Introducing team UNGEI

Amalia is the Programme Associate who supports UNGEI’s administrative work.  With a background in administrative support and operations, Amalia has worked in UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA.  Amalia holds a BA in French literature and culture.

Simon Api Doung Yini Ziba is the project manager for the Gender at the Centre Initiative with the UNGEI Secretariat.  Prior to joining UNGEI, Simon served as Stromme Foundation's Country Coordinator where he supported the development and management of grants from the Islamic Development Bank, Educate A Child, Global Affairs Canada and Norad in Burkina Faso. Previously, he worked for Stromme Foundation in Mali as a Regional Program Manager in the permanent Secretariat of the Speed School Strategy; in this position, he contributed to the process of transferring this strategy to the Ministries of Education of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Simon holds a master's degree in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies from Loyola University Chicago, another master’s degree in Project Management from Institut Africain de Professionalisation en Management of Ouagadougou and a bachelor’s degree in « lettres et Civilisations Etrangères » of the University of Ouagadougou. 

Jeyda is a digital communications specialist who supports UNGEI’s digital advocacy and communications work. With a background in graphic design, digital marketing and web development focused on social impact work, Jeyda has worked with organizations in Europe and South East Asia which support projects and activities to achieve social goals and help promote positive change.

Jeyda holds a BA in Digital Media Art from London South Bank University.

Sujata coordinates the Global Working Group to End School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV), a network co-hosted by UNGEI in partnership with UNESCO.

Prior to joining UNGEI, Sujata worked on UNICEF’s girls’ education and gender equality portfolio. She served as Education Advisor, Emergencies with Save the Children UK where she supported country education teams to design and develop education programmes in fragile and conflict affected contexts.

Sujata has also worked with the Red Cross, managing school and community based psychosocial support programmes and teacher development in India and Indonesia. Sujata has had the privilege of working in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti and South Sudan. She holds an MSW from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), India and MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University and is a native of Assam in northeastern India.

Gloria is a policy advocacy and gender adviser for the UNGEI Secretariat. Working collaboratively with UNGEI team members and partners, she is working to advance UNGEI’s policy advocacy agenda. Gloria is also leading on UNGEI’s learning mandate, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and evidence.

Gloria has previously worked for CAMFED and the World Health Organization, and has previously lived and worked in Kenya, Togo, Morocco and New Zealand. She is a passionate feminist and enjoys writing and travel. Gloria holds a BA in Arabic and French from the University of St. Andrews, and an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics. 

Antara recently joined UNGEI as the Head of the Secretariat. Before joining UNGEI, she led on gender equality for UNICEF India where she supported state governments to empower girls and support positive masculinity for boys with a focus on gender socialization in schools and prevention of gender-based violence.
 
Antara served as the Deputy Representative for UN Women in Bangladesh and before that, supported the Programme Director’s oversight and management of 80 country and regional offices around the world. Prior to joining the UN, she led management consulting teams at Dalberg Global Advisors and Booz Allen Hamilton for the Executive Directors of UNFPA and UN Women, Ministries of Finance, Health, Social Welfare and Human Development in countries in Central Asia and Eastern and Southern Africa, USAID, GIZ,  the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
 
Antara started her career as a teacher in a municipal school in Pune, India that served children of sex-workers. A novelist and a TedX speaker, she has written for publications like The Atlantic Monthly and Stanford Social Innovation Review.
 
Antara holds a M.A. in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. in English Literate and Developmental Psychology from Amherst College. She tweets at @antaraganguli.

Natasha is UNGEI’s youth engagement adviser. She works to shift the power dynamics for youth to fully participate in all processes in achieving gender equality in and through education. She is a facilitator, mobilizer and organizer. She believes in the power of partnership.

Natasha has previously worked with organizations such as Plan International, Plan International Canada and CODE. She is a young feminist activist and works to build a global sisterhood of solidarity. She is the co-founder of @Catcallsofottawa part of the global Chalk Back movement, which fights street harassment through street art. Natasha has experience in young feminist movement building, campaigning and policy advocacy.

She holds a BA in International Development with a minor in Gender Studies at the University of Ottawa.

Sudeshna works as the Communications, Advocacy and Partnerships Specialist responsible for UNGEI’s overarching advocacy and communications strategy, including the flagship Gender at the Centre Initiative.

With a keen interest in human rights, Sudeshna has broad experience across national and international organizations such as the UN, the World Bank Group, and Oxfam. Before joining UNGEI, she worked as a policy researcher based out of London, consulting with the Digital Futures Commission (DFC), a 5Rights initiative, and the Engine Room team on a UNICEF report to map the ethical implications of predictive analytics on children. The DFC project led by child rights expert Professor Sonia Livingstone, OBE, explores the opportunities and risks of digital media for children and young people.

Sudeshna holds an MSc in Media, Communication and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a Masters in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). A cat lover and a digital nomad, she tweets @sudeshna09.

Christabel is responsible for providing technical, professional and administrative support in the effective and efficient functioning of the UNGEI secretariat including implementation of work plans, the advancement of the partnership’s strategic directions and supporting the overall functioning of UNGEI’s governance structures. 

Prior to joining the UNGEI Secretariat, Christabel worked with UNICEF, Room to Read, Camfed and ChildFund, providing technical guidance and support to education programmes with a focus on improving learning outcomes, system strengthening, Girls' Education, literacy enhancement and Early Childhood Education. She has extensive experience supporting education programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and holds a Master of Education in Sociology of Education from the University of Zambia.

Eline leads the Gender at the Center Initiative (GCI), a multi-stakeholder initiative to promote gender equality in and through education in eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining UNGEI, Eline worked as an education and gender specialist in West and Central Africa. She served as Regional Education Coordinator for Save The Children. In that role she co-led the Regional Gender and Inclusion in Education Working Group (GENIE), a partnership of education stakeholders to promote gender equality in education. She has also worked in the DRC with Médecins sans Frontières, as National Training Coordinator. Before working in international cooperation, Eline was an academic researcher. She holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Antwerp and conducted ethnographic research on multilingualism and social identity among youth in Senegal. Eline lives and works in Dakar (Senegal) and loves writing and singing.