ROYA MAHBOOB, President & Founder
Roya Mahboob is Afghanistan’s first female tech CEO and entrepreneur, making a significant impact beyond the business world. She leverages her tech success to foster education and empowerment for Afghan women and girls and champions their rights. Mahboob founded the Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) to improve Afghan women’s technological and financial literacy. She is also the co-founder of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team and supports their endeavors while promoting robotics education through the Inoura platform. She is launching Zalla, an online platform to elevate the voices of Afghan women and journalists.
Roya Mahboob’s commitment to STEAM education and economic opportunities for women, with a strong emphasis on human rights, has earned her global recognition. She was named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2013, received the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award in 2014, and received other prestigious accolades, such as the Advancement of Gender Equality through Education Award. She was a Young Leader at the World Economic Forum in 2015, an Asia Game Changer in 2019, and received the Doha Forum Award in 2022. Her contributions have been honored with the Lantos Human Rights Awards, the Presidential Leadership Scholarship, and an honorary Doctorate of Science from McMaster University.
KIMBERLY MOTLEY, Board Member
Kimberley Chongyon Motley is an international human rights and civil rights attorney from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Motley is the first foreign attorney to practice in Afghanistan since 2008 and is considered one of the most effective International Human Rights Attorneys and Defense Attorneys operating in Afghanistan.
While Motley’s international human rights work began in Afghanistan she also represents a wide variety of high profile in other countries as well. Her clients include Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Matthew Rosenberg New York Times Journalist in his expulsion from Afghanistan, Niloofar Rahmani Afghanistan’s first female pilot, and Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado Machado where Motley was arrested for representing him.
DR. ÁLVARO SALAS-CASTRO, Board Member
Dr. Álvaro Salas-Castro is a renowned expert in public-private partnerships, behavioral economics, governance, and strategy, with over 20 years of diverse experience in consulting, law, diplomacy, teaching, research, investment funds, and international business management. He holds multiple degrees, including a Ph.D. in Management and Public Policy from Syracuse University, and has been honored as a Presidential Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, inducted into the US Phi Alpha Alpha honor society, and awarded Cornell’s prestigious Adams Award for academic contribution, leadership, and service.
Dr. Salas-Castro is a Visiting Professor at Cornell University’s Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, Founder and Chairman of Fundación Demo Lab, Faculty Member at INCAE Business School, Chief Strategist at K Squared Capital, and President and CEO of the Reynolds Foundation. He also serves on the Global Advisory Council at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, and advises various companies and family offices on strategy, corporate governance, and investments. Beyond his professional achievements, he is a musician in the alternative rock band Jackie Onassis and an enthusiast of surfing, boxing, mountain biking, and tennis.
ALEX WRIGHT-GLADSTEIN, Board Member
Alex Wright-Gladstein is the founder and CEO of Sphere, making climate-friendly investing available to everyone. Prior to founding Sphere, Alex was founding CEO of Ayar Labs, an MIT technology spinout that has raised over $200M in venture funding and makes data centers and supercomputers faster and more energy efficient by using light to move data between chips. She has also been the energy entrepreneurship practice leader at MIT and an energy efficiency program manager at smart grid company EnerNOC (now Enel X). She received an MBA from MIT and a BA in Political Science and Economics from Tufts University.
SHUKRIA BARAKZAI, Special Advisor on Gender Apartheid
Shukria Barakzai is an Afghan politician, former Ambassador of Afghanistan to Norway, journalist and prominent Muslim feminist. She has a higher Bachelor’s degree in hydro-meteorology and geophysics from Kabul University. Additionally, she has over 20 years of experience in legislation and lawmaking. She was the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Norway and was the founder of the Afghan Female Journalists Association and director of the Asian Women Organisation. She was also Chief Editor of Aina e Zan (Women’s Mirror). In the 2005 elections, she was elected as a member of the Afghan Parliament. She is one of only a handful of female MPs who speak up for women’s rights
World Press Review named Barakzai International Editor of the Year in 2004. In December 2005, she was named Woman of the Year by the BBC Radio 4 programme Woman’s Hour, and she won the Prize for Human Rights in Italy. She was among the Foreign Policy Magazine ‘100 Leading Global Thinkers’ in 2015. She is also among the 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century.
ELIZABETH SCHAEFFER BROWN, Emeritus Board Member
Elizabeth Brown is a co-founder of Pull.City and Uncommon Union, where she has dedicated over two decades to pioneering business and communications models that blend commercial strategies with impactful community engagement. Her work spans multiple regions, including Haiti and the Middle East, and she has been instrumental in global campaigns, notably spearheading one that played a critical role in the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize award.
Elizabeth’s career began in advertising, where she introduced major international brands like Sony Ericsson to the North American market. In 2004, she co-founded StudioE9, an innovative digital lab that served renowned global advertising agencies such as IRIS Nation and TBA Global. At StudioE9, Elizabeth was the visionary behind some of the first public/private partnerships aimed at creating job opportunities for women in developing countries, underscoring her commitment to initiatives that foster economic empowerment and social change.