pay steering committee

Sankara has over a decade of experience working with organizations focused on poverty reduction, gender-based violence eradication, amplifying access to reproductive health products, education and services, social impact research, policy and youth leadership.

She has built a reputation by developing and overseeing the implementation of diverse strategies resulting in organizations growth and exponential impact at National, Regional, and Continental level. She has co-published research in peer reviewed journals on adolescents and led significant research work on reproductive health.

Sankara is proudly Pan-African, who believes in the words of Thomas Sankara, “You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain level of madness". 

 Dian earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Fordham University, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Miami. She is an attorney and counsellor at law with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. She has held senior leadership positions and has interfaced with leaders at the highest levels in government including heads of state, ambassadors, and ministers of governments. Dian has represented a nation-state at international forums with the authority to raise a flag and speak on its behalf. Similarly, in industry she has worked with C-Suite executives.  

She has a passion for mentoring and investing in young people; and wants to enable them to dream big dreams and to inspire them to achieve exceedingly abundantly more than they can think ask or imagine. She firmly believes that the only barrier between you and your goals is how hard you are willing to work to achieve them. 

Dian now channels her time, energy and passion in addressing systemic racism in the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging space. As she states “I cannot think of a single facet of life for people of color which has not been impacted by systemic racism.” Dian has decades of activism going back to her youth: whether it was getting her teenage friends to volunteer for the United Negro College Fund Telethon, or as President of Black Law Students association organizing her fellow student to march in the MLK Day Parade. Her life’s motto is based on a Frederick Douglass quote “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.” 

Hakim is a 21 year old Entrepreneurial Leadership student at African Leadership University. He is an Healthcare advocate and a change leader with a passion for inclusive and equitable access to healthcare. He recently won the prestigious Diana Award for his notable efforts towards curbing the spread of cardiovascular disease in Uganda.

He serves as the country's Ambassador for Peace First in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

21 year old Paulinarh is a proud Nigerian whose greatest dream as a child was to be a leader and help others. She is the first female President of the Faculty of Arts Student Union at the University of Lagos Nigeria and the longest seating President of the same body.
At age 8, she joined the Young Generals Assembly, a nonprofit organization that trains children to be responsible citizens. She was further appointed the Social Prefect at her elementary school due to her passion for social change. She later became the Assistant Senior Prefect at her high school where she graduated as the Best Graduating Student. 

Paulinarh loves to help others become better version of themselves through exemplary leadership and service. She is an advocate and a storyteller. She believes that if the people who know better decide to stay silent, the opinions of those who do not know at all will continue to count. As she always says: “Embrace your story, trust your process”!

Dr. Leslie is a Master Lecturer and Outreach Director at the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida. Zambian by birth, and graduated from the University of Zambia. She has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Florida. She teaches courses in African studies with a specialization in “African Politics” “Women and Politics” and “China and Africa Relations.” 

Dr. Leslie has been a recipient of several grants including a Fulbright Fellowship to Zambia. She has researched, written, and published extensively on Africa. Her publications include: Social Movements and Democracy in Africa: The Impact of Women’s Rights in Botswana, Encyclopedia of African History and Culture (senior editor). She has served as editor for the African Studies Quarterly special issue publications focusing on China and Africa’s relationship. She is also the editor of Teach Africa, a publication promoting the teaching of Africa. 

Dr. Leslie leads local, national, and international seminars on various aspects of Africa.

Dr. Jones is a dynamic theatre nonprofit leader, award-winning educator, and holds a dual PhD in Education and Africana Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research on theatrical performance as a civic engagement praxis illuminates global race-based inequities in education and health, lifting the potential of knowledge co-creation through the arts and digital cultural production. As founder of Burning Barriers Building Bridges Youth Theatre (B4YT), a cultural performance company dedicated to radical community empowerment through the arts, she has more than twenty years of experience in youth development in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Having  developed a track record of leadership in arts and advocacy in communities of color globally, in 2018 Jasmine extended the scope of B4YT to include a consulting practice, Creating Brave Stages, which provides  support and guidance for advocacy organizations looking to integrate the arts into their movements and artists aspiring to create positive change through their performances. She holds a MPP from the University of Minnesota and BS in Music Education from Florida A&M University. She is a postdoctoral fellow with the Program in Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship at Johns Hopkins University.

Silas of Kpaai District in Bong County has  ten years’ experience working in development in the educational sector. He's a result oriented professional with experience in Teaching Administration, student development, Research, School Management, and Policy analysis. 

An international scholar, with proficiency in organizing workshops, special events, campaigns, presentations, monitoring and evaluation of research support in post war Liberia. 

His recent works includes evidence based-administrative approaches, teachers training, civic engagement, community base support program, education, and human rights. 

Silas is a Master trainer for the Ministry of Education READ-Liberia Activity, coordinating an Arts vacation program for children through Burning Barriers Building Bridges Youth Theatre (B4YT) Liberia Inc.

He was selected as one of the best six Accuntapreneurs from Liberia under the Accountability lab incubator program 2020. He also served as board chair for Community House Elementary School and a board member at St Matthew Academy, Gbarnga. 

A lover of African heritage and culture, with  Masters in Education Management, Leadership and Policy from East China Normal University, Shanghai, People Republic of China. 

Jacob U'Mofe Gordon, Ph.D.; LL.D (Hon), is Professor Emeritus of African & African American Studies (History) at the University of Kansas, State of Kansas, USA; and Former Kwame Nkrumah Endowed Chair, University of Ghana. Dr. Gordon is the author and/or co-author of more than 30 books, monographs, and numerous articles, including the book, Africa and the African Diaspora in the Development of the Global North: The American Story (2020).