Through her various endeavors, Kim Samuel-Johnson displays a passion for and dedication to creating positive, sustainable social change. She is specifically committed to eradicating poverty by building capacity at the community level, making education a basic human right for all the world's children, empowering the family as the core societal unit for stability and development, and pursuing environmental sustainability as an integral human value. Ms. Samuel-Johnson is Director of The Samuel Group of Companies, which consists of a network of companies engaged in the processing, manufacturing and distribution of steel and other metals.

Dr. Abdul Waheed Khan, who currently occupies the position of President of the Talal Abu Ghazaleh Business University and Senior Advisor at the Arab Open University, was formerly Assistant Director General for Communication and Information at UNESCO, Paris from July 2001 to June 2010. Before joining UNESCO, Dr. Khan worked as Vice Chancellor (President and CEO) of the Indira Gandhi National Open University from 1998 to 2000. His journey from a remote Indian village to high-level positions in academia, international development, media and diplomacy is an exciting story of a self-made man, a visionary, an institution builder and a dynamic leader.

Brodie Boland has been actively working with AIESEC – a youth-driven organization operating in over 90 countries dedicated to leadership development. He is a member of the Supervisory Group of AIESEC International, and has served on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta, and the Advisory Council of the Business as an Agent of World Benefit Global Forum.

Daneal’s clients call her the 'Reframing Maven'. You want her in your corner when you need fresh ways to attract, develop, and keep the best young leaders. Daneal is a dedicated mentor and teacher for several youth-driven organizations. She is the author of "Hitting Stryde: A Gen Y Career Survival Guide“, a practical guide to helping young leaders make a bigger contribution in their early career. Most recently Daneal was the keynote speaker on Managing Generation Y at the 2011 Orion Summit and was featured in the Globe & Mail “Mentor Minute”, Metro News and the Canadian Learning Journal.

In 1996, Dr. Idit (Harel) Caperton founded MaMaMedia, a top-rated children's educational online media company. She was also a leader in developing federally mandated online safety and privacy policies for children. She received an MA from the Harvard School of Education, and a Phd at the MIT Media Lab.

Pip Coburn founded Coburn Ventures, an organization that puts its knowledge about "change" to work in the realm of technology, telecom, and media investing. Prior to founding Coburn Ventures, Coburn was a Managing Director and the global technology strategist in the technology group of UBS Investment Research, where he was responsible for integrating the research efforts of 120 technology and telecom analysts worldwide. In addition to writing over 300 weekly reports about technology investing, in 2004 and 2005 he released two long-term think-pieces, The Nutcracker Suite and Sour and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Changing Galaxy.

Luis Davila is the Enhancing the Field Director at the Environmental Grantmakers Association. He is responsible for leading efforts to expand and encourage sustainable and inclusive practices throughout philanthropy, encourage asset movement strategies among foundations and facilitate collaboration with other sectors outside of environmental philanthropy.

Previously, Luis was the Hispanic Initiative Director at Junior Achievement of New York and Associate Director at the Global Youth Action Network and has also worked with the regional government of Nuevo Leon in Mexico, the National Assembly of Wales, the Open Society Institute (OSI), and UN agencies such as the UNDP Regional Center in Bangkok and UNDP Guyana.

John has thirty years of experience building successful technology companies. He began his career as a Systems Engineer for EDS (Electronic Data Systems) and then held sales management positions at various high tech companies including Oracle Corporation. During the past 15 years, John has served as President and Chief Executive Officer for Hyperion Solutions and CEO for Salesforce.com. From 2002, John served as CEO for Navis, LLC, a private company, specializing in software systems for operating large Marine Container Terminals and distribution centers.

John holds a B.S. in engineering from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from Golden Gate University. He served on active duty in the nuclear submarine service for five years before beginning his civilian career.

As a teacher, Principal, educational software developer, college lecturer, Bruce's focus over the past three decades, has been on driving reform initiatives that significantly improve the opportunities for learning through the use of technology.

In 1987 he co-founded an educational technology company, Computelec, which oversaw the establishment and growth of 1 to 1 programs in more than 80 schools across Australia, before moving to consulting and pro-bono work, most recently with the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation.

Since 1995 he has worked extensively in North America, and was in part responsible for developing the 1 to 1 program there, through the Anytime Anywhere Learning initiative. He consults to schools, School Districts, Education Departments, Ministries of Education and corporations in the US, Australia, Canada, Germany, UK and New Zealand, and has been invited to speak in Korea, Thailand, Italy, South Africa, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, Japan as well as Australia and several North American states.

Jason Ryan Dorsey is a bestselling author, acclaimed speaker, and award-winning entrepreneur. Often referred to as the “Gen Y Guy,” Jason non-traditional path began at age 16 and has been featured on 60 Minutes, NBC’s Today Show, and in The Wall Street Journal and Fortune Magazine. Jason’s keynotes and trainings have impacted diverse audiences across the United States and as far away as Egypt, Finland, Spain, and India.

His bestselling books “50 Ways to Improve Schools for Under $50,” “My Reality Check Bounced!” and “Graduate to Your Perfect Job” have sold over 250,000 copies and are required reading in 1,650 schools, colleges, and workforce programs. In recognition of Jason’s business achievements, he won the Austin Under 40 Entrepreneur of the Year Award at age 25—one of the youngest winners ever.

Eman Ebed is a Comparative Politics master's student at the London School of Economics & Political Science, having graduated with Honours from Queen's University. For 2 years, she was TakingITGlobal's Middle East & North Africa Regional Coordinator, leading WSIS Campaigns in Jordan and Egypt as well as coordinating the Arabic Translation team, and following an internship with the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Leah has a wide variety of interests that have driven her to live for three years in South Korea where she taught Kindergarten; and to complete her Hatha Yoga Teachers Training in India. She spent a year solo-backpacking throughout South East Asia indulging in the diverse languages, cultures and cuisines. Highlights include; enjoying family stays in Mongolia, learning to surf in Australia, snorkeling in Egypt, and learning American Sign Language, among other languages. Leah completed an honours BSc. in Biological Anthropology and more recently a graduate degree in Fundraising and Volunteer Management at Humber College. She is eager to start working in the sector, engaging children and youth in philanthropy and voluntarism. She is inspired by cultural diversity and passionate about leadership and wellbeing.

Robert Guerra is a leading privacy advocate based in Toronto, Canada. Privaterra assists human rights groups from South America to South Africa improve data privacy and security. He is active within the international electronic privacy community, sitting on the board of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR). He has also been actively involved in the process of the UN World Summit on the Information Society.

John B. Horrigan studies the online behavior of broadband internet users and consumers of other leading edge information technology. He also leads Pew’s research on the internet's impact on people’s social networks and news gathering habits. He has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars, including appearances at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Economic Forum, the Associated Press Broadcast Advisory Board, and the Federal Communications Commission. Horrigan received his Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Texas at Austin and his B.A. in government and economics from the University of Virginia.

Virtual

Polly LaBarre is currently working on a major book, Mavericks at Work, that will be published by William Morrow. The book will chronicle new maverick companies, leaders and initiatives that represent a remarkable force for growth and innovation in business today. She is the former senior editor of Fast Company magazine, and remains a contributing writer. She is a sought-after speaker, moderator, and commentator, known for spirited presentations that spark new ideas, inspire, and entertain.

Anne is President and CEO of Career Edge Organization, a not for profit social enterprise providing high quality paid internships through employer host organizations to improve employability and help launch careers for recent graduates, graduates with disabilities and internationally qualified professionals. Anne has extensive experience in areas of public and financial sector policy, involving advocacy and community engagement with the private, public and the not-for-profit sectors, and interaction with all three levels of government, federal, provincial and municipal. Her professional career includes over 25 years experience with RBC Financial Group, and at the time of her retirement in 2005 she was Vice President, Policy & Regulatory Affairs. Her experience also includes seven years in financial sector policy development with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. Anne holds BA (Mathematics & Psychology) and BEd degrees from Queen’s University, and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.

Rex previously headed up the Collaboration Services group within Bell Canada which had a mandate to 1) Deliver best-practices in facilitated events, facilities, processes and methodologies, 2) Enable mass collaboration through next-generation collaborative technology such as social computing/networking and 3) develop strategic programs that reinforce/enhance a collaborative culture across Bell Canada.

Having been with Bell since 1998, Rex has held various positions in the areas of IT strategy, innovation & business intelligence (BI). Rex holds an MBA from the Degroote School of Business at McMaster University and has spoken at various international conferences on the topics of BI & innovation.

Bremley was born in Shillong, North East India, and left home at seventeen on a mission: to see sustainable development pushed and practiced across the planet. In 1992 his experience at the Rio Earth Summit left him convinced that helping people build a better life through social, environmental, and economic development was what he wanted to do. He returned to India to joined the Consortium of Indian Scientists for Sustainable Development and worked on a project to combat decertification and to regenerate the desert ecosystem in Rajasthan. Soon followed the prestigious WWF Prince Berhnard Scholarship for Environmental Leadership. Bremley then joined UNDP and worked on the Gulf of Mannar biodiversity protection project in Tamil Nadu. This led to a move to New York to join the UN Commission on Sustainable Development Secretariat where he worked with the different major groups of Agenda 21. His Prime Minister in India then asked him to be Youth Representative for the country at the historic UN Millennium Summit, where he addressed world leaders at the 2000 Millennium Assembly. He then joined the Environment Department of the World Bank and worked on linking poverty reduction and environmental management by analyzing policy challenges and opportunities. Later he worked as Program Manager at the Education Development Center in Boston developing and managing projects for the 75 country network of the Youth Employment Summit Campaign. Bremley received post graduate degrees from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and the Development Studies Institute at the London School of Economics. He is the Founder and CEO of Worldview Impact, the Co-founder of the Global Youth Action Network and sits on the Board of Directors for PCI Media Impact and the Humanitad Foundation.

Stuart MacDonald was Founder of Expedia Canada and had grown that business into both the most successful online travel company in Canada and the most successful local Expedia unit in the world. Currently, he is Senior Vice President, Marketing, Packages and Canada, and Chief Marketing Officer, Expedia Inc. With years of experience in the travel industry and a diverse background in other areas, he has had the opportunity to mix business with his passion for travel and develop his ability to inspire and mentor talent.

Todd Murray is the Founder and President of Hope’s Voice. After being diagnosed with HIV at the age of 20, Todd could not identify with mainstream media’s portrayal of people living with HIV or AIDS. He did not see himself, and was unable to find a sense of peace, hope or community. He began to understand why, before his diagnosis, he felt disconnected from HIV and AIDS–he was unable to relate so he never listened. Todd, refusing to live in fear or be stigmatized, decided to speak out about his status in the hope that other young people would listen and identify. It was at this point he took an active role in the world of HIV and AIDS, and through his own experiences, in 2004 the vision for Hope’s Voice was born.

Since founding the organization, Todd has become an advocate, leader, and innovator in the field of HIV and AIDS. Todd, along with Hope’s Voice’s ambassadors and speakers, have provided education to hundreds of schools and communities. He has been a leading advocate around the world, by representing his organization to governments, communities, and by speaking at international conferences. Todd provides his professional recommendations for implementing and improving programs by consulting for non-profit organizations, international media outlets and community organizations.

Todd is the creator and Executive Producer of the DOES HIV LOOK LIKE ME? campaigns. These personal and powerful video and print campaigns have been produced in Mexico, South Africa, Swaziland and the United States. The DOES HIV LOOK LIKE ME? campaign. Hope’s Voice has been featured on MTV, POZ, HIVPlus Magazine, The Advocate, San Francisco Chronicle, Gay.com, Planetout.com, BlackPlanet.com and People magazine, to name a few.

Hope’s Voice and it’s speakers have been featured in the media on over fifty occasions and Todd has been awarded an Emmy for his work with the DOES HIV LOOK LIKE ME? campaign, was named People magazine’s “Heroes Among Us,” was acknowledged as one of HIV Plus Magazine’s top ten “Most Admired HIVers” and was just named HIVPlus Magazine’s top ten “LQBT’s HIV Advocates.”

Todd is committed to continuing his work with Hope’s Voice. He continues to create campaigns and messages that inspire, empower, and challenge. He leaves his audience with a lasting impression of HIV’s effect on daily life, and reminds us all what hope sounds like.

Todd is a testament to the fact that one person truly can make a difference.

Nick currently leads web & grassroots organising for Greenpeace in Australia and the Pacific. He has previously been Online & Outreach Director with GetUp.org.au, a groundbreaking Australian internet-based campaigning organisation with 200,000 members, and worked with Amnesty International in London, where he was responsible for global youth strategy. This followed 3 years with TakingITGlobal in Toronto and New York. Nick was Facilitator of the Youth Caucus of the UN World Summit on the Information Society Phase 1, and is author of "Cyberscene" (Penguin Books, 1999).

Alberto Nardelli is the Social Network Manager at UnLtd – the foundation for social entrepreneurs, where he develops and manages their social networking strategy. He previously acted as Special Projects Coordinator at TakingITGlobal, managing partnerships and collaborative initiatives with UN agencies, international organisations and the private sector, especially around creative expression. He also facilitated communications for the Youth Caucus of the UN World Summit on the Information Society, has advised numerous companies, start-ups and organizations and has spoken at a dozen international conferences about social networking and ICT4D.

Anurag Nigam has a diverse background in both non-profit and for profit sectors. He has been a serial entrepreneur with 5 startups in 10 years and recently he started and is CEO of BuzzBox.com. He is an angel investor in over 30 early technology companies in the last 5 years and the Vice President of the Sand Hill Angels. Anurag is also on the board of the Zero Divide Foundation and Friends of the Urban Forest. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.

Darryl Peck’s philanthropic work over the past 25 years has taken him across Canada and into the United States, northeastern China, northern North Korea, Europe and South Africa. As a senior professional and volunteer he has helped establish a number of national NGO’s including the Change Canada Charitable Foundation. He continues to work with organizations helping them achieve dramatic and rapid results building sustainable and vibrant philanthropic programs. He has also served as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves where he experienced the thrill of jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft in the middle of the night. His has a passion for canoeing, skiing and photography. His writing and photography have appeared in numerous publications.

Pat Poitevin is a 25 year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and is currently in charge of the Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Service in the Ottawa region. He has been involved in crime prevention, youth mobilization and IT initiatives for over 12 years and has received a National Merit award for his work and efforts in getting young people to take an active role in preventing crime and victimization. Working with TIG since 2001, Pat is providing assistance in getting TIG to take a leadership role in getting youth involve in crime prevention.

Jocelyn Sweet has an Honors Journalism degree from Ryerson University in Toronto, and is currently a Master's candidate at the University of Ottawa. Her experience includes training journalists in the developing world, audio editing at a Toronto radio station, facilitating leadership training, public relations, motivational speaking and international event coordination.

Yat Siu founded Outblaze, the first company to recognize and anticipate the massive market demand for community-oriented portal services and solutions. Prior to that, he established Hong Kong Cybercity (later renamed Freenation), the first free web page and e-mail provider in Asia, after moving to Hong Kong in 1996 – which quickly grew to more than 350,000 He holds a degree in music from the Musik Konservatorium Wien and was nominated a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum.

Terri Willard has worked as a Project Manager at the International Institute for Sustainable Development in Winnipeg, Canada since August 1996. Her primary areas of activity have included communications and knowledge networks for sustainable development, engaging young people in Information and Communications for Development (ICT4D), and researching the links between the information society and sustainable development.

Jonah Wittkamper is an entrepreneur and developer of social networks. For nearly 15 years, he has spearheaded a number of technology enabled initiatives and solutions aimed at youth. Jonah's reputation as a thought leader in the field of youth organizing has enabled him to also launch several new international organizations including WorldTrek, Pioneers of Change and Global Youth Connect. In 2000 he co-founded the Global Youth Action Network, GYAN, to advance youth participation in global decision-making and to develop international campaigns that promote youth engagement. Jonah speaks three languages and has facilitated workshops or spoken at more than 100 international conferences.

Dr. Kirsty Duncan is an Associate Professor, Health Studies, at the University of Toronto, and the former Research Director, AIC Institute of Corporate Citizenship, Rotman School of Management; she is also an Adjunct Professor at Royal Roads University. She is an international speaker, who has lectured for such organizations as National Geographic (United States of America), the Japanese Government, and the Young Presidents Organization (Portugal). She currently sits on the Advisory Board for Pandemic Flu for the Conference Board of Canada, the University of Toronto, and is also helping organizations prepare throughout the United States.

Yara Ghossein is an independent public health professional with over ten years' experience. She has worked as a consultant in academic, non-profit, and private settings. Her areas of focus are HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and adolescent development. For the last several years, she has been a consultant for UNICEF, providing technical and strategic inputs for UNICEF’s global programming agenda on HIV prevention for young people. Before becoming a consultant, she worked on a CDC-supported HIV-prevention evaluation project in New York, and for International Medical Corps in Kosovo, where she oversaw programming in nine youth centers serving approximately 8,000 youth daily. She earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Dr. Cameron Norman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto and the Director of Evaluation for the Peter A. Silverman Global eLearning Program. He is also principal investigator with Youth Voices Research. Dr. Norman’s research focuses on public engagement and community development for health using information technology. Over the past year, food security and related social issues have become key areas of focus in Dr. Norman's work. In particular Dr. Norman is the lead investigator of a collaboration with the Royal Winter Fair and the Gloal eHealth Innovation Network, using multimedia to engage youth in dialogue about issues of food, agriculture and the environment.

Dr. Dirk Matten is Full Professor and holds the Hewlett-Packard Chair in Corporate Social Responsibility and is a Professor of Policy at the Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto. Dirk has taught and done research at academic institutions in Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy and the US. He has published widely in the area of CSR, his latest book ‘The A to Z of CSR’ has just been published and is the first complete reference guide for CSR practitioners in business, NGOs and government.

Alana Tiemessen is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada). Her research and teaching focuses on genocide, human security, and transitional justice in post-conflict societies. Alana’s doctoral dissertation addresses both local and international mechanisms of accountability for genocide and crimes against humanity committed in Rwanda, East Timor and Cambodia. She received a doctoral dissertation fellowship from the Canadian Consortium on Human Security (CCHS). This funding enabled her to conduct field research in Rwanda on the local Gacaca courts, which seek to hold perpetrators of genocide accountable in their communities.

Dr. Parissa Safai is an Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science, Faculty of Health, at York University. Her broad research interests include the socio-cultural study of sport at the intersection or risk, health and healthcare. This includes researching the negotiation of treatment between athletes and clinicians, investigating the social
organization of sport medicine, and understanding the ways in which the material conditions of life (also referred to as the social determinants of health) impact athletes’ health and well-being.

http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/gradprofiles/profiles_psafai.asp

Mila joined the GYCA Advisory Council in 2009.

Joya Banerjee is pursuing a Masters in Health Sciences at the Harvard School of Public Health. She is the Co-Founder of the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA), a youth-led global network of over 4,000 young people working to end the spread of HIV in 150 countries. GYCA empowers young leaders with the knowledge, skills, opportunities and resources they need to enact change in their communities. Joya received her BA in Political Science and Human Rights from Barnard College of Columbia University, where she wrote a thesis on the feminization of HIV in India. She worked at UNFPA on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, bringing talented young leaders to advocate at the UN and developing a paid fellowship for young people from developing countries. As an intern at Amnesty International for two years, Joya helped write legislation for New York City on gender and race discrimination and lobbied on Capitol Hill for the passage of the International Women's Treaty. Joya is currently working on an urban health research study in an illegal slum settlement in Mumbai, India, on child health and immunization status.

Caitlin joined the GYCA Advisory Council in 2009.

Emily Davila is a co-founder of GYCA and formerly the Assistant Director of the Lutheran Office for World Community at the UN in New York. She has led coalitions and advocacy efforts for international youth participation, women's rights and HIV and AIDS. She served as chair of Ecumenical Women, a coalition of 16 international Christian organizations, where she launched a blog and trained more than 500 women in human rights advocacy. She has organized youth peace conferences in Rwanda, Kenya and the Gambia. She holds a M.S. in Strategic Communications from Columbia University. Emily currently lives in Bonn, Germany where she is a freelance writer, blogger and consultant.

Lia joined the GYCA Advisory Council in 2009.

Janet joined the GYCA Advisory Council in 2009.

Violeta joined the GYCA Advisory Council in 2009.

Himakshi Piplani

Abhiroop Jayanthi, 24, is from the city of Hyderabad, India. Having studied in Delhi, now living in Mumbai and with considerable work-related travel experience, across India and around the world, he is fortunate to experience and learn from the rich diversity of humanity around the world.

Rahinatu Sulugu Abubakar (Chenty), 25, born and raised in Ghana, is full of energy and enthusiasm to work for good results. Having undergone a 4-year direct successive training in Integrated Development Studies from the University for Development Studies in Ghana, the activities she carries out mainly centered on community development. Chenty's fields of interest are environment and health and specifically; water management, environmental health and waste management. Her career goal is to become a waste management specialist.

Gigih Rezki Septianto, 20, from Indonesia has an enthusiasm in web development and voluntary activities, which has led him into a deep mix between Information Technology and Social Initiatives. Majoring in Computer Engineering, initiating projects & business start up in web development & online movement consultancy, and bringing social campaign spirit in the local communities has been his daily routine. Gigih is head of IT & Creative Media in Indonesian Future Leaders, a youth-led NGO in Indonesia, which aims to empower youth to optimize their role as future change makers. He has also participated in several global conferences such as: Sunburst Youth Camp 2008, Singapore International Water Week 2008, International Conference of Young Scientist 2010, World Model United Nations 2011, among others.

Korey Anthony Chisholm, 23, a Guyanese native resident of the Caribbean, has aspirations to become a youth leader, advocate, and a role model for positive change. Korey sees himself as a global individual fully capable of forming solutions for various global issues. He renounces the title of a Third World individual. He is currently a National UN Volunteer – Community Youth Facilitator under the UNDP Enhanced Public Trust, Security and Inclusion. Korey is also a National Focal Point for Guyana on the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA), providing strategic information and Guidance in the region on HIV, community projects around Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights amongst young people, and the Founder & Chairperson of Diverse Youth Movement (DIYOME) working with young sexual minorities in Guyana.

Khoa Mai Hong, 20, from Vietnam, has been an active volunteer at RMIT University in Vietnam for three years. His major is in Business Information Systems, with a specialty in Business Analysis and Project Management. Khoa is keen on applying IS and IT not only in business, but also in solving daily problems and global issues. Involvements include teaching English to children living in poverty, providing care for children living with cancer, and equipping youth with essential skills to expand their employment opportunities. As part of MAC, Khoa plans to motivate Vietnamese youth to engage more in utilizing TIG as an effective tool to solve local and global issues.

Priya Verma, 18, from India, is an IT student in her final year. A topper (high academic achievement), accredited writer, journalist, artist, anchor, innovator scholar, environmentalist, space scientist, youth leader, social worker, role model and state, national and international award holder in the field of environment protection, social service and a changemaker. Priya is a member of many international organizations and working for the betterment of the world. Specific involvements include the online pilot project of IGGY, University of Warwick, and a member of their special user panel. She is also the founder and director of the NGO network cywe.org, working for the welfare for the child, women, youth, environment and global issues.

Qaisar Roonjha, 20, hails from Lasbela, Baluchistan, in the remote south-west region of Pakistan. He participates in both his local and global communities as a community activist (HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, sexual reproductive health rights and youth development), young trainer, Global Changemaker, journalist, filmmaker and photographer. Specifically, Qaisar manages a youth-led organization called Welfare Association for New Generation (WANG). Other affiliations include Y-PEER, Global Changemakers, Youth Parliament of Pakistan, World Population Foundation, UNFPA, and many others.

Ruthibelle Howard, 23, from Ghana is a graduate from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, with a first degree in Media and Communications and Spanish. She enjoys reading, writing poems, stories and songs, socialising, researching, and exploring the people and cultures of the world. Ruthibelle lives by a simple motto: 'You live, you learn, you grow' - which also summarizes how she approaches each day. Trying to learn as much as she can and to make as few mistakes as possible. Ruthibelle sees room for growth and improvement in many areas in her country, and as she grows and learns, she hopes to become the change she wants to see in her nation, region and world.

Shelby Levesque, 17, is from Ontario, Canada, and is a recent high school graduate. She will be attending McGill University next year for International Relations and Languages. Serving as a Student Trustee of her school board and as a member of the Ontario Student Trustees' Association, Shelby represented 22,000 students. She was also a member of Ontario's Ministry of Education's Student Advisory Council. Shelby is also participating in the summer cycle of TakingITGlobal's Sprout E-course, to work on implementing a project to collect surplus medical supplies for hospitals in developing countries.

At 19, Shobana Nair Saseedharan has a lot on her plate. In 2009, she had the honour of representing Malaysia at the 1st Microsoft Innovative Students’ Forum in KL, and later as a representative of the TakingITGlobal Online Community at the Youth Engagement Summit 2009 in KL. In 2010, Shobana’s schedule has not only included mentoring at the 2nd Microsoft Innovative Students’ Forum, but also speaking at the One Young World Summit in London on the topic of interfaith dialogue. She had also been invited to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative University Meeting.
When Shobana doesn’t have her elbows deep in activism work, she’s busy pursuing a degree in accountancy at Multimedia University in Cyberjaya. Currently, she is the Project Manager for Children Behind Us Malaysia and is also an elected Global Teen Leader by the We are Family Foundation