Aicha Abdoulaye is a survivor, an entrepreneur, a public speaker, and an advocate for survivors of human trafficking and forced marriages. She has been working with the Tahirih Justice Center since 2007. She was honored with the Courageous Voices Award in 2018, and has been a Client Ambassador since 2019, giving speeches, telling her story, and advocating for other survivors. She has recently completed her Google IT Support Professional Certificate and is in the process of setting up an online business selling African jewelry and accessories.

As a former Tahirih client Aicha continues to be an asset through her firsthand experience with the organization and navigating the legal and justice systems in the U.S.

Katherine (Kady) Ashley is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, specializing in M&A and general corporate and securities law. Kady advises public and private companies in sales, acquisitions, minority investments, hostile and friendly transactions, stock and asset transactions, proxy contests, auctions, joint ventures and other strategic transactions. Kady started at Skadden in 1996, following a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Ernest Torres on the Federal District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

Kady co-chairs Skadden’s Global Women’s Initiatives Committee and the DC office’s Hiring Committee. She also serves on the firm’s Ethics Committee and on the Washington, D.C. office’s Diversity Committee.

Kady has two daughters and resides in McLean, VA. She graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, JD; Duke University, BA

Dr. Neha S. Batool is a compassionate and dedicated Licensed Clinical Psychologist, specializing in trauma-informed care. She earned her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from the esteemed University of North Dakota in 2021. As the founder of Embracing Wholeness, LLC, her virtual private practice, Dr. Batool offers a range of services including psychotherapy, supervision, and diagnostic testing.

With a profound commitment to holistic healing, Dr. Batool’s clinical expertise is rooted in evidence-based modalities such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). Her therapeutic approach is deeply informed by a multicultural lens, integrating sociocultural, developmental, and contextual factors to address the diverse needs of her clients.

As a South Asian immigrant woman and a former Tahirih client, Dr. Batool brings a unique perspective to her work. Her passion for supporting and empowering women impacted by gender-based violence is evident in her research and clinical endeavors. Her dissertation project, “Mental Health Impact of Forced Marriages,” underscores her dedication to raising awareness of these critical issues and fostering healing within affected communities.

Through presentations and direct clinical interventions, Dr. Batool strives to amplify voices, challenge stigma, and promote resilience in the face of adversity. Committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for all, she invites individuals to embark on a journey of self-discovery and transformation at Embracing Wholeness, where healing begins.

Brigida Benitez has been an attorney for almost 30 years, focusing on complex litigation, internal investigations, and global anti-corruption matters. She has litigated cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the country, including the United States Supreme Court. She conducts internal investigations relating to financial fraud and corruption, employee misconduct, ethics, codes of conduct violations, accounting issues, whistleblower complaints, and sanctions procedures of the World Bank and other international financial institutions. Brigida is past president of the DC Bar, the largest unified bar in the country, with more than 100,000 members worldwide.

Brigida also has served as Chief of the Office of Institutional Integrity of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), heading the independent office responsible for investigating potential fraud and corruption in IDB-financed activities throughout Latin America, and implementing anti-corruption policies and procedures.

She has been recognized by Hispanic Business magazine as a “Woman of the Year” and by Latino Leaders magazine as one of the “25 Most Influential Hispanic Lawyers” in the U.S. Brigida also has been recognized by Super Lawyers for Litigation, by Best Lawyers in America for Employment Law, and by Global Investigations Review as one of the 2018 “Women in Investigations: One Hundred Investigation Specialists From Around the World.”

Brigida is fluent in Spanish and is a member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Education: Boston College Law School, J.D.; University of Florida, B.S.

Rwanda Campbell is the Pro Bono Manager at Arnold & Porter LLP in the Washington, DC office. She is responsible for overseeing, managing and helping to develop the firm’s pro bono initiatives and implement projects firm wide. Rwanda maintains a very active pro bono practice, providing extensive services in their pro bono immigration practice. In 2016, Rwanda was honored as the Tahirih Justice Center’s “Greater DC Pro Bono Attorney of the Year”. She has also provided pro bono services in the area of voter protection, and assisted at the DC Superior Court Landlord Tenant Resource Center. Rwanda is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and New York.

Prior to her role as Pro Bono Manager, Rwanda was a staff attorney in Arnold & Porter’s litigation department. She has extensive experience in electronic discovery, with specialization on the discovery phase of complex civil litigation such as antitrust and environmental litigation, as well as regulatory review in connection to governmental investigations.

Rwanda received her B.A. from York University and her J.D. from Howard University School of Law.

Maria A. Cestone is an attorney with Coughlin Midlige & Garland LLP in Morristown, New Jersey. She concentrates her legal practice in the areas of estate planning and administration (domestic and International), the counseling of fiduciaries regarding estate, trust and charitable administration issues, as well as the creation, implementation and taxation of businesses and succession plans. Her clients include individuals, corporations (for profit and not-for-profit) and fiduciaries.

Maria received her undergraduate degree in Economics and Political Science from Drew University, her law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law and her LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. Upon graduation from law school, she clerked for the Hon. David S. Cramp, J.S.C. Maria is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and before the U.S. Tax Court.

Maria serves as Secretary of the New Jersey State Bar Association Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, having previously served as Legislative Liaison/Assistant Secretary. She is a member of the Business Law Section, the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Planned Giving Advisory Council and the Bergen County Estate Planning Council. Maria is a prior member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Ethics Committee (District VB) and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), a worldwide professional association for advisors with clients having international interests. She is conversant in Spanish and co-counsels on transactions in many Spanish-speaking countries.

Maria lectures on topics such as Closely-Held Business, Domestic and International Estate Planning, Trust and Estate Administration, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Tax-Exempt and Charitable Entities, and Board Governance and Liability.

Maria became a member of the Board of Directors of the Tahirih Justice Center in 2014 and has served as Secretary of the Executive Board and co-Chair of the Expansion Council (and other subcommittees) in the years since.

Tara Hogan Charles is a Senior Director, Communications, Race Equity Programs & Partnerships Leader. Located in Washington, DC, Tara is responsible for providing strategic guidance to P&G and its portfolio of iconic brands on creating and implementing impactful race equity programs and partnerships.

Prior to joining the Communications team, Tara worked for 20 years in P&G’s Global Government Relations & Public Policy office and in the Legal Division. In these roles, Tara provided legal counsel and helped P&G navigate the legislative and public policy landscape covering a broad issue portfolio including intellectual property, brand protection, workforce, privacy and corporate citizenship.

Tara is currently a member of the Board of Directors of All In Together.

Tara received her B.A. in Political Science and German from Agnes Scott College, and her J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Andrew Connor is the Founding Director of Mango Group, a strategic HR consultancy and executive search firm through which he advises non-profit organizations, think tanks and firms across the policy analysis and political risk space.  Prior to launching his own business, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Japan Society, the premier organization connecting Japanese arts, culture, business, and society with audiences in New York and around the world, where he was responsible for leading key internal operations including HR, IT, building operations and revenue generating initiatives. Prior to that, Andrew served as CHRO for Eurasia Group and its subsidiary GZERO Media, where he worked for more than a decade. As a member of Eurasia Group’s leadership team and head of HR and Administration, Andrew held global responsibility for an employee population in 8 offices spanning 5 countries.

Andrew’s experience also includes work as vice president of an Asia-focused executive search and HR consulting firm, where he managed full-cycle recruiting projects for major multinational corporations doing business throughout the Asia-Pacific region. He began his career as Office Manager of Tahirih Justice Center 20 years ago. Andrew, who graduated summa cum laude from Hamilton College with a bachelor’s degree in Chinese language and Russian studies, speaks Mandarin Chinese and has spent time studying and working in Russia, China, Bangladesh, and the UK. He has also completed courses of study at SOAS University of London and the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing.

A linguist at heart and an avid reader and traveler, Andrew has visited 50 countries, including overland travel from Hanoi to London. Andrew, his wife and two children spend their time in central New Jersey by necessity and the Champlain Islands of Vermont by choice.

Sarah Iqbal is a Program Officer in the Gender Equity and Governance Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation where she makes grants related to Women’s Economic Empowerment.

Before joining the Hewlett Foundation, Sarah developed and managed the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law index examining the intersection between women’s economic activity and the legal environment. She also provided guidance to policymakers on women’s economic empowerment in areas such as employment and entrepreneurship.

Sarah completed her JD from UC Law San Francisco, her MA from Johns Hopkins, and her BA from UC Berkeley. She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jian Khodadad is the Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at SiriusXM. He is an experienced corporate development and strategic partnerships leader with significant background in deal negotiation, business case development, investments & acquisitions, post-deal implementation, corporate strategy, and marketing.

Jian received his bachelor degree in Economics from Lake Forest College and his MBA from Georgetown University.

Isaac serves on the investment team of TLG Capital, a leading alternative asset manager specializing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Isaac also serves on the Investment Committee of the firm’s $200m flagship fund series, the TLG Africa Growth Impact Fund. Isaac has more than a decade of investment management experience, beginning his career at Goldman Sachs in New York.

Outside of investing, Isaac is passionate about community building and poverty eradication, and co-founded Human.NYC, a homelessness research and advocacy organization. Isaac holds a Bachelors of Science (Honors) in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He and his wife live in London with their cat.

Shabnam Mogharabi is an entrepreneur, entertainment executive, and producer with more than 20 years of leadership experience in media and storytelling. With actor Rainn Wilson, Shabnam co-founded and ran as CEO SoulPancake, an inspiring entertainment studio that produced dozens of award-winning series, specials, and documentaries for television and social platforms. The company amassed 10M fans online and 1B+ video views on its content. The company was sold to social impact film studio Participant, where Shabnam served as an EVP.

Shabnam was named Entrepreneur of the Year by The Hustle in 2017 and SoulPancake was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Video Companies that same year. Prior to SoulPancake, Shabnam was an award-winning journalist and editor, having served as the youngest Editor-in-Chief at Hanley Wood Business Media. She has won numerous writing awards, including the Jesse H. Neal Award (the Pulitzer Prize of B2B journalism). She is a New York Times bestselling author with SoulPancake: Chew on Life’s Big Questions.

Shabnam currently works as a business and strategy consultant for media and entertainment startups and frequently keynotes national conferences and events speaking on the power of positive psychology, impact entertainment, and strategies of social storytelling. Shabnam is on the board of film crowdfunding startup Seed&Spark; is an industry advisor for USC Annenberg’s Media & Storytelling Program; and is on the board of directors of the national nonprofit Tahirih Justice Center. She is a Henry Crown Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Shabnam resides with her husband and son in Los Angeles.

Heidi Koester Oliveira is a senior sustainability and human rights leader with nearly two decades of experience driving business growth and societal benefit. As the global lead of Sustainability at Mars Pet Nutrition, Heidi focuses on the delivery, governance and evolution of the social & environmental sustainability strategy for the world’s largest pet food company – driving meaningful impacts for people, planet and pets through sustainable sourcing, circular packaging and climate action.

Previously, she was the Global Director of Social Impact at Mars, Incorporated – building human rights strategies in high-risk factory and agricultural origins, leading supplier sustainability engagement & compliance, and creating more gender equity and inclusion in global supply chains. She worked with procurement teams around the world to design and deploy efforts that improve respect for rights of vulnerable people across key extended agricultural supply chains, including industry-leading work on forced labor and child labor risks, along with new ways to unlock opportunities for women, foster impactful global partnerships and advocate for policy change.

Heidi spent more than eight years with The Coca-Cola Company, building program and policy efforts across human rights, youth and women’s economic empowerment, and smallholder farmer development. She also focused on the expansion of Project Last Mile, a ground-breaking initiative to enhance health delivery systems in 10 African countries. Additionally, Heidi worked in international development with the U.S. Peace Corps in rural Costa Rica for two years. She has volunteered to teach English as a Second Language for more than 12 years and began her career at National Geographic Adventure magazine.

Heidi holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University and earned a Master in Sustainable Development and Corporate Responsibility from Escuela Organización Industrial in Madrid, Spain. She’s a guest lecturer on business and human rights, including for George Washington University, Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University. While her roots are in Iowa, Heidi has lived in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Spain. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Jennifer Okwudili is a Deputy Director at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and leads a team focused on policy, advocacy, and communications for gender equality. In this role she focuses on the development and execution of overarching goals, strategies, and budgets for the team in addition to leading a discrete portfolio of supportive investments and special projects. She is passionate about reducing inequalities and working to accelerate progress and exploring innovative approaches toward achieving policy and finance goals.

Prior to this role, Jennifer worked for six years as a senior program officer at the Gates Foundation, leading a policy and advocacy portfolio on domestic education. Before joining the Gates Foundation, Jennifer served in numerous roles within the New York City Department of Education, and in D.C. Public Schools, where she worked in their Office of Teacher Effectiveness. She has worked as a policy researcher for several think tanks including the Center for an Urban Future and the Center for Social Justice. She is a proud alum of the Georgetown University Praxis Fellowship in Education; AmeriCorps: Jumpstart; and Education Pioneers, where she worked as a consultant with the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

Jennifer holds a B.S in International Politics from Georgetown University, and an M.A. in Politics and Education from Columbia University, where she studied the ways in which politics and education affect one another through systems of governance, institutions, ideologies and race.

Saphira Rameshfar currently serves as a Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, leading engagement on gender equality, climate justice and global governance. Saphira currently serves on the Executive Committee of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women to the United Nations in New York and serves as a Co-Chair of their Young Professionals program. 
 
Saphira has previously served as Chair of the Working Group on Girls to the UN, convener of the Faith and Feminism Working Group to the UN, on the Youth Steering Committee to the UN Department of Global Communication and has collaborated closely with UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF and the Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, as part of the Inter Agency Network on Youth Development and the Major Group on Children and Youth, to host the Youth ECOSOC Forum, Youth CSW and other civil society spaces at the United Nations. 
 
Ms. Rameshfar has worked for over a decade on projects aimed at the empowerment of young people in Australia as well as in communities throughout the Asia Pacific region and North and South America. She has worked at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in New York and for the Australian Federal Government in Canberra. Saphira is an executive leadership coach and certified mediator. 

Paul Salvaty is a litigation partner with more than 20 years of trial and appellate experience. He focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, antitrust and competition, and technology litigation matters. Paul has prosecuted and defended major companies and public agencies spanning many industries in both state and federal courts. He has experience as first chair trial counsel and has successfully represented clients in over $150 million in verdicts and settlements.

Paul is active in the Los Angeles and San Francisco legal communities. Paul currently serves on the board of directors for the Tahirih Justice Center, helping immigrant survivors escape gender-based violence. He previously served as president of the board of directors of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

Paul served as a law clerk for the Honorable Dickran Tevrizian and the Honorable Kim M. Wardlaw at the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He also was a judicial extern for the Honorable Richard Gadbois at the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Susanna has more than two decades of experience working in public policy and advising internal and external clients on policy engagement and social impact strategies in the US and internationally. In her current work, she is responsible for providing insights and analysis on policy issues and trends, facilitating the development of public policy positions, and providing counsel to business leadership on advocacy and engagement risks and opportunities. As part of this process, she works closely with a variety of policy stakeholders – including business leaders, advocates, and thought leaders—to understand the political and policy dynamics on a range of prominent policy issues, including workforce development, AI, climate and energy, and caregiving. Susanna is particularly passionate about issues that impact diversity and equity in the workplace and increasing women’s civic and political participation and representation.

Susanna received her BA in Government from Cornell University and her JD from the University of Maryland.

Jeffery A. Smisek currently serves as President of Flight Partners Capital, an investment firm he founded which invests in early stage companies. Mr. Smisek worked for twenty years in the airline business, serving as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of United Airlines Holdings Inc. during the final five years of his career in that business. He also held various roles at Continental Airlines, Inc. beginning in 1995, last serving as President and Chief Executive Officer until the company’s merger with United Airlines, Inc. Earlier in his career, Mr. Smisek was a partner at Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., a national law firm.

Mr. Smisek currently serves on the boards of directors of various private companies and on the board of Goose Capital, an investment firm where he previously served as Chairman and President. Mr. Smisek has an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Jessica Thomas is managing director of strategic initiatives and diversity, equity, and inclusion business partner at the Council on Foreign Relations. Based in New York, Thomas currently manages cross-functional initiatives that accelerate institutional priorities, and works to coordinate, strengthen, and advance CFR’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. Prior to joining CFR in 2013, Thomas served newly-arrived refugees and immigrants at the International Service Center, consulted on gender and rights at UNICEF, and supported programs teams at Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).

Thomas is a 2017 International Career Advancement Program (ICAP) fellow and serves on the Board of Trustees of Messiah University. She has a BA from Messiah University and MS in Global Affairs from New York University.

Rishi Varma serves as Cargill’s Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary. At a global level, he oversees corporate governance, ethics & compliance, security, government relations, commercial law, intellectual property, labor and employment and shareholder relations. Additionally, Rishi is a member of Cargill’s Executive Team. He was appointed as Chair of Cargill Asia Pacific effective January 2025. As Chair of Asia Pacific, Rishi will drive the implementation of Cargill’s Asia strategy for profitable growth. Rishi is known for being a respected advisor who leads with passion and purpose.

Prior to joining Cargill in January 2024, Rishi served as General Counsel at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Before joining HPE, Rishi served as general counsel for two different publicly traded companies from 2005 to 2013 – TPC Group, Inc., a petrochemical company, and Trico Marine Services, Inc., a global subsea service provider. Prior to these companies, Rishi served as securities counsel and director of investor relations for EGL, Inc., a publicly traded global freight forwarder, and as a business associate in the New York office of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LP.

In addition, Rishi is committed to advancing the way people live and work by serving on several non-profit boards.  Rishi serves on the Board of the Tahirih Justice Center, where he has worked on various matters including visa and asylum cases. He also serves on the board of the Texas Asia Society, the leading educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the West, as well as the Memorial Hermann Hospital System Board, the Equal Justice Works Board of Counselors, and the Georgetown University Law Center Advisory Board.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. Rishi and his wife, Michelle, have three children.

Enoch Varner is a partner in the Houston office of Clifford Chance US LLP. He represents financial investors, as well as private equity firms and private and public companies on merger and acquisition transactions.

Before joining Clifford Chance, Enoch was a partner in the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Enoch was Vice President and Counsel with Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm, prior to Kirkland & Ellis. Prior to Energy Capital Partners, Enoch was a corporate associate in the Chicago and Houston offices of Latham & Watkins LLP.

Enoch completed the JD/MBA program at Northwestern University and received his BA from The University of Georgia.