presidential Elections of the Democratic Republic of Zambia in 2016, appointed by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Pravin and his team at Commonwealth Youth Council were invited to meet Queen Elizabeth II for their instrumental work on youth policy and welfare.

Amy North is a lecturer in Education and International Development at UCL Institute of Education, where she is programme leader for the MA in Education and International Development.  Her research interests include gender equality, literacy, the experiences of adult learners, and migration, with a particular focus on the ways in which ideas and practices move and are interpreted across different contexts. She has worked in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and with migrant groups in the UK.

Ellie's main interests are reading, travelling to new places, and eating ramen. During the last year she has also tried her hand at gardening, with mixed results! Ellie is new to Chevening and is really looking forward to meeting our incredible  scholars and helping them to make the most of their time in the UK.

Kadri is originally from Tallinn, Estonia. She did part of her undergraduate degree in Palermo, Italy, and has an MSc in International Public Policy from Queen Mary University of London. Kadri joined Chevening in May 2018. She enjoys photography and spends her free time experimenting with cooking and finding new independent coffee shops around the UK.

Emmanuel Patterson is the Alumni Assistant and is responsible for supporting all aspects of the administration of Chevening Secretariat activities. Emmanuel studied Business Information Systems at Middlesex University. He has worked in a range of alumni relations and marketing roles. He loves doughnuts and is a Manchester United fan.

Seva Phillips is Head of Arts & Culture Finance and responsible for Nesta's social impact investment work in the arts, culture and creative industries.Seva previously worked at The Young Foundation, where he supported early-stage social ventures tackling inequality in education, and helped to develop policy recommendations promoting impact investment across the EU. Prior to this, Seva managed a portfolio of social investments at CAF Venturesome, a leading UK-wide social investor. Outside of work, Seva supports social enterprises in an advisory capacity, particularly around strategy, raising investment and theory of change development. He is interested in ideas and actions that can bring about positive social change, financial modelling and the arts in all their forms.Seva began his career at professional services firm EY and has degrees specialising in political philosophy and economics. He holds the Investment Management Certificate and is a 2017 Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow; his fellowship researched how investment vehicles combining public, philanthropic and private capital can be used to achieve social outcomes, drawing on examples from Australia, Canada and the USA.

Susie has been a Programme Officer at Chevening for five years and the majority of her scholars study in North West Scotland and London. Her main interests are cycle touring and mountain biking, swimming, surfing, photography, hiking up Munros in Scotland and taking on physical challenges. When she isn't at work, she normally can be found on the beach.

Shahla Qayyum is the Head of Chevening, Pakistan. She is the senior member of Chevening officers' community who has been managing the scheme in Pakistan since 2007. She has been leading the recruitment process and conducted thousands of interviews. Passionate to promote Pakistan Chevening alumni network as an influential Think Tank, enhanced alumni engagement through a series of Chevening Debates based on HMG's priorities, launched Chevening Mentoring Scheme to promote Gender equality and Women rights in Pakistan. She received

Aba joined the Chevening Secretariat in 2014 and leads the alumni relations team in London. The team covers the global outreach of the Chevening alumni offering, and simultaneously supports local alumni engagement activities carried out in over 160 countries. Aba and the team are continuously striving to improve the alumni experience for all Cheveners.

Pablo Ramírez is an attorney and translator from Paraguay with a LLM in Oil and Gas from the University of Reading (2016). He worked for the Ministry of Public Works and Communications for seven years, starting out as a junior legal advisor before being appointed Head of the Legal-Technical Department and then becoming its first Head of Regulations in 2017. In this latter position, he had a leading role in the preparation of the draft of the national decree regulating the oil and gas sector. He was also an active participant in the discussions for the decrees on mining and private ports and many other pieces of lower regulation. In January 2021, he joined the National Competition Commission as its first Head of Advocacy, where he is devising strategies to promote the benefits of compliance with competition law in the public and private sectors.

Rachel is the Programme Officer - International who works with posts in South East Asia and East Africa.

As Head of Scholarships, Naomi is responsible for the strategic direction, budget and policy for Chevening. She is also responsible for the other Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) scholarship programmes and the Marshall programme for US citizens. Prior to joining Chevening, Naomi worked at the UK's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, two other government departments and the Scottish Government.

Catherine is a Senior Partnerships Officer at Chevening, responsible for managing relationships with corporate funders who contribute to the programme. Before taking on this role she worked on the International Team as a Programme Officer, supporting Chevening in East Africa and SE Asia. She has worked in International Higher Education for five years, with previous roles at the University of Chile and London South Bank University. She is also interested in the student side of HE, as she is currently completing an LLM in International Economic Law, Justice and Development at the University of Birkbeck.

Starting from the Alumni Assistant position in 2018, Amalia joined the Secretariat right after graduating from her bachelor's degree. She is now the Alumni Officer, supporting our Chevening alumni associations to engage and maintain activity in the local and regional groups.

Dr. Saada is a medical doctor who graduated from Mansoura Faculty of medicine. He became a Chevening Alumnus in 2017 and received his MSc International Development (Conflict, Security and Development) from the University of Birmingham-UK 2017. Ahmed holds a post-graduate professional diploma from the AUC (Class 2009/2010) in Total Quality Management (TQM) for healthcare reform. Ahmed is a founding member of Life Makers Egypt and a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) and the Egyptian Pugwash Society for Science and International Affairs.Ahmed is an International Development/Humanitarian Practitioner and has a strong career history in different national and international organisations in several humanitarian and development contexts in Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, UK and Switzerland.

Dr. Ojong Samuel Akombeng is an Obstetrician-Gynaecologist, who has spent the last decade caring for some of the most vulnerable people in rural communities in Cameroon. He is an early career researcher who has a strong interest in investigating how the research could be used to inform policy so as to achieve better overall health outcomes for women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa. A 2020 Chevening Scholar, he is currently pursuing an MSc in Reproductive and Sexual Health Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He obtained his MD and specialist degrees in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the University of Yaoundé I. Dr Ojong is a member of multiple professional societies and scientific groups; he is a resource person in rights-based comprehensive sexual and reproductive health provision and advocacy towards equitable access to quality healthcare services for women and girls. Dr Ojong is a scientific reviewer with the Pan African Medical Journal and has co-authored a number of peer-review articles on topics relating to maternal and adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

Noeme has been with Chevening since 2017 and looks after scholars from a selection of London universities. Noeme has green fingers and has an impressive collection of house plants. In her spare time you'll find her knitting, crocheting or swimming in her local lido.

Babuta works as Chevening Programme Officer in India and is really proud of implementing the largest Chevening Programme in the world. Babita has a background of working for Environmental NGO's and Public Policy Companies. Babita is from a Botany and Anthropology background and her personal interests are art aesthetics and sustainable development. She is currently also engaged with a lot of NGOs that are working towards women empowerment and environmental issues - climate change being the major one.

Lizzie was born in Lancashire, studied History and French at university and has lived in both France and Spain working as a teacher, which is what lead her to working with international students back in the UK. Lizzie's passions are film, theatre and history which makes London the ideal place to live.  

Dialor is a 2019 Chevening alumnus with a background in banking, finance, business law, and energy. He studied an MBA in Energy Management at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and a Master Degree in Law at Toulouse University. Dialor spent 13 years in the banking and finance industry in West Africa, helping SMEs and large companies get access to finance, structure their project and find partners. He helped underserved communities get access to electricity for the first time and on a lease basis during his time as Group New growth credit Manager for a very innovative renewable energy company in Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast and Ghana. After his MBA, Dialor came back in his home country to be appointed Country Director at the Department for international Trade to help strengthen trade relationships between Senegal and the UK.You can find him playing chess, basketball, and tennis or riding a bike in his free time.

Sophie has been a Programme Officer at Chevening for four years and she works with universities in London and SW England. In her spare time she likes trying new vegan recipes, studying languages (she speaks French, Japanese and Spanish and is currently deciding which language to try next), and playing with her rescue dog, Kira. She also volunteers regularly with an international climate and nature education charity, aiming to bring culturally sensitive climate literacy education to communities around the world.

Chevening Officer Vietnam

Teh Tian Yan is a data scientist and copywriter. He earned his MSc in Data Science from University of Essex as a Chevening Scholar (2019/2020). Teh volunteers actively with Chevening Alumni Malaysia as Honourary Secretary and enjoys coaching (and learning) from others.

Dan joined Chevening in March 2020 after working at 2 UK universities in Brighton and London. In his spare time he enjoys reading and cycling and has a passion for Ancient and Cold War history.

Chevening Scholarships Officer - Malaysia

Gareth Ward joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1996. He has served in British Embassies in Russia and China. He took up his appointment as Her Majesty's Ambassador in Hanoi in August 2018.Ambassador Ward is focused on promoting free trade and ensuring increased British exports to Vietnam; co-operating with Vietnam through the UN and other multilateral organisations to ensure global peace and security; and on supporting British tourists and businesspeople as they increasingly choose to visit Vietnam.

Dr. Aakash Welgamage Don is a lecturer in Biological Sciences at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK and holds a doctorate in Microbiology and Molecular Biology. Aakash has extensive experience in environmental microbiology, molecular biology and proteomics with over 15 years of research and teaching in further education and higher education. His key research interests lie in the areas of understanding bacterial interactions with natural toxins in the environment. He is currently a member of Royal Society of Biology, Microbiology Society, associate fellow of higher education academy and serves as a reviewer of multiple peer review journals.

Fouzia Younis is a senior British diplomat with significant experience of building international relationships in the Middle East and South Asia; and managing, coaching and developing multi-cultural and diverse teams. She is currently Head Communication, Pakistan Network (she most recently owned devised and led the communications strategy for the Royal Visit in 2019 and then Covid-19 in 2020) and Senior Regional Communicator responsible for South Asia. Until March 2020, Fouzia was also the Co-Chair of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Network (BAME) leading a global network of over 250 staff.

Hassan Yousaf Shah is a practicing lawyer with over 24 years of experience under his belt. He has worked for multilateral agencies such as ADB, DFID and GIZ on different assignments including civil services reforms, Police reforms, and others. He holds MBA, M.Sc and LLM degrees along with professional accreditations. He has taught over 18 at some of the most prestigious universities in Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. He currently train civil servants and is a visiting faculty at the prestigious National Institute of management (NIM) and Civil Services Academy (CSA), which is premier training institute for Civil Servants in Pakistan.