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United Nations Representative, Women First International Fund and Chair, NGO Committee on Financing for Development

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Anita Thomas is the Chair of the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, a Substantive Committee of CoNGO ( Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations--an NGO in General Consultative Status), and UN Representative for Women First International Fund, an NGO in ECOSOC Consultative Status, with a unique grantmaking model designed specifically to support and partner with new and emerging grassroots women-led organizations in countries where gender inequities remain pervasive. She serves as the Convener of the NGO Coalition to advance ratification of ILO C-190 convened by five NGO Committees, based in New York, (FfD, Status of Women, Social Development, Migration, and Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons).

Her professional experience spans over twenty years with both domestic and international NGOs. She holds an M.S. in Finance from the Simon School of Business, University of Rochester, an MPAP from the Bloustein School of Public Policy, Rutgers University, and an M.A. in Economics from Madras Christian College, India. She is a Fellow of the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University.

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Vice President of Education and Director of the SDG Academy at the UN Sustainable Development Solution Network (SDSN)

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Patrick Paul Walsh is the Vice President of Education and Director of the SDG Academy at the UN Sustainable Development Solution Network (SDSN). He is currently on secondment from University College Dublin where is a Full Professor of International Development Studies. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has held academic positions in Trinity College Dublin, K.U. Leuven, Harvard University and Columbia University. He has also held positions in the United Nations, European Commission, IMF and World Bank. His current focus is on Sustainable Development Education that is informed by Science, Practice and Policy.

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Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)

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Shea Gopaul is the Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York for the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). For over 100 years, IOE has been one of the leading voices for business at the global level and on the ground with more than 150 employer federation members in 145 countries, representing the interests of over 50 million companies. In her role as the Permanent Representative to the UN, Gopaul has been leading an initiative to enhance and increase private sector engagement with the United Nations at the country, regional and global level. Through dialogues, publications, outreach and communications projects, the initiative seeks to stimulate collaboration and foster partnerships between the public and private sectors to Build Back Better from COVID-19 and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Gopaul is also the co-chair of the UN Major Group Business and Industry.

Gopaul is the Founder and Executive Director Emeritus of the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN), a coalition of companies and organizations addressing the skills mismatch and youth unemployment crisis. She has over 20 years of experience in the UN system (ILO, UN, WHO), and has authored numerous articles on private sector engagement, youth unemployment and employer driven education. She is recognized as an IZA Fellow, is a member of the G20/B20 Employment and Education Taskforce and an International Gender Champion. Gopaul holds a master’s degree in international education from Columbia University, an Honorary Doctorate degree in Humane Letters and undergraduate degree from Point Park University.

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Chief, Partnership Section, UN Development Coordination Office

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A hard-working, determined and confident individual, who thrives on challenges and has an excellent grounding/knowledge of strategic planning and project management; wide experience and transferable skills in people and financial management. An exceptional team player and leader with resilience and adaptability having valuable experiences covering research development, social policy, project/program management, human resource management, advocacy, fundraising and institutional/organizational development. Works well on own initiative and to deadlines and is self-motivated, highly organised, analytic as well as strongly driven. Dependable and approachable, possesses excellent interpersonal skills, can communicate concisely at all levels and has the ability to build sound relationships with colleagues and clients.

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Deputy Director, United Nations Regional Commissions New York Office

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Yera Ortiz de Urbina joined the UN in 2018 as Deputy Director of the Regional Commissions New York Office (RCNYO). In her current position, she supports Regional Commissions’ coordination in diverse policy areas and works to identify opportunities for building and deepening partnerships to advance the 2030 Agenda.

Yera brings to the UN over 20 years of experience in international relations and multilateral affairs, with a focus on intergovernmental policy coordination and sustainable development governance. Before joining the UN, Yera served as Permanent Observer of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to the UN. Prior to that, Yera was posted at the Spanish Permanent Mission and then the European Union Delegation to the UN. A career diplomat, she has also served in Irak and Jordan and held a variety of positions at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission in Brussels.

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Executive Director, United Nations Office for Partnerships

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Appointed Executive Director a.i., UN Office for Partnerships in April 2020 concurrently as Senior Communications Adviser in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, Annemarie Hou served as Chief of Staff and Director of the Executive Office of UNAIDS and oversaw the global advocacy and communications portfolio.

Prior to joining UNAIDS, Ms. Hou worked in the philanthropic field, with a focus on health and children’s issues. She was the Communications Director at Casey Family Programs, an operating foundation dedicated to child welfare issues started by the founder of UPS.

Annemarie also served as the first Global Health Communications Manager at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and as the family’s spokesperson. An award-winning writer, she started her career as a television journalist.

She is a member of the Alumni Advisory Board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Jan-Willem Lammens is External Affairs Officer at the World Bank. Prior to this, he served as the IMF’s senior liaison officer to the UN in the Fund's Strategy Policy and Review Department. Before this he worked at the UN Secretariat’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) on follow-up and review processes linked to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, in public administration and development management, and intergovernmental support and coordination (ECOSOC). Before working in UNDESA, he worked in global education with UNESCO, Inclusive Growth and South-South Cooperation with IPC-IG Brazil, and Food Security with IITA Nigeria. He brings extensive experience in different areas of sustainable development, development economics, inter-institutional and inter-governmental affairs, the UN System and building partnerships. He holds MAs in Economics and in Political Science from the Ghent University.

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Assistant Professor, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, University of Twente

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Caroline is an expert on the use of geospatial technologies and artificial intelligence for sustainable development in Low and Lower Middle Income countries (LMICs). She works as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing of the University of Twente. Her work on mapping slums with drones, participatory mapping to understand local dimensions of deprivation, utilizing satellite imagery to monitor environmental change and agricultural production, and the responsible usage of artificial intelligence to prevent the exacerbation of societal inequalities. Her research is trans-disciplinary, combining social sciences, natural sciences and engineering to develop technical solutions which align with human values.

Caroline also works for the World Bank, where she has gained considerable knowledge of international and UN processes to support sustainable development in Africa. Her work in the Resilience Academy, a partnership between universities in Finland and Tanzania facilitates North-South and South-North knowledge exchange and effectively engages local communities in planning resilient solutions. She also co-wrote a policy advisory report for the World Bank on the use of Machine Learning for Disaster Risk Reduction and gave three invited presentations at the first UN World Geospatial Information Conference. These activities demonstrate experience in utilizing levers 1, 3, and 4.

In sum, Caroline’s expertise combines cutting-edge scientific research through her distinguished academic career with operational knowledge of implementing sustainable development projects through more than six years of consulting experience with the World Bank.

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Prior to his appointment, Mr. Sitaldin was a Policy Adviser at the Bureau of his Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business, and International Cooperation, a position he held from 2020.  Between 2015 and 2017, he was in charge of the Consular Affairs Sub Directorate at the Ministry, after serving as a Policy Adviser from 2012 to 2015 and Coordinator for Short Stay Authorization from 2008 to 2012.

From 2001 to 2007, Mr. Sitaldin was Consul General of Suriname in Miami, United States.  He was a Desk Officer in the Ministry’s International Organizations Division from 1995 to 2001, during which time he was a member of his country’s delegation to the general assembly of the Organization of American States and of the United Nations General Assembly.  He first entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business, and International Cooperation as a Protocol Officer in 1993.

Fluent in Dutch and English, Mr. Sitaldin has a bachelor’s degree in law from Anton De Kom University’s Faculty of Legal Sciences.

Born on 20 August 1968 in Paramaribo, he is married and has two children.

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Chief Executive Office, South African Local Government Association

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Sithole Mbanga is the Chief Executive Officer of the South African Local Government Association. He was previously the CEO of the South African Cities Network, Local Government Coordinator at the National Business Initiative (NBI), was involved with conducting capacity building training in Municipal Service Partnerships (MSP), and participated in the development and improvisation of DPLG’s national policy on Integrated Development Planning (IDP).

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United Nations Program Director, Outright International

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André du Plessis (he/him) is Outright’s UN Program Director. André was ILGA World’s Executive Director from 2017 to 2021, before becoming an independent consultant on LGBTIQ human rights. Prior to being appointed as Executive Director, André headed-up ILGA World’s advocacy work at the UN, building a team to assist LGBTI organisations from around the world use the UN system to help bring change in-country, and worked with many others on the challenging and successful civil society campaign to create the position of UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

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President, Barbados Youth Development Council

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Mr. Caleb Brathwaite is a young professional dedicated to youth and social advocacy. Caleb is the President of the Barbados Youth Development Council (BYDC) which is the umbrella organisation for all youth organisations in Barbados and is the collective voice of all young people existing within Barbados. Moreover, he is a Global Focal Point on the Major Group on Child and Youth for Small Island Developing States, in the Caribbean Region. Caleb is also the Chairman and founder of the Belfield Youth Council (BYC) which seeks to develop young minds. The BYC is a small charitable organisation functioning in Black Rock St. Michael, Bridgetown Barbados that is committed to the positive development of young people. The council is also committed to the growth of members within the community using empowerment and development programs to achieve the sustainable upliftment of all youth. Caleb holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) Degree with Honours, from the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus. Additionally, he holds an Associate Degree of Arts in Law as well as Government & Political Studies from the Barbados Community College. It was while attending that institution he served as Director of Communications for the Barbados Community College Students' Guild along as Acting Vice-President. In 2020, He had the distinguished pleasure of making the opening remarks at the Caribbean Child Research Conference as well as chairing a distinguished panel comprising the region's best academics at the conference. In addition, Caleb was the featured speaker at the China-Caribbean Youth Forum 2023, on the topic of Opportunities & Challenges in the Process of Modernisation. Mr. Brathwaite is also a contributor on VOB 92.9 FM, Youth Affairs Radio Show in Barbados. He is continuously committed to service as he actively volunteers to do credit to his nation. He believes and lives by the mantra of 'service beyond self'. He is currently a Barbados National Youth Parliamentarian. In addition, he is also a former member of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus Law Society's Public Relations Committee. During the eruption of the La Soufriere Volcano in St Vincent & the Grenadines in 2021, Caleb assisted Barbados' Prime Minister's Office with relief efforts for which he was commended. Caleb is also the National Youth Delegate for Barbados at the Commonwealth Youth Council and is Barbados' National Youth Delegate at the Commonwealth.

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Executive Director, The Partnering Initative

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Darian Stibbe is an internationally-recognised pioneer in multi-stakeholder collaboration, developing much of the theory and practice of partnering now being integrated as standard into partnerships and organisations around the world.

His cutting-edge conceptual work makes sense of complexity, building much needed clarity on everything from how partnerships can deliver more than the sum of their parts through their collaborative advantage, to what organisations must do to become institutionally fit for partnering; from the process of partnering to the building blocks of effective platforms that catalyse collaboration. He is lead author of the SDG Partnering Guidebook (developed as a TPI / United Nations collaboration), quickly becoming the ‘standard textbook’ for in-country partnering around the world.

He has had considerable influence in helping to shift the UN system to become more collaborative, particularly with business. As well as training over a thousand UN staff, he has worked on the partnering strategies of multiple agencies, as well as analysing and supporting them to become more fit for partnering.

Darian was previously a theoretical quantum physicist, including as a NASA scientist. Darian has a somewhat unusual career path: following a physics degree at Oxford and a Ph.D. at London and Harvard, he became a quantum physicist, first as a NASA scientist and then as a Marie-Curie Fellow at the University of Paris, before segueing into sustainable development and cross-sector partnerships.

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Resident Coordinator, United Nations Ghana

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Mr. Charles Abani is a seasoned international development practitioner with over 25 years of experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors having worked in senior country and regional leadership roles in Africa, Asia, and in Europe. Specifically, he has worked with ActionAid International, Oxfam GB, Absolute Return for Kids, Palladium and Chemonics. Mr. Abani has also led the successful implementation of projects for DFID and USAID. Most recently, Charles served as Africa Director in Chemonics’ UK Division, prior to which he led USAID’ flagship civil society project in Nigeria – USAID-SACE.

Mr. Abani is from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and holds a BA in History from the University of Nigeria, an MSC in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University and an executive management certificate from Oxford University.

He takes over from Ms. Sylvia Lopez-Ekra who served in dual capacity as UN Resident Coordinator ai for 18 months and as Chief of Mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in charge of Ghana, Togo and Benin.

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Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations

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Prior her appointment as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York in 2013, Ms. Al-Thani was her country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, beginning December 2011.  From August 2011 to October 2011, she served as Ambassador to the Cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

She was Deputy Permanent Representative at Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from May 2010 to July 2011, having previously been Minister Plenipotentiary from June 2009 to April 2010 and Counsellor from April 2007 to May 2009.

From September 2006 to March 2007, Ms. Al-Thani was the Director of the Division of the Rights of the Child in the General Secretariat of Qatar’s Supreme Council for Family Affairs, having served as Acting Director between June 2004 and August 2006.  From October 2003 to May 2004, she was a Senior Specialist in the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council’s Department of International Relations.

Born in Doha in 1974, Ms. Al-Thani holds a Master of Arts in international studies and diplomacy from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, and a Bachelor of Science in economics from Qatar University.

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Senior Vice President and Head of New York Office, United Nations Foundation

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Sofia Borges is the United Nations Foundation’s Senior Vice President and leads the Foundation’s office in New York. Before joining the UN Foundation, Sofia was the Deputy Chef de Cabinet to the President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly (2017-2018) and served in the Cabinet of the President of the 71st Session (2016-2017) of the UN General Assembly as his Special Adviser on Strategic Engagement and Transparency.

Prior to joining the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly, Sofia worked as Special Adviser on the 2030 Agenda to the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA).

Previously, she was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Timor-Leste to the UN from 2010-2016. She was the Chief Negotiator for her country during the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals (2013-2014) and Chief Negotiator for Timor-Leste on the Post-2015 Inter-Governmental Negotiations on the SDGs (2014-2015). She was Chair of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (2014-2016). Sofia also served as Chair of the g7+ (2010-2014), a role that was critical in the negotiations on the 2030 Agenda. Sofia was also a member of the Advisory Board UN Democracy Fund (2012-2013) as well as a Member of the Executive Board of UN Women (2012-2013). Before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sofia worked as a Women’s Anthropologist at the Central Land Council in Australia.

Sofia holds degrees in Anthropology, Political Science, and Law from the Australian National University, Canberra, and Northern University, Darwin. She speaks Tetum, English, and Portuguese.

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Founder, The Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT)

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Ms. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is an Indigenous Mbororo woman from Chad. She is an expert in Indigenous Peoples’ traditional ecological knowledge and climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. She served as Co-Chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change in COP20, COP21, COP22, COP23, which pushed for greater recognition of the role of Indigenous Peoples in the fight against climate change. Hailing from a Mbororo pastoralist community in Chad, Ms. Ibrahim founded the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) and works to empower Indigenous Peoples’ voices and ensure their inclusion on international platforms. She leads a number of projects that aim to improve Indigenous Peoples’ access to basic services, while also promoting their unique contribution to the protection of the environment at the local and national level. In 2019, Ms. Ibrahim was recognized by the prestigious Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award.

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Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact Network Thailand

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Ms. Thanyaporn is helping to align business with Ten Principles on human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.

Experience to enable new organizational model under strategy focused on business growth, go to market strategy, business transformation and putting in place a new business model to enable better performance. She has 23 years experience in FMCG, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson with Professional in Quality, Organization Development, and Talent Development and an experience in Engineering, Technical Support, Quality, LEAN, HR Development, Integrated Work System

STRENGTHS: Adaptive, flexible, resilient, deliberate and resourceful for facing with challenges, strive to learn and improve with a positive attitude, be able to work under high pressure.

Social Relation: Support execution of community relations programming and initiatives. With over 10 years of experience in CSR, NGO and SDGs.

Her passion are in: Innovation, SDGs, Human Development