Tsegga Medhin
Tsegga Medhin (USA) is a humanitarian, an executive coach and an equity accelarator. She is an activist in the business of building a better world by advocating for social impact. With over 20 years of corporate leadership experience with Wells Fargo, IBM, and Credit Suisse, Tsegga is a speaker and a certified executive coach to affect individuals and organizations on leadership that is not only technical but adaptive, not only transactional but transformational. Tsegga Medhin is the President of UN WOMEN USA NC.
Mohamed Gabris
Mohamed Gabris (Lebanon) brings 7 years of experience in the humanitarian-gender-protection nexus while responding to the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon. His expertise includes programme quality assurance, mainstreaming gender, accountability, and different protection-related aspects; working with various NGOs and INGOs in Lebanon such as Action Against Hunger, the Norwegian Refugee Council and recently the ABAAD - Gender Resource Center. Since 2013, Mohamed has been working in the domains of personal and community development with Initiatives of Change.
Fadi George
Fadi George’s main vocation is to build bridges of peace among different groups and worlds. Fadi is interested in arts, peace, justice, and safe spaces. His Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership from Seattle University inspired him to work on the training of young leaders in Egypt who are interested in building a just and peaceful society. His long-term vision is to create safe spaces that allow a journey of authentic transformation within our organizations, societies and the world.
Yvonne Buchheim
Yvonne Buchheim (Germany) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator who returned to Germany in 2019 after twenty years abroad. Her art explores the body as a home, a concept challenged by the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness. Using biographical narrative and stop-motion film, she reflects on illness and healing intersecting with a pandemic. The resulting artworks are intimate testimonies of fragility and resistance, they visualise the paradoxical, absurd, and existential in life.
Olena Kashkarova
Olena Kashkarova is a Ukrainian mediator, facilitator, and trainer on non-violent communication. She has been based in Berlin, Germany, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in spring 2022. Having worked in the area of peace-building in different capacities for over a decade, she is now a Ukrainian activist, supporting hospitals in Ukraine and Ukrainian defenders with life-saving supplies.
Sarah Schofield
Sarah Schofield is Canadian and once more part of the Creative Leadership family this year. With a background in photo-journalism, she has enjoyed helping to tell the stories of others through her writing and photography. Currently returning to school to pursue her love of helping others through a nursing career, she hopes to be a positive influence to those she meets along her journey.
Dara Sabry
Dara Sabry currently works as an English teacher at an international school in Egypt. Dara was first introduced to Initiatives of Change in 2016 and found the experience an integral moment in her life. During her summer internship she met multiple individuals from all around the world. Together they shared their stories, listened to each other and bonded over similar (as well as different) experiences which caused the group to grow into an international family.
Mahek Ramchandani
Mahek Ramchandani is a Psychotherapist based in Pune, India. Her practice for the past 2 years has brought her closer to understanding human behaviour and the mind. She is also a certified yoga instructor and a meditation practitioner who works towards holistic well-being. Before beginning her professional journey she has volunteered with various rehabilitation centrers and clinics in Pune. This gave her a lens to observe and understand deep-rooted social and cultural issues. It also inculcated the love for art and self-work in her.