Rani Pramesti has been a lifelong advocate for gender equality. They come from a long line of Chinese Indonesian women advocates, changemakers, and entrepreneurs.
For over 18+ years, Rani has consistently devoted herself to collaborating with and uplifting systemically marginalised communities, including refugee and migrant women, communities of diverse SOGIESC, racialised communities, Indigenous / First Nations communities, as well as Deaf and Disabled communities.
Rani brings a systems lens to her leadership. She leads with questions and strives to activate collective intelligence, creativity, and energy towards a shared vision. She practices feminism by centering relationships and working in a power literate and trauma-informed way.
Rani holds a Bachelor of Social Work (First Class Honours) / Anthropology from the University of Sydney, a Bachelor of Dramatic Art from the University of Melbourne, and is currently completing a Master of Design Futures from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University.
Aarati is an intrapreneur with over 11 years of global experience in organisational leadership, education policy and impact measurement in various capacities across geographies. She has led strategic initiatives with Leadership Accelerators such as Teach for India, Global Citizen Year, and the Latin American Leadership Academy, enabling them to scale. Leadership, gender equality, and inclusion have been the overarching themes throughout her career. She has actively participated in various initiatives, such as AIESEC, Education Pioneers, Global Shapers, volunteered for the Paralympics, and served as a Climate Ambassador to Antarctica through the Leadership on the Edge program.
Aarati holds a master’s in International Education Policy from Harvard University, is a certified Yoga & Mindfulness instructor and an Advanced Open Water Diver. As the Regional Executive Director, she collaborates with the Executive Director and boards to successfully implement Wedu’s strategy and achieve widespread impact in closing the gender leadership gap.
Annum is an international development professional with over a decade of experience advancing high impact solutions to issues around sustainable economic development and gender equity. She has three years of banking-sector experience, and her programmatic expertise include project and grant management, impact investment, policy research, capacity building, multi-stakeholder engagement, and MEL. Her operational experience spans across North America, the Middle East and South Asia. Annum completed her Masters in Public Administration (Development Practice) from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).
The common thread across Annum’s diverse cross-sectoral engagements is the emphasis on making public and private sector programs equitable and inclusive. She excels at creating partnerships and effectively managing teams to maximize collective impact. Her recent work includes managing a £15 million, multi-year local governance reform project in Pakistan funded by FCDO; overseeing an investment fund for women-led SMEs; executing grant challenge rounds to support financial inclusion innovations; and coordinating the development of grant proposals across South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya for a USAID inclusive digital economies project.
Aina Eriksson is a Filipina-Swedish communicator passionate about intercultural translation and fostering hybrid knowledge systems. She brings over seven years of experience in strategic science writing, policy engagement, youth activism and digital campaigning in the Nordics, South Africa, and the Philippines.
Interweaving her background in law (LLB) and development communication (MA) she applies an intersectional approach to her work, carefully considering local conceptualizations and multiple realities when crafting strategies for community work. Her career highlights include lobbying for seed freedom in Cape Town, crafting a digital campaign brought to COP26 on the role of artists in climate action, and coordinating the United Nations One Planet Network on Sustainable Lifestyles and Education.
At Wedu, Aina leads strategic communication initiatives to elevate Wedu’s impact and mobilise gender equity advocates in closing the gender leadership gap.
Sara is passionate about design, culture, and education. She draws on over a decade of experience in creative expression, community engagement, and leadership development to spearhead leadership trainings at Wedu.
Most recently, Sara led Acumen’s leadership initiatives in Pakistan, focusing on designing learning experiences for social impact innovators. Previously, she worked with PeaceNiche/T2F and Salt Arts, promoting inclusive discourse through intellectual and cultural engagement. She has also taught courses exploring design and social entrepreneurship at the University of Karachi. Her passion for gender equality has led her to become a founding curator for the WOW – Women of the World festival in Pakistan and design an illustrated publication for young adults featuring stories of fifty exceptional women of the country.
Sara is an Acumen Fellow and holds a bachelor’s degree in design from the Department of Visual Studies, University of Karachi.
Dah has over four years of experience overseeing the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the programmes focusing on advancing women’s leadership.
As Programme Coordinator of Wedu, Dah leads mentorship and education financing programmes, supporting the individual and collective resilience of refugees from Myanmar who live in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border with mentoring, ensuring the Mentorship Programmes for women in Asia run smoothly; and helping women leaders achieve their post-secondary education goals on their own terms using Income Sharing Agreements to overcome financial barriers. Prior to joining Wedu in 2021, she worked with the under-represented ethnic minority women from Myanmar to foster their leadership growth, upgrade their soft and hard skills, and increase their awareness of social and political issues.
Dah also serves as an advisor at the local mentorship initiative – SheOwner Business Mentorship Programme in Myanmar to support minority women, mothers and girls from rural areas with mentoring and training. She holds a BA (Honours) in Human and Organisational Development and a minor in General Psychology from the Education University of Hong Kong.
Babita brings over seven years of experience specialising in international development finance in Nepal, along with a firm belief that once equal opportunities are provided to women, every sector will start experiencing incomparable growth and development. Babita holds an MBA in Finance from Purbanchal University. She leads Wedu’s accounting and finance functions and oversees global operations.
Yvie is a public speaker and development professional dedicated to youth empowerment and women entrepreneurship. She played a pivotal role in formulating the Philippine Youth Development Plan (PYDP) 2023-2028, a comprehensive blueprint for youth development in the Philippines. She graduated with a degree in Management from the University of the Philippines Tacloban College in 2019.
Beyond her career in development, Yvie is a professional host and entrepreneur. She participated in the Philippines’ Youth Entrepreneurship Program alongside young women entrepreneurs and now runs her own event hosting business for national and international summits and conferences. She sharpens her public speaking and leadership skills as an active member of Toastmasters International.
Yvie’s influence extends internationally, having represented the Philippines at the ASEAN Youth Dialogue 2023 in Jakarta and the YSEALI Regional Workshop 2023 in Vietnam. Her dedication to empowering youth and women across Asia is exemplified through her work with Wedu, where she leverages her multifaceted expertise to create meaningful impact.
Francine is a Filipina geologist dedicated to leveraging her background in science communication to achieve gender just systems. With over a decade of volunteer experience in women’s CSOs/NGOs, she brings to the table extensive insights on crafting tailored campaigns to advocate for the representation of women in public spheres of decision-making (Motion 32 advocacy) and to address the disproportionate impact of malnutrition among girls (Girl Powered Nutrition).
Some of her career highlights include leading panel events in the Commission on the Status of Women for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, the Global Youth Summit with the 4SD Foundation, and the World Food Forum alongside the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction. In addition to this, she works towards amplifying the voice of marginalized communities through mentorship initiatives such as U-Go and people-led platforms like Ilaw.
Francine started her transformational leadership journey with Wedu as a YSEALI Women’s Leadership Academy alumna and now she develops meaningful communication strategies to further women’s rights across borders and barriers.
Fimma holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Airlangga University, Indonesia. Passionate about programme management, data analysis, and social impact, she leverages programme management and data analytics to drive meaningful change. Her expertise lies in coordinating complex projects, uncovering actionable insights from data, and applying these skills to initiatives that create a lasting impact.
She has experience supporting strategic initiatives and organizational development through data-driven insights and programme coordination. In recognition of her innovative thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills, Fimma and her team were awarded 2nd place in the AHAckathon 2021, organized by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre). Fimma also has a strong interest in gender in conflict, exploring the intersection of gender dynamics and peacebuilding efforts.
As a Programme Associate at Wedu, Fimma is committed to supporting women leaders and changemakers across South & Southeast Asia, ensuring impactful and sustainable programme delivery.
Fai is an international humanitarian consultant and serves as Governing Member of the International Association of Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP). Previously, Fai worked at the International Rescue Committee in Thailand, where she steered the advancement of refugee and migrant assistance programmes, leading the organisation to win awards in innovation in access to legal aid and higher education. Fai has also worked in philanthropy development in the UK and across Asia and the BRICS. She has written for several publications and has lectured at Thammasat University in Bangkok.
Pin has always been drawn to solving problems and building meaningful solutions.
For the past decade, Pin has dedicated herself to addressing the complex challenges within the Education to Employment space. In her current role as the Business Development and Partnership Lead at Generation Thailand. Previously she co-founded CareerVisa to tackle career development issue among university students in Thailand. Pin is honored to be recognized as a Southeast Asia Acumen Fellow 2024 and an Obama Asia Pacific Leader 2023 for her efforts in creating positive social change.
Eden is a financial inclusion Policy and Gender Expert with extensive experience in building an inclusive financial ecosystem that fosters women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment. She was recognized as a Gender Equality Changemakers (GEC) Finalist and a Gender Champion for her work on developing gender inclusive policy initiatives that promotes gender equity and women’s leadership. She is a former central banker and has played a leadership role in building an inclusive financial system in Bhutan. She was the first female Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Bhutan and served as a Board Director and/or Chairperson on the boards of several institutions in Bhutan. She also served as the first female Co-Chair of AFI’s FIS Peer Learning Working Group in 2014-2015.
She is a seasoned writer and an experienced speaker with a wealth of publications, consulting assignments, and speaking engagements to her credit. She is a 2015 Fellow of Fletcher School Leadership Program for Financial Inclusion, a Certified Gender Equality Changemaker, and a Certified Digital Finance Practitioner. She has a master’s degree from the International Institute of Public Administration, France and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of New Delhi, India.
Damien has spent his career in the corporate and non-profit sectors investing in for-profit early stage to late stage M&A acquisitions and social impact investments and grants. Currently, he is advisor to several startups focused on AI and life sciences drug discovery after founding a spin-off company from Stanford University to exit. Most recently, he was VP at Mastercard on strategy and M&A for the Cyber and Intelligence group. Prior, he worked in venture investments at Omidyar Network, private equity at Aureos Capital which was acquired by Abraaj Capital, as well as Citibank and McKinsey.
Damien has studied, and worked internationally including US, UK, France, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Dubai. He is a graduate of Stanford University, INSEAD, LSE and the University of Chicago. He is passionate about social impact investment in the next generation of women leaders for positive impact in local and global communities. He brings experience in fundraising, partnership development, strategic planning and general management experience as a board member.
Nava is a passionate advocate for gender equity, leadership development, and the intersections of wellness. Nava brings her experience of advancing opportunities for women and marginalised communities through transformative leadership initiatives and mentorship. She is deeply committed to addressing social issues through an intersectional lens and empowers women to lead change in their communities while championing access to education, employment, support, and opportunities.
Her journey with Wedu began as a Rising Star, evolving into roles as a Mentor, Local Chapter Co-Lead, and Local Chapters Steering Committee Member. Nava was also part of the YOUNGA Wedu delegation in 2023.
Beyond Wedu, Nava is the Founder and Chief Impact Officer of Togather for Good, a social venture that empowers individuals and organisations to live and do good better. She also serves as an Ambassador for the Singapore Leaders Network, supporting the development of Singaporean leaders for global roles. She is an active grassroots leader and contributes to other Southeast Asian leadership initiatives.
Nava’s multifaceted experience, strategic acumen, and heart for building inclusive and sustainable communities enable her to keep driving forward the vision of Wedu in nurturing more women leaders across Asia.
With more than 10 years of professional experience in the development sector, Nareth brings diverse expertise and a passion to nurture the leadership journeys of women changemakers in Cambodia by helping manage its programmes and partnerships.
She is experienced in working closely with Cambodian government officials and other stakeholders, conducting research on local governance and decentralization, system strengthening, and delivering leadership training to government officials, women and youth at the national and sub-national levels.
Nareth holds a Master of Arts in Asia-Pacific Studies from Thammasat University, Thailand, and has engaged in activities across the region–from peacebuilding activities in Malaysia to supporting research in Vietnam.
Sreymao is the head of online payments at Wing Bank in Cambodia. She brings more than 10 years of experience in Sales and Marketing with telecommunication and banking companies to this role. Sreymao firmly believes that education is vital to changing one’s life. This is why she is active in social work, spending her weekends working with women and underserved communities. She has also built a community preschool with four friends in the Takeo province.
Phearong, one of Wedu’s first Rising Stars from Cambodia, is the Executive Director of Banteay Srei, a leading women’s rights organization in Cambodia. Previously, she serves in Program Manager roles, focusing on Women and Youth Empowerment in Leadership at Transparency International and Education and Politics at the British Embassy in Cambodia. Her passion to change social norms and gender stereotypes that limit gender equality drove her to co-found the Joint of Youth (JOY) Cambodia. Through JOY, she works to empower women and girls to pursue higher education and achieve their dream careers through mentorship.
Phearong holds a Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law from Paññāsāstra University and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Royal University of Law and Economics in Cambodia.
Vittoria Zipoli Caiani brings 30 years of global experience working with leaders as a professional certified coach to this role, coupled with expertise in transition coaching, cross-cultural awareness, leadership development, and mentorship. She has been a mentor, advisor, and friend to Wedu for the past five years. As Interim Chair, Vittoria will steer organisational growth and the evolution of our work globally, and harness the expertise of the boards, leadership team, and global community.
Kate has spent her career in the corporate and higher education sectors. Most recently, she was the CEO of the public and private impact tech start-up Regulatory Genome, a spin-out of research at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. Prior, she served as Chief Operating Officer of the University’s fundraising and alumni operation. She has served on boards in both executive and non-executive capacities.
Kate is Canadian and has three grown children. She has lived and worked in the UK since earning her MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1996. She is passionate about investing in the next generation of women leaders for positive impact in local and global communities. Kate will draw on her fundraising, partnership development, strategic planning and general management experience as a trustee of the UK Board.
Mario is one of Wedu’s Co-Founders and brings innovation and experience in social entrepreneurship. He is the CEO of Waiser, and is a former Senior Advisor for Energy Investments for Greenpeace, a former Senior Consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Advisory as well as an Acumen Fellow. He holds a Master in Economics and Management from the University La Sapienza and a MSc in Development Management, from the LSE. Mario has studied and worked in Italy, Finland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Haiti, India, United States, Cambodia and Thailand.