Awni started working with Hivos in 2019 and joined the ENERGIA team as Project Officer in 2021. Awni holds a Masters degree in Development Studies with a major Human Rights, Gender  and Conflict Studies and an Advanced Master in International Development. He has ample experience in project coordination and facilitation in project coordination. Prior to joining ENERGIA, Awni has worked as Program and Project Officer for the Hivos Middle East and North Africa office and for the Decent Work for Women program. Before joining Hivos, he has worked with children and youth with a wide range of civil society organizations, including the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution (PCDCR).

Caroline is a human geographer by education and has many years of international experience in the field of gender and development. She joined ENERGIA in February 2017. Prior to that, she was Hivos’ project officer for India and has worked as a gender specialist in various projects in Africa and Asia. She has also supported research work in Ghana on access to and control over land and has actively contributed to the development of a toolkit which supports the production and use of sex-disaggregated agricultural data.

Naimat brings extensive experience working with leading international organizations, including the Asian Development Bank, OECD, GIZ, UN-Energy, UNDP, and UNICEF. Her expertise encompasses providing strategic knowledge leadership, designing effective policy strategies, and executing on-the-ground assignments across Asia and Africa. Having spent recent years in the United States, Naimat has specialized in analyzing the economic impact of development projects. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Policy and Data Analytics from the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Delhi University.

In her capacity of Communications Coordinator, Tjarda shapes, leads and oversees all ENERGIA’s external communication activities. She has ample experience in development cooperation and communication for development. Before joining ENERGIA, she served as Oxfam America’s Regional Communications Officer, based in El Salvador. She also worked as program coordinator at Free Voice (currently Free Press Unlimited) and provided extensive support to the research department at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Tjarda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Culture and a Master’s degree in International Organizations.

Dr. Elam is a Sociologist and Research Fellow at the Diana International Research Institute at Babson College. She is also CEO/Cofounder of Galaxy Diagnostics, an early-stage medical diagnostics company, spun out of NC State University. Dr. Elam has over 20 years of experience in research and practice in entrepreneurship, business start-up and growth, and business education. She conducts research on gender and entrepreneurship around the globe, serves on the editorial board of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and has published numerous articles in top academic journals, technical reports, and edited volumes.

Elizabeth Cecelski has worked for more than thirty years on energy challenges in developing countries, specializing in energy, poverty and gender issues, especially in household and rural energy, and in rural electrification and rural development. She is a founder, and presently Chair of the Advisory Group and Senior Policy Adviser, for ENERGIA International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy, and the author of several standard references on gender and energy. She has carried out gender audits and assisted partners in engendering their development indicators. Elizabeth was lead author of the gender chapter of the SDG7 TAG policy brief on indicators to measure the interlinkages between SDG7 on energy and SDG5 on gender equality, and supports ENERGIA advocacy on indicators.

Mr. Paul Mbuthi holds a BSc. Degree in Environmental Health and a Master Degree in Environmental Planning and Management both from Kenyatta University and a Diploma in Environmental Studies from Technical University of Kenya. He has over 30 years work experience at the Ministry of Energy handling diverse aspects of renewable energy policy and strategy and coordinating the implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of renewable energy Programs and Projects. He has also been involved in integration of climate change perspectives into energy policy, planning and strategy development. He is a Lead Author in Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) which is refining the 2006 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Methodologies. He is a member of the Multi-stakeholder Technical Advisory Group on SDG 7, among other roles.

Ms. Pachuri holds a Ph.D. from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ) and a M.Sc. from University College London (UCL). Prior to her functions at the IIASA, Ms. Pachauri served as Adjunct Professor at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Dr. Pachauri was Coordinating Lead Author of the Global Energy Assessment (GEA). She serves on the science advisory panel for the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). She is also on the editorial advisory boards for the journal Environmental Research Letters, Current Research in Environmental Sustainability and Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy.

Ms. Soma Dutta is a socio-economist working on development issues surrounding energy access, poverty and gender. She has been supporting policy makers, utilities, programme practitioners, governments, NGOs and international organizations in Asia and Africa. Her areas of work include project design, M&E, research, analysis and capacity building. She has led and supported initiatives on women’s entrepreneurship in energy sector and in mainstreaming gender and social inclusion into energy projects, policies and programs.