Arezo Kohistany is the founder of Private Sector Humanitarian Alliance (PSHA). She is an Investment Officer at the World Bank Group and, while on external assignment, helped set up the PSHA as a Fellow at Schmidt Futures and operationalized it at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Arezo holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Vaeme Afokpa is a passionate social impact problem solver, who has worked across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. She leads the International Chamber of Commerce’s external engagement in the US in an effort to strengthen multilateralism and advance impactful partnerships. Vaeme is American and Togolese. She holds a BA from Stanford University and an MPA from Sciences Po, Paris. She sits on the Board of World Faith, a non-profit with the mission to end religious violence.
Pamela Alexander is responsible for leading KKR’s strategic philanthropy, employee engagement, and other citizenship efforts globally. She was previously director of community development at Ford Motor Company Fund. Beyond PSHA, Pamela has served on the Board of Directors for several non-profit organizations, including the Grammy Museum Foundation, the NAACP Foundation, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Congressional Award Foundation and the Provost’s Advisory Committee for the University of Michigan.
David leads Flexport’s impact team, overseeing its humanitarian relief operations and programs, global partnerships, and growth strategy. Overseeing a wide range of programs including their Fund and Product Donations, David also empowers commercial clients to mobilize during disaster responses and fill the gap in humanitarian needs. David has been at Flexport for 9 years, leading operations and account management teams across the company and working with a wide range of commercial and nonprofit shippers. Prior to joining the logistics industry, he worked with nonprofit international development and refugee organizations.
Elodie Bousquel has two decades of international business experience, with a strong focus on bridging the private sector with governmental and non-governmental organizations. Her expertise lies in developing and executing strategies that mobilize private sector assets for humanitarian impact. Experience with cross-border strategic consulting, product management, and marketing services positions Elodie to help PSHA develop key frameworks, the tech platform, and branding.
Lisa leads Vodafone Foundation’s mission to deploy connectivity and technology for sustainable benefits supporting vulnerable communities worldwide—expertise that aligns closely with PSHA’s humanitarian goals. Previously, Lisa led Vodafone’s COVID response, directing over €150m to reach 100 million people, and as Head of Consumer Policy, she advanced global internet safety and launched initiatives like Instant Schools for Africa, impacting 1.7 million users. With over 20 years in law and policy, Lisa’s insights are invaluable to our efforts in leveraging tech for resilient crisis response efforts.
As Global Head of External Affairs and Strategic Relations, Charlotte is responsible for building strategic partnerships,international collaborations, and creating curated moments to elevate the impact of ‘doing well by doing good’ and responsible business. Prior to ServiceNow, Charlotte led Global Strategic Relations at Salesforce and worked in senior management roles focusing on customer success and business transformation in the telecommunications industry at Verizon and Worldcom.
Allison Neale has over 25 years of experience in global health, corporate, social responsibility, and human rights. She leads Henry Schein’s public policy and global health initiatives, partnering with government bodies, industry groups, and international organizations. Allison plays a key role in several global health initiatives, including the Private Sector Roundtable on Global Health Security, the Pandemic Supply Chain Network, and various collaborations with the World Health Organization and World Economic Forum. Prior to joining Henry Schein in 2008, she held leadership roles at Global Health Strategies, the United Nations, and Physicians for Human Rights.
Elizabeth Petheo is a Senior Principal at Miyamoto International, a structural engineering firm, where she leads global strategy and partnerships with a focus on resilient infrastructure and humanitarian efforts. Since joining Miyamoto in 2017, she has played a pivotal role in expanding international development and disaster risk reduction programs across various regions and spearheaded the opening of the Washington, D.C. office. Her expertise supports PSHA localization and sustainability efforts.
David Young leads BCG’s total societal impact and sustainability efforts globally and is a BCG Henderson Institute Fellow. With extensive experience in both the private and public sectors, he works closely with the Social Impact practice to drive meaningful change. David returned to BCG in 2016 after serving as Chief Operating Officer at World Vision International, where he oversaw global field operations, emergency response, and microfinance programs. David has held leadership roles at BCG, including managing director of the Seoul and Boston offices.
Segilola joined Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in 2019 as a consultant and now serves as a Senior Advisor on the Sponsored Projects and Funds team. She manages projects, grants, and knowledge for digital finance and economic inclusion initiatives. Before joining RPA full-time in 2020, she led workstreams in Nigeria and supported RPA’s work across the Africa continent. Previously, she worked at Accenture’s Development Partnerships and Schlumberger as a value and risk consultant. Segilola holds degrees in Electrical Engineering, Mobile and Satellite Communications, and an MBA. She is passionate about economic empowerment, climate change, and girls’ education.
Thomas Debass serves as Managing Director of the Office of Global Partnerships (GP) at the U.S. Department of State. Thomas is responsible for coordinating the Department’s private sector engagement efforts and providing thought leadership on partnerships related to economic growth, global finance, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Thomas has played a leading role in promoting and institutionalizing the role of public-private partnerships as a tool for advancing foreign policy and development objectives. He regularly gives lectures and talks about the intersection of policy, business, and society. Prior to joining the State Department, he was Lead Economist/Deputy Director in the Office of Investment Policy with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Thomas is a 2020 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals Finalist and a recipient of the 2016 D&DA Wood Pencil Award for Innovative Use of Mobile Technology.
Kareem Elbayar is the Program Coordinator for the OCHA-UNDP Connecting Business initiative. With a background in law and extensive experience in strategic partnerships, he has worked to drive impactful collaborations. Previously, he served as a Partnerships Manager at OCHA’s Centre for Humanitarian Data and as a Technology Partnerships Adviser, managing relationships with major tech firms. Kareem also served as a Program Manager for UNOPS in Iraq, overseeing $25 million in humanitarian projects. He holds a Juris Doctor and a Master’s in International Affairs from George Washington University.
Within the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, Paul leads efforts in promoting market-based solutions and integrating the private sector across all aspects of humanitarian assistance. He has recently served within the Afghanistan Complex Emergency Response team. Earlier, Paul has held roles as an Environment Officer, Mission Disaster Relief Officer, and General Development and Contracting/Agreement Officer in the Philippines, Pacific Islands, India, and Thailand, where he established locally-led public-private alliances in WASH, education, and disaster risk reduction.
Helen Zhang works on venture philanthropy at Schmidt Futures and is the co-founder of Intrigue Media. Intrigue produces expert but irreverent briefings on global affairs issues at the intersection of geopolitics, tech, and business. Helen is a 2020 Fulbright Scholar and Master in Public Administration graduate from the Harvard Kennedy School, where she specialized in geo-tech policies. She’s an ex-Googler, experienced diplomat, negotiator, Mandarin interpreter, attorney, and public speaker.
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