Abdoulaye Sene
Co-President of the International steering committee
9th World Water Forum
Abdoulaye Sene is the Co-President of the International steering committee, and an African pioneer and leader on environment assessment. He is a sociologist, lecturer, and consultant. He has been involved in several environmental and social assessments and management (ESAM) projects development in Central and West Africa.
Simon Zbinden
Head of Global Programme Water
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Simon has been working at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation for more than 5 years, holding various positions. He is currently the Head of Global Program Water. Simon has a master’s degree in Economic Resources from Cornell University.
Mina Guli
Australian businesswomen, active in the environmental sector
Thirst
Mina was born in Mount Waverly, a suburb of Melbourne. She attended secondary school at Presbyterian Ladies’ College and went on to attain a Law degree and Bachelor of Science at Monash University and a Masters in Law in 1999 from The University of Melbourne. In 1993 Guli was elected as president of the Monash University Student Union.
Dr Danilo Turk
Former President of Slovenia
Danilo Türk is former President of Slovenia. He was elected by popular vote as the third President of Slovenia for the term 2007-2012. Prior to his term as President, Danilo Türk was a professor of international law, an expert on human rights, a diplomat, and United Nations’ Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs.
Sarah Dousse
Executive Director
International Secretariat for Water
A socioeconomist by training with a solid understanding of international development, particularly in the water and sanitation sector, her natural curiosity and desire for a challenge led her to work and study abroad. She has worked for local NGOs and for the water division of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Dr. Canisius Kanangire
Executive Secretary
The African Ministers’ Council of Water (AMCOW)
Before joining the African Minister’s Council of Water (AMCOW), Secretariat in Abuja, he was the Executive Secretary of Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), an inter-governmental institution under East African Community (EAC), mandated to promote sustainable development and poverty eradication in the Lake Victoria Basin.
Shanna McClain
Global Partnerships Manager and Resilience Advisor
NASA, Earth Sciences Division
Dr. Shanna N. McClain serves a dual role as Manager of the Earth Sciences Division Global Partnerships, while also advising the Applied Sciences Program on risk reduction & resilience. Her work involves defining NASA’s role in resilience through the development of EO-focused approaches in fragile and crisis-affected areas and identifying strategic partnerships that can improve linkages between science and policy.
Thierry Vatin
General director
Water agency of Artois Picardie
Mr. Thierry VATIN is an architect and a state urbanist, appointed General Director of the Artois-Picardie Water Agency. He has built part of his professional career in several Departmental Equipment Directorates.
Lindsey Aldaco-Manner
President
World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW)
Lindsey is an ambitious water resources policy analyst experienced in analyzing water resource management policies and systems to provide recommendations for improvements. She has a High capacity for organization and program support, with demonstrated abilities in publishing scientific research and advocacy work.
François Münger
General Director
Geneva Water Hub
François Münger holds master’s degrees in mineralogy and geophysics (Univ. of Lausanne), hydrology (Univ. of Neuchâtel), and environmental engineering (EPFL). After heading SDC’s Global Water Program for the past eight years, François was awarded the title of Swiss Special Envoy for Water and given responsibility for the creation and development of the Geneva Water Hub.
Hasmik Barseghyan
President
European Youth Parliament for Water (EYPW)
Hasmik is a young professional in renewable energy and environmental management fields. Since her election as president of the European Youth Parliament for Water (EYPW) in November 2019, she has committed to supporting young water leaders to pursue their concrete local actions by reinforcing their capacities and mobilizing the network of future environmental leaders for common water issues at the European scale and beyond.
Josh Newton, PhD
Independent consultant on global water political processes, governance and stakeholder engagement
For over 15 years, Dr. Josh Newton has passionately followed his interest in all things water, becoming an accomplished professional and recognized thought leader in global water political processes, governance and stakeholder engagement.
Dr. Paul Orengoh
Director of Programs
African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)
Dr. Paul Orengoh plays a critical role in setting and executing Africa’s water and sanitation sector agenda as the technical figurehead within the African Union framework which recognizes AMCOW as the continent’s premier water and sanitation body under the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment.
Anna Huber
Specialist, Water and Environmental Resilience
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Anna Huber’s (MA, ’18) greatest passion is water. She is now working for the Global Water Initiative of the World Economic Forum. Anna’s passion was sparked at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom during her undergraduate studies.
Karen Kun
President and Founder
Waterlution
Karen Kun is the Founder and President of Waterlution, and co-founder of Greatness – The Great Lakes Project. As a woman, mother, entrepreneur, risk-taker, mentor, and Waterlution’s leader, Karen proudly supports youth. Growing the development of future global water leaders with the necessary tools to approach complex water issues has become a monumental aspect of Waterlution’s ongoing work and driver for change.
Kasha Sequoia Slavner
Film director
Closing ceremony
Kasha Sequoia Slavner is a Gen-Z, multi-award-winning first-time documentary filmmaker who comes to the profession as a seasoned photographer, entrepreneur and social justice advocate for over a decade.