,

CONFERENCE PARTICIPANT BIOS

AS OF JANUARY 28, 2014

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The vast majority of participant bios that are included in the Summit Program have been

submitted to us in response to our request to all the participants. Exceptions occur in the cases

where no information was submitted by the pre-Summit deadline. Any profiles lacking current

information were researched in the most thorough way possible and were included based on

information collected from the web and other sources. We apologize in advance to those

participants where the information is incomplete or not current but we did our best to create a

profile from available information so we included in the Program.

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Epiphane Adjovi, Director, Projet de renforcement des capacités en

Conception et Analyse des Politiques de Développement (CAPOD)

Epiphane Adjovi is the Director of the Projet de

renforcement des capacités en Conception et Analyse des

Politiques de Développement (Project for Capacity

Building in Planning and Analysis of Development

Politics) in the Republic of Benin. Mr. Adjovi holds a

postgraduate degree in Economic Policy Management

from the Centre for Studies and Research on

International Development (CERDI) at the University of

Clermont-Ferrand in France. He has previously worked as

Assistant Technical Economic Advisor to the President of

the Republic, Director of Information Processing and

Publications at the National Institute of Statistics and

Economic Analysis (INSAE), and Director-General of the Economy and Technical Advisor to the Minister

of Finance and the Economy.

John Ahere, Senior Programme Officer, African Centre for the

Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) John Ahere is a senior program officer in the Peacemaking Unit at the

African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)

in South Africa. He is a conflict management practitioner with more

than a decade of experience in conflict mapping and analysis, training,

grassroots community dialogue, negotiation & mediation support,

program development & management, organization development,

and grants management. He has worked on a number of field

engagements, most notably in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan,

Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, Zimbabwe and South Africa. He is also a researcher with

interest in international politics and its linkage to peace, security and

development. His book The Paradox that is Diplomatic Recognition:

Unpacking the Somaliland Situation was recently published by Anchor

Academic Publishing.

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Alban Ahoure, Ph.D., Acting Director, Cellule d’Analyse de Politiques

Economiques (CAPEC)

Dr. Alban Ahoure is the Acting Director of Cellule d’Analyse de

Politiques Economiques du Cires (CAPEC), where he also works as a

researcher. His specialties include analysis of economic policy,

microeconomics, labor economics and human resources,

mechanisms of incentives in organizations, and project evaluation

and development programs. Dr. Ahoure has worked with the

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Studies (CIRES)

in economic analysis, contributed to a joint migration research

project between the International Development Research Centre

and CIRES, and taught at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in

Cocody-Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from

the Graduate School of Economics at Kobe University, Japan.

Clement Ahiadeke, Ph.D., Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic

Research, University of Ghana Dr. Clement Ahiadeke is a professor and the past director of

the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research

(ISSER) at the University of Ghana, Legon. He earned his

PhD. in Demography from Cornell University, and his MPH

from Johns Hopkins University. He was additionally a post-

doctoral fellow at Princeton University. He works on and off

as a researcher with the Rockefeller Foundation and the

Population Council, both in New York. His research interests

include reproductive health, maternal and child nutrition

studies, family planning, HIV/AIDS program monitoring and

evaluation, design of baseline surveys, and the general

application of demographic processes in constructing

poverty indicators. Currently, Dr. Ahiadeke is studying how

peers, parents, and social support might mediate the correlation of sexual knowledge with sexual

outcomes. He is also studying household structure to determine causes of chronic household poverty.

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Emmanuel Akwetey, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Democratic

Governance

Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey is the founding Executive Director of the

Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG.) He has served as a

consultant for many parties and organizations focused on Africa,

including the government of Ghana, the government of Liberia,

the Africa Capacity Building Foundation, and the United Nations

Development Programme. Dr. Akwetey recently won the

Millennium Excellence Award for the IDEG, in recognition of the

organization’s work on democratic development in Ghana for the

period 2005-2010. He has a Ph.D. in International Politics and

Development from the University of Stockholm, Sweden.

Ifediora Chimezie Amobi, Ph.D., Executive Director, African Heritage

Institution Dr. Ifediora Amobi is the Executive Director of African Heritage

Institution. He is an economist and university lecturer with over

25 years of international experience working at the World Bank, the

Department for International Development, Citibank and Accenture.

He has been an aide to the President of Nigeria advising on

national development matters, has managed enterprises, led teams,

and initiated work programs in macroeconomic policy, investment,

and strategy. He has a passion for community and regional

development, investment promotion, and economic empowerment

and sustainability. Dr. Ifediora has a Ph.D. in Economics from

Howard University in Washington, DC.

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Roger B. Atindehou, Ph.D., Manager of Eastern and Southern Africa

Operations, African Capacity Building Foundation

Dr. Roger Atindehou is Manager for Eastern and Southern

Africa Operations Department at the African Capacity Building

Foundation (ACBF) in Harare, Zimbabwe. He holds a Ph.D. in

Business Administration (Finance) from Laval University in

Canada. Before joining the ACBF, Dr Atindéhou was the

Director of the MBA program in Banking and Finance at the

Centre Africain des Études Supérieures en Gestion (CESAG) in

Dakar, Senegal. He previously served as Associate Professor of

Finance at the University of Moncton, Canada and Chair of the

Department of Finance and Accounting at the same. Dr.

Atindéhou has also served as Assistant Economic Advisor to

the Office of the President of the Republic of Benin. He has

analytical and technical experience in economics, finance and

development issues.

Ann Bernstein, Executive Director, Centre for Development and

Enterprise

Ann Bernstein is the founder and executive director of the

Centre for Development and Enterprise, regarded by many as

South Africa’s leading policy centre. She is also a board member

for the Development Bank of Southern Africa (1995-2001) and

the Brenthurst Foundation (2007 - present). She has been a

fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, Washington

DC (2005/6). Bernstein has been invited to the World Economic

Forum in Davos (2008, 2009), and she is a regular commentator

in South Africa’s newspapers, TV, and radio.

Her book The Case for Business in Developing Economies

(Penguin 2010) received favourable reviews in the Economist,

the Financial Times, and elsewhere and won the Fisher Award,

Washington DC (2012).

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Kwabena Boakye, Ph.D., Monitoring and Evaluation Expert, African

Capacity Building Foundation

Dr. Kwabena G. Boakye holds a Ph.D. in Management

Science from the University of Texas and an M.S. in

Statistics from the University of Idaho. He also holds a B.Sc.

in Mathematics from Kwame Nkrumah University of

Science and Technology in Ghana. Currently, Dr. Boakye is

an assistant professor of Quantitative Analysis at Georgia

Southern University. His research interests include quality

improvement, applied statistics, and service innovation. His

works have been published in Operations Management

Research, Quality Management Journal, The International

Journal of Information and Operations Management

Education, The International Journal of Bank Marketing,

and have featured in numerous conference proceedings.

Deryck R. Brown, Ph.D., Senior Governance and Public Sector Specialist –

Africa Region, World Bank

Dr. Deryck R. Brown, a Trinidadian national, is a Senior Governance and

Public Sector Specialist in the Africa Region at the World Bank. Since 2011,

he has been Task Manager for the World Bank’s support to the ACBF, which

has been at the forefront of supporting the creation of African think tanks.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Dr. Brown was the Advisor on Governance

and Development and Head of the Technical Cooperation and Strategic

Response Group at the Governance and Institutional Development Division,

Commonwealth Secretariat, London. He has a Ph.D. from the University of

Manchester in the UK in Public Policy and Development.

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Gibson Chigumira, Ph.D., Executive Director, Zimbabwe Economic Policy

Analysis and Research Unit

Dr. Gibson Chigumira has been Executive Director of the

Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit

(ZEPARU) since its inception in March 2004. He holds a Ph.D.

Economics Degree from the University of Strathclyde (UK), an

MSc in Economics from the University of Glasgow (UK), and a

BSc and MSc in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe.

Prior to joining ZEPARU he worked as a consultant in the

Knowledge Management Department for the African Capacity

Building Foundation in 2003, and as a researcher and lecturer in

the Economics Department at the University of Zimbabwe from

1993 to 2003. He has researched and published on diverse topics in macroeconomic policy including

mining policy, financial reforms, currency reforms, public enterprise reforms, regional trade and

integration, agricultural competiveness and financing, education financing, health financing, and poverty

among others. He consulted for a number of regional and international organizations, and the

government of Zimbabwe. Dr. Chigumira also sits on a number of boards in both the public and private

sectors.

Franklin Cudjoe, Founder and CEO, IMANI Center for Policy and

Education

Franklin Cudjoe is the founding President and CEO of

the IMANI Center for Policy and Education. Mr. Cudjoe

is an Earhart doctoral fellow at Buckingham University,

and an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of

Government’s Executive Education program. He has

also studied with the Atlas Economic Research

Foundation’s Think Tank MBA programme and the

Montreal Economic Institute's Think Tank Training

programme. He has a Bsc in Land Economy from

KNUST. In 2010 Cudjoe was named a Young Global

Leader by the World Economic Forum. He was named a

fellow of the Africa Leadership Network in 2012, and the only named Think Tank Leader in “Top 50

Africans” list of the respected Africa Report Magazine in 2012.

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Barassou Diawara, Ph.D., Knowledge and Learning Officer, African

Capacity Building Foundation

Barassou Diawara is the Knowledge and Learning Officer at the African Capacity Building Foundation

(ACBF). At the ABCF, he created and supported the Public Sector Management Training Programs and

Economic Policy Management Programs. He was also responsible for the ACBF’s Policy Institutes

Committee (PIC) and Africa Capacity Indicators Report (ACIR) initiatives. Dr. Diawara also represented

the ACBF at the Effective Institutions Platform (EIP), a summit hosted in Seoul. There, he shared several

initiatives related to peer-learning and the use of indicators undertaken by the ACBF in Africa. Dr.

Diawara holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal, and a Ph.D.

in Economics from Kyushu University in Japan where he was also a research fellow. His areas of

expertise include economic education, poverty economics, and applied macroeconomics.

Roger-Mark De Souza, Director of Population, Environmental Security

and Resilience, Woodrow Wilson Center

Roger-Mark De Souza is the Director of Population, Environmental

Security, and Resilience for the Wilson Center in Washington D.C. He

leads programs on climate change resilience, reproductive and

maternal health, environmental security and livelihoods, including the

Center’s Global Sustainability and Resilience Program, the

Environmental Change and Security Program, and the Maternal Health

Initiative. Before joining the Center in 2013, De Souza served as Vice

President of Research and director of the climate program at

Population Action International. Previously he worked at the Sierra

Club, the Population Reference Bureau, and the World Resources

Institute. Mr. De Souza holds graduate degrees in international

relations and development policy from George Washington University

and the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago.

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Holger Dix, Ph.D., Resident Representative, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

(KAS)

Dr. Holger Dix joined the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation (KAS) as

project assistant in 1993, and later became country director in

Rwanda. He later served as deputy director of the KAS regional

Southern Africa office based in Harare Zimbabwe. In August 1995, he

was appointed director of the KAS regional Western Africa office in

Cotonou, Benin. Between 1995 and 2000, he directed the work of

KAS in Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo. From

2000 to 2003 he served as Head of Division for West and Central

Africa, and from 2003 to 2006 as Director of the Department for

Africa and the Middle East. In November 2006, he was appointed

Resident Representative of KAS in Romania and Moldova, where he

served until 2012. Since August 2012, Dr. Dix has been the Resident

Representative of KAS in South Africa. Dr. Dix studied Political

Science, History and Communication Sciences at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster. He

graduated as Master of Arts in 1991 and as Doctor of Philosophy in 1996.

Bitrina Diyamett, Ph.D., Executive Director, Science, Technology,

Innovation Policy Research Organization (STIPRO) Dr. Bitrina Diyamett is Executive Director of the

Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research

Organization (STIPRO), an independent think tank

dealing with policy research in science, technology, and

innovation (STI) in Tanzania. She is a researcher and a

consultant in science, technology and innovation policy.

She holds an M.A Degree in Science and Technology

Policy from Lund University, Sweden (1993), and a

Ph.D. in Development Studies from the University of

Dar es Salaam (2010). In addition to her many

consultancies and publications, she has joined the Research Policy Institute (RPI) at Lund University as a

Faculty member for the training course on Africa’s STI indicators. She was among the resource persons

for the course on the Design and Evaluation of Science, Technology and Innovation Policies in

developing countries organized by UNU-MERIT, 22-26th February 2010, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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Hussein Elkamel, Ambassador, Senior International Cooperation

advisor, Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs

Ambassador Hussein Elkamel is the Senior International

Cooperation advisor of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, a

private think tank. He is the Senior Advisor of the Egyptian

governmental think tank, the Cabinet Information & Decision

Support Center. A professional diplomat, he has served as Egypt’s

ambassador to the EU, Belgian, Luxembourg, Germany, and the UN

Headquarters. He now serves as the director of the economic,

Middle East, information, and research departments in Egypt’s

Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Elkamel is also a trainer,

lecturer, training programs coordinator, and Director of the

Professional Educational Center.

Job Imharobere Eronmhonsele, Senior Programme Officer, Centre for

Population and Environmental Development (CEPD)

Job Imharobere Eronmhonsele is a senior program officer working with

the Centre for Population and Environmental Development (CPED), a

think tank based in Benin City, Nigeria. He joined CPED as a research

intern in 2008 after completing his one year’s compulsory time in the

National Youth Service Corps in Borno State, Nigeria in 2007. He was

later employed as a program officer in 2009 in the same organization,

and rose to the position of a Senior Programme Officer in 2012. He has

been involved in the implementation of a substantial number of

research projects in Nigeria. He is currently Head of the

Communications Unit at CPED. He has interest in communicating

research outcomes to influence policies and to change behavior.

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Kobena Hanson, Ph.D., Head, Knowledge & Learning, ACBF

Dr. Kobena Hanson is Head of Knowledge and Learning at the African

Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). Prior to joining the ACBF,

Kobena was the Knowledge Management Coordinator at the Ghana

SHARP Project (a USAID/Futures Group International initiative for

Ghana). Dr. Hanson has also taught at West Virginia University,

Morgantown, United States. He earned a Ph.D. from Queens

University, Canada in 2001. Dr. Hanson has published a number of

critical articles on development policy, social networking and urban

livelihood strategies.

Daniel P. Kaboré, Ph.D., Executive Director, Centre d’Analyse des

Politiques Économiques et Sociales (CAPES)

Dr. Daniel P. Kaboré is the Executive Director of CAPES

(Centre d’Analyse des Politiques Économiques et Sociales), a

government-funded think tank in Burkina Faso. An

agricultural economist by training, he holds a Master of

Science in Applied Agricultural Economics from the Virginia

Polytechnic Institute and State University in the United States,

and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of

Groningen in the Netherlands. Prior to joining CAPES in 2007,

he worked at INERA, Burkina Faso’s national agricultural and

environmental research institute as an agricultural economist.

Dr. Kaboré has also taught at the Economics department of

the University of Ouagadougou. His domains of expertise

include agriculture, environmental policy, and natural resource management.

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Theunis Keulder, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Namibia Institute

for Democracy

Theunis Keulder is a founding member of the Namibia

Institute for Democracy, and has served as its Executive

Director since 1995. In this position he routinely interacts

with government institutions, political parties,

international donors and organizations, embassies, the

media, the private sector and Namibian civic

organizations. Programs conducted recently under his

leadership include anti-corruption initiatives, the training

and deployment of civil society election observers, voter

education, technical support to electoral law reform,

organisational management assistance and ethics training

for Namibian NGOs, as well as technical support to the Namibian Parliament to strengthen its outreach

function. He holds an MA from the University of Johannesburg, a Master’s of Business Leadership (MBL)

from the University of South Africa Business School, and certificates in International Capital Markets,

Equity Markets and Fixed Interest and Bond Markets.

R. Andreas Kraemer, Director, Ecologic Institute R. Andreas Kraemer has been Founding Director of the

Ecologic Institute in Berlin, Germany, since 1995 and

Founding Chairman of the Ecologic Institute US in

Washington, D.C. since 2008. He has been a researcher,

teacher, and policy advisor on environment and

resources, climate and energy, and international

relations and global affairs for nearly 30 years. He is also

Adjunct Professor of German Studies at Duke University;

Speaker of Ecornet, the Ecological Research Network of

independent, trans-disciplinary environmental research

institutes in Germany; and Manager (pro bono) of the Konrad von Moltke Fund.

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Phindile Lukhele-Oloronu, Ph.D. Interim CEO, Africa Institute of South

Africa

Professor Phindile E. Lukhele-Olorunju is currently Interim CEO at

the Africa Institute of South Africa. She is an internationally

respected scientist, researcher, and administrator. She holds a BS in

Agriculture, an MS in Plant Breeding, and a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding/

Virology. Other experience includes national, regional and

international consulting and management of international

agricultural projects, and collaborative research projects with

various institutions, including the University of Georgia in the United

States. Professor Lukhele-Olorunju has also managed three research

institutions, as Group Executive at the Agricultural Research Council

of South Africa from 2002 to 2008. Professor Lukhele-Olorunju has

published and continues to publish in peer-reviewed national,

regional and international journals and is an ASI member.

Dickson Malunda, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Policy

Analysis and Research-Rwanda (IPAR-Rwanda)

Dr. Dickson Malunda is a Senior Research Fellow at the

Institute of Policy Analysis and Research in Rwanda. He

holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Trento in

Italy, a Master’s degree in Development Economics from

Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and a BA from

Makerere University in Uganda. Dr. Malunda has previously

worked at the World Bank Office in Rwanda as a poverty

economist, and done work on the Women’s Economic

Empowerment Survey and Action Aid’s Public Financing for

Agriculture project. His research interests include poverty,

economic change, and employment. Dr. Malunda has also

directed projects on Rwanda’s economic transformation,

youth and employment, and an evaluation on Rwanda’s

National Employment policy.

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Constantino Pedro Marrengula, International Growth Centre-

Mozambique (ICG)

Constantino Pedro Marrengula is a researcher for the International Growth Centre in Mozambique. In

addition, he is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Economics at Eduardo Mondlane University in

Maputo, Mozambique. His research and publications have included private sector and SME performance

in Mozambique, limited market participation of firms in the construction and tourism industries, and

management skills and social capital in Mozambique’s private sector.

James G. McGann, Ph.D., Assistant Director of the International

Relations Program, University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Think

Tanks and Civil Societies Program

James G. McGann, Ph.D., is the assistant director of the International Relations

Program and director of the TTCSP at the University of Pennsylvania. He conducts

research on the trends and challenges facing think tanks and policymakers

around the world and provides advice and technical assistance to think tanks,

governments and public and private donors on how to improve the quality and

impact of policy research. He is also a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research

Institute, a think tank based in Philadelphia. Prior to coming to the University of

Pennsylvania Dr. McGann was an assistant professor of Political Science at

Villanova University where he taught international relations, international organizations and

international law. His current research interest include: assessing global trends in security and

international affairs research; the role of think tanks in shaping US foreign policy; think tanks and policy

advice in the BRIC and G20 countries and transnational threats and global public policy.

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Augustus Muluvi, Policy Analyst/Head of Trade and Foreign Policy

Division, Kenya Institute for Public Policy and Analysis (KIPPRA)

Augustus Muluvi is a policy analyst and the Acting Head of the Trade and Foreign Policy Division at The

Kenya Institute for Public Policy and Analysis (KIPPRA), an autonomous public think tank that provides

policy advice to the Kenyan government. He is also a faculty member in the Economics Department at

Egerton University in Kenya. His research and publication has focused on trade barriers impacting

Kenyan international trade, institutional and regulatory barriers inhibiting Kenyan trade within Eastern

Africa, and the state of regional integration in the African Economic Community.

Victor Murinde, Ph.D., Director of African Development Institute, African

Development Bank

Professor Victor Murinde is Director of the African Development

Institute at the African Development Bank. He holds a B.A. in Economics

from Makerere University in Uganda, a M.Sc. in Banking and Finance

and a Ph.D. in Financial Economics from the University of Wales in

Cardiff, and a Doctoris Honoris Causa from Tallinn University of

Technology in Estonia. Prior to joining the African Development Bank,

Professor Murinde lectured on development finance at the University of

Birmingham in the United Kingdom for 15 years. He is also a visiting

Professor at Cardiff Business School and the University of Stellenbosch

Business School in South Africa. He has provided services to

governments, companies, and international organizations, including the

World Bank, the United Nations, UNCTAD, the Kuwait Institute of

Scientific Research, the African Development Bank, and the Caribbean

Development Bank. His research interests include microstructure issues

in emerging financial markets, capital structure and dividend policy, bank performance and risk, financial

development and poverty reduction.

Lufingo Mwamakamba, Protocol and Partnerships Manager, Food,

Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)

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Lufingo Mwamakamba is FANRPAN's Protocol and Partnerships Manager in

South Africa. He has over 8 years’ experience in project management,

partnership building, and programs administration. At FANRPAN, he is

responsible for managing strategic partnerships with the host government,

network membership and with regional and international partner

organizations. His duties also include coordinating FANRPAN

communications and advocacy engagements at various high level policy

platforms such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP). Lufingo holds a M.Sc. in

Health Promotion and Public Health from Brunel University in the United

Kingdom and a MA in Hospital and Health Systems Administration from

Faculdades Oswaldo Cruz in Brazil. He speaks Portuguese as a second

language.

S. Mshaï Mwongola, Ph.D., Research and Communication Officer of the

African Peacebuilding Hub, African Leadership Centre

Dr. S. Mshaï Mwangola is Research and

Communication Officer with the African

Peacebuilding Hub (APN-Hub), a joint program of

the African Leadership Centre and the African

Peacebuilding Network of the Social Science

Research Council. In this position, she coordinates

APN-Hub programs, including the working group

on Leadership and Peacebuilding and the

establishment of database, networking and

dissemination platforms for African peacebuilding

research. She takes a great interest in pedagogy, research and the creative process. Dr. Mwangola holds

a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University in the United States. Prior to this, she

obtained an MCA (Masters of Creative Arts) from the School of Studies in the Creative Arts, University of

Melbourne and a Bachelor of Education (Honors) from Kenyatta University.

Pamela Nakamba-Kabaso, Ph.D., Executive Director, Zambia Institute for

Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR)

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Dr. Pamela Nakamba-Kabaso is the Executive Director for Zambia

Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR). She also serves as

a lecturer on economics in the Department of Economics at the

University of Zambia. Dr. Nakamba-Kabaso holds a Bachelor of Arts

in Economics from the University of Zambia (1996), a Master of Arts

in Economics from the University of Nairobi (1998) and a Ph.D. in

Economics from the University of Witwatersrand (2010). Dr. Kabaso

has published a number of journal articles, working papers and

authored chapters in books.

Deo Ngendakumana, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Economic

Development (IDEC)

Dr. Deo Ngendakumana is Director of the Institute for

Economic Development (IDEC), a non-profit organization based

in Bujumbura, Burundi. Dr. Ngendakumana is also a professor

of management in the Department of Economics and

Administrative Sciences at the University of Burundi where has

served since 1986 after completing his studies in Switzerland.

He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and Management Sciences. He

has written a number of scientific papers and conducted

various studies as an independent consultant and visited many

countries in Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

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Joseph Ngwegwe, Director of Program Support Services, Policy Research

for Development

Joseph Ngwegwe holds both a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (Honors) and an MBA in Marketing and

Corporate Finance from the University of Dar es Salaam. Prior to becoming involved with Policy

Research for Development and serving as the Tanzania Programme Manager for Hivos Twaweza, Mr.

Ngwegwe was Business Director at the British Council in Tanzania.

Aminata Niang, Ph.D., Researcher, Initiative Prospective Agricole et

Rurale (IPAR)

Dr. Aminata Niang is a researcher at the Initiative

Prospective Agricole et Rurale (IPAR), a young policy

research think tank based in Senegal and operating in the

West African region. IPAR’s research aims to inform

policymakers on rural and agricultural development and

youth employment, among other priority research themes.

For over ten years, she has been engaged in collaborative

research on sustainable development theory and practice,

gender, poverty reduction, and the socio-economic impacts

of corporate mining in Africa. She holds a Ph.D. in Cultural

Anthropology from the University of Arizona.

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Ingrid van Niekerk, Ph.D., Executive Co-Director/CEO, Economic Policy

Research Institute Dr. Ingrid van Niekerk is an Executive Co-Director and Senior

Researcher at the Economic Policy Research Institute in South

Africa. She is also the institute’s CEO and is responsible for

coordinating EPRI’s social protection capacity building

initiatives. Dr. van Niekerk has managed and carried out

research projects for the Department of Social Development

in South Africa as well as the inter-ministerial Committee of

Enquiry for Comprehensive Social Security. She has

experience in capacity building as well as monitoring and

evaluation, assessing the impact of social policy and analyzing

cash transfer programs. Dr. van Niekerk is responsible for EPRI’s capacity building program for

government departments, and she has taught courses for the Department of Social Development. She

currently leads EPRI’s Savings and Financial Inclusion Linkages Pilot (SAIL) project. Dr. van Niekerk holds

a Master’s Degree from the Center for Development Economics at Williams College in the United States,

as well as several other higher degrees in social science, economic planning and policy, and education.

Emmanuel Nnadozie, Ph.D., Executive Secretary, African Capacity

Building Foundation

Dr. Emmanuel Nnandozie is Executive Secretary of the African

Capacity Building Foundation. Prior to assuming this position, he

served as the Chief Economist and Director of the Macroeconomic

Policy Division, as well as Director of the Economic Development and

New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Division of the

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Dr.

Nnandozie has also worked as coordinator for the UN-wide support to

Africa’s development and played a pivotal role in the shaping of the

UN and UNECA’s relations with the African Union Commission, the

NEPAD Secretariat, and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM.)

He holds advanced degrees from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and

the Université de Paris 1 Sorbonne.

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Franklin Oduro, Ph.D., Head of Research and Programs/Deputy Director,

Ghana Center for Democratic Development Dr. Franklin Oduro is the Head of Research and

Programs and also doubles as the Deputy Director at

the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-

Ghana). Dr. Oduro received his PhD in political science

from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. His

research interests include post-transition politics of

human rights accountability, transitional justice, and

truth commission processes; public administration

and policy analysis; civil society and elections

(election monitoring and observation); and African

political thought.

‘Funmi Olonisakin, Ph.D., Director, African Leadership Centre

Dr. ’Funmi Olonisakin is the founding director of the

African Leadership Centre, which aims to build the

next generation of African leaders in the fields of

peace, security, and development. She also directs

the postgraduate degree program on Security,

Leadership and Society at King’s College London.

Previously, she worked in the Office of the UN

Special Representative of the Secretary-General on

Children and Armed Conflict. Trained in Political

Science (Bsc. Ife, Nigeria) and War Studies (PhD,

King’s College London), Dr. Olonisakin has positioned

her work to serve as a bridge between academia and

the world of policy and practice. Her academic

research and writing have contributed to strategic

thinking in post-conflict contexts and in the work of

regional organizations such as ECOWAS and the African Union.

,

John Omiti, Senior Policy Analyst, Kenya Institute for Public Policy

Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) Dr. John Omiti is a senior policy analyst and Executive

Director of Productive Sector Division at the Kenya

Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis

(KIPPRA). Dr. Omiti obtained his Ph.D. in agricultural

economics from the University of New England, along

with a Master’s degree and a Bachelor’s degree in

Agriculture from the University of Nairobi in Kenya.

After graduating from the University of Nairobi, Dr.

Omiti worked in Kenya’s Civil Service for eleven years.

He then worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at

the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-

Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), focusing on natural resource

management strategies for small-holder agriculture.

Dr. Omiti then became a Senior Research Fellow at the

Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) in Nairobi. He has provided technical guidance in

agricultural economics in countries including Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya. He has a keen interest in

issues affecting economic performance, food security, poverty and institutional development at macro

and sectorial levels.

Idrissa Ouedraogo, Ph.D., Program Officer/Researcher, Centre des

Études de Documentation et des Recherches Économiques et Sociales

(CEDRES)

Dr. Idrissa Ouedraogo works as a program officer and researcher at the Centre des Études de

Documentation et des Recherches Économiques et Sociales (CEDRES) in Burkina Faso. He also has served

as Director-General of the Bureau of Study, Service, Survey and Research. His previous employers

include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Burkina Faso Ministry of the

Environment and Water. He has experience in data collection and analysis, the study of local economic

governance and long-term development planning. Dr. Ouedraogo has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the

University of Tennessee.

,

Kwame Owino, Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Economic Affairs

Kwame Owino is the CEO of the Institute of Economic

Affairs, a Kenya-based public policy think tank. Prior

to taking this office, he worked as a program officer,

leading research and policy dialogue in the area of

economic regulation and competitiveness policy. He

has diverse interests on economic regulation,

employment economics and public sector reform. He

undertakes and oversees research in IEA-Kenya’s key

policy areas on public expenditure and revenue

analysis, international trade, economic regulation and

the use of futures methodologies to inform public

affairs in Kenya.

Bodo Voahirana Ralantoarilolona, Executive Director, Centre de

Recherches, d’Etudes et d’Appui à l’Analyse Economique à Madagascar

(CREAM)

Bodo Voahirana Ralantoarilolona is the Executive

Director of the Centre des Recherches, d’Études et

D’Appui à l’Analyse Economique à Madagascar (CREAM)

in Antananarivo, Madagascar. She holds a Master’s

degree in Economic Policy Management and a

postgraduate degree in Planning. Her research and

publications have focused on poverty reduction

strategies, government policies to promote economic

advancement, and regional and structural features of

poverty.

,

Romi Reinecke, Program Manager, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung – South

Africa

Romi Reinecke holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Honors), as well as a

Masters in Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University in

Grahamstown, South Africa. Prior to becoming Program Manager at

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Ms. Reinecke was also a research assistant in

the Department of Political and International Studies at Rhodes

University. She is passionate about social justice projects and about

learning how a young person can make a difference in a complex world.

Rutuku K. Richard, Acting Executive Director, Institute of Policy Analysis

and Research

Rutuku K Richard is Acting Executive Director for the Institute

of Policy Analysis and Research in Rwanda. He has been a

financial administrator for over 10 years and holds an MBA in

Finance and Accounting. Richard has hands-on experience in

the design and implementation of both financial and

administrative systems with major development partners

like the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the

African Capacity Building Foundation, and the United Nations

Development Programme.

,

Michael Samson, Ph.D., Director of Research, Economic Policy Research

Institute Dr. Michael Samson is Director of Research at the Economic Policy

Research Institute (EPRI) in South Africa. He specializes in social

protection, particularly in designing, implementing, and evaluating

social cash transfer programs. He has created policy design

projects for social assistance programs in Malawi, Lesotho,

Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, and Kenya, and is currently working on

social protection projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mozambique,

Nepal, the Pacific, South Africa, and Uganda. Dr. Samson also acts

as coordinator and co-leader of the team assessing the impact of

the Child Support Grant in South Africa. He is also Visiting

Associate Professor of Economics at the Williams College Center

for Development Economics in the United States. Dr. Samson holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford

University.

Diakalia Sanogo, Ph.D. Senior Program Officer, Think Tank Initiative,

International Development Research Center

Dr. Diakalia Sanogo is a Senior Program Officer for the Think Tank

Initiative based at International Development Research Center

(IDRC)’s Regional Office for Sub-Saharan Africa in Nairobi. He

obtained a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Purdue University in

2001. Dr. Diakalia returns to the IDRC after spending two years at

Nigeria’s International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan as an

impact economist. From September 2004 to March 2006, he served

as Program Officer of the Secretariat for Institutional Support for

Economic Research in Africa (SISERA) in Dakar, Senegal. He has

extensive experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating

agricultural research and development projects on a regional scale in

Central and West Africa. Dr. Diakalia has a strong interest in research

and development activities related to agricultural development,

agricultural produce market innovations, the development of competitive agro-industries, poverty

analysis and microfinance.

,

Elizabeth Sirdiropoulos, Chief Executive, South African Institue of

International Affairs

Ms Sidiropoulos is the chief executive of the South

African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). She

holds an MA in International Relations (cum laude)

from the University of the Witwatersrand,

Johannesburg. She has headed the Institute since

2005. Before her current appointment she was

director of studies at SAIIA from 1999 to April 2005.

She was previously research director at the South

African Institute of Race Relations and editor of the

highly acclaimed Race Relations Survey (now the

South Africa Survey). She serves on the Scientific

Advisory Board of the EU’s Development Commissioner, Mr Andris Piebalgs, and the Editorial Advisory

Boards of the Indian Foreign Affairs Journal and International Development Policy in Geneva. She is the

editor-in-chief of the South African Journal of International Affairs. Her research focus is South Africa’s

foreign policy, global governance and the role of emerging powers in Africa. Her most recent work is a

co-edited volume on Development cooperation and emerging powers: New Partners or Old Patterns and

she is currently collaborating with Indian, German and Mexican partners on new book project focusing

on development agencies in emerging economies.

Olusegun Sotola, Research Fellow, Initiative for Public Policy Analysis

Olusegun Sotola is a Research Fellow at the Initiative for Public Policy Analysis in Nigeria. He has

conducted research in government accountability and property rights. Mr. Sotola has a master’s degree

in Political Science/Economy from the University of Lagos in Nigeria.

,

Sarah N. Ssewanyana, Ph.D., Executive Director, Economic Policy

Research Centre (EPRC)

Dr. Sarah N. Ssewanyana is Executive Director of the Economic

Policy Research Centre in Uganda. She holds a Ph.D in

Agricultural Economics from the University of Sydney. Before

joining EPRC in 2003, she lectured undergraduate and graduate

students at the Makerere University Institute of Statistics and

Applied Economics in Uganda for over ten years. Her research

and publication focuses on poverty and inequality, food security,

child nutrition, and higher education in Uganda.

Jonathan Louis Stead, Director of Marketing and Communication, South

African Institute of International Affairs

Jonathan Louis Stead has been Director of

Marketing and Communication at the South

African Institute of International Affairs since

November 2006. He was previously involved

with the Institute for over twenty years in

various roles, including as a Member of its

Council and Executive. He holds degrees in law

and history from Rhodes University as well as a

teacher’s diploma, and was awarded a

Master’s degree with distinction in history.

Professionally he has been extensively

involved in higher education administration and marketing, working for Rhodes University (East London

Division), the University of Witwatersrand, the Technikon Witwatersrand and, following the merger, the

University of Johannesburg. Jonathan was instrumental in the establishment and development of

UNITECH, the professional body for marketing, communication and fundraising staff at all Southern

African Universities, and chaired the body for a period.

,

Amadou Sy, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at the Africa Growth Initiative,

Brookings Institution

Dr. Amadou Sy holds both a B.A. and M.Sc. from HEC Montreal, as well

as a Ph.D. from McGill University. Prior to becoming a senior fellow at

the Brookings Institution’s Africa Growth Initiative, Dr. Sy held a variety

of positions at the International Monetary Fund spanning the last 15

years, most recently in the role of deputy division chief of the Financial

Surveillance Division in the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets

Department. Dr. Sy has published in top academic and practitioner

journals, including the Journal of Banking, Finance and IMF Staff Papers,

Journal of Fixed Income, and World Economics. His focus is on banking,

capital markets, and macroeconomics in Africa and emerging markets.

Haile K. Taye, Ph.D., Director, Macroeconomic

Forecasting & Planning Unit, Botswana Institute for Development Policy

Analysis (BIDPA)

Professor Haile Taye is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the

Macroeconomic Forecasting & Planning Unit at the Botswana

Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA), a non-

governmental policy research institution. He also sits on BIDPA’s

Board of Trustees. His research areas include national debt,

public finance, and currency analysis. He has previously lectured

in Economics at Chancellor College of the University of Malawi.

,

Renate Tenbusch, Regional Coordinator for Africa – International Trade

Union Project, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Berlin

Renate Tenbusch is the Regional Coordinator for Africa at Freidrich-

Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Berlin’s International Trade Union Project. Mrs.

Tenbusch previously worked in the FES India Office. During her time

at the India Office, she held forums and workshops on women’s

empowerment. She has written about controversial questions in the

study of development economics for publications such as the

Berliner Republik magazine.

Chiwuike Uba, Finance and Administrative

Manager, African Heritage Institute, and Knowledge and Policy

Management Initiative Ltd/Gte

Mr. Uba Chiwuike is the Finance and Administrative

Manager of the African Heritage Institute and Executive

Director of the Knowledge and Policy Management Initiative

Ltd/Gte, as well as a financial, management, HR and public

relations (PR) consultant. His main areas of specialization

include finance, business management consultancy, and PR

consultancy. He is a fellow of the Institute of Corporate

Administration (Nigeria), the Institute of Financial

Consultants, (USA), the Institute of Cost and Management

Accountants (Nigeria), and Senior Fellow at the Institute of

Internal Auditors (Nigeria). He is a Certified Financial

Consultant and Chartered Business Administrator. He is a

member of the Chartered Association of Business

Administrators (Canada) as well as an associate member of

the Nigeria Institute of Management. He is also an affiliate

member of the Association of International Accountants (UK) and a member of the Chartered Institute

of Public Relations (UK).

,

Eberechukwu Uneze, Ph.D., Executive Director, Centre for the Study of

the Economies of Africa Dr. Eberechukwu Uneze is the Executive Director of the

Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, an

independent policy think tank based in Abuja, Nigeria. He

also leads the Centre’s Public Financial Management and

Governance Research Program. Dr. Uneze’s research

interests cut across public economics and policy analysis,

development economics, results-based public financial

management, and outcome and impact evaluation. He has

over 10 years of research experience in development

finance and public policy, and is the author of more than

25 articles and other publications.

Samuel Mwita Wangwe, Ph.D., Executive Director, REPOA

Dr. Samuel Wangwe is Executive Director of REPOA, an

independent research institution in Dar-es-Salaam.

Previously, he was the policy advisor on public service

reforms to the Office of the President of Tanzania, a post he

took after eight years as Executive Director of the Economic

and Social Research Foundation (ESRF). He has 40-years of

experience as a policy and economic advisor. He has been

involved in the publication of 13 books on development and

economic management, and over 70 published articles in

journals and edited books. He holds a bachelor’s degree in

Economics and Statistics, a Master’s degree in Economics,

and a doctorate in Economics from the University of Dar es

Salaam, and has also worked as Head of the Department of

Economics as well as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social

Sciences at the same. During a three-year leave of absence,

he was senior research fellow at the Institute for New

Technologies of the United Nations University in Maastricht, The Netherlands.