Instructors

Instructor

Dr. Anu Mundkur has extensive practical and applied research experience in the fields of gender and development.  Her areas of expertise include women’s economic empowerment, women peace and security, gender and international aid. She has over fifteen years of professional experience, including nearly ten years working, in different roles, on gender projects funded by the Commonwealth of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia Aid) in the Asia Pacific Region. In 2016, Anu served as one of two NGO representatives on the Australian Government Delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (60th Session). 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anu-mundkur-0b114177/
Twitter: @AnuMundkur 

Instructor

Asmita Basu has over 20 years of experience in project management, research, campaigning, advocacy and capacity development in the fields of gender and human rights. Her major work has been in the area of drafting laws and reviewing law/policy implementation on violence against women and women’s equality rights in India, Bangladesh and Lao PDR. She was involved in the drafting of India’s civil law on domestic violence and in implementing one of India’s largest violence against women prevention projects (‘Safe Cities Initiative’), supported by DFID in Madhya Pradesh. She has been invited in UN organized expert group meetings on gender rights and was listed as a CEDAW expert for capacity development in the Asia-Pacific region. Her extensive experience also includes conducting program and project evaluations, as well as providing technical advice for designing and implementing development aid programs on issues such as refugee rights, crime prevention, child rights, labour rights, governance and minority rights. She was a Fulbright Fellow (2009-2010) and a British Chevening Human Rights Scholar (1999-2002).

Instructor

Dr. Chelsea Ullman is a Research Scientist at the Global Women’s Institute (GWI). She joined GWI at its founding while serving as a Presidential Fellow at the George Washington University (a selective program that offers high-achieving students the opportunity for professional development while completing a Masters degree). Chelsea has contributed to the strategic growth of GWI by developing key policy initiatives, communications & outreach programs, and participating in research on violence against women and girls globally. Chelsea holds a PhD in Public Policy and Public Administration, focused in Gender and Social Policy, from the George Washington University. Her doctoral work explored theories of justice for survivors of campus sexual assault in the United States, with a goal of improved policymaking on the issue. Chelsea is committed to amplifying the voices of survivors of violence in research and policy.

Instructor

Dr. Daniela Moreno Alarcón is a Chilean/Spanish researcher, trainer, and consultant in the field of gender mainstreaming in sustainable development. She gained her Ph.D. in 2017 from the Complutense University of Madrid, focusing on Gender Responsive Tourism Policies in Nicaragua. Over the past 12 years, she has honed her professional experience in LAC. Dr. Moreno has collaborated with a wide range of institutions such as UN Women, UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), ITC-ILO, UN Women, Serviço Social do Comércio (SESC), ECLAC and the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP.) Currently, she is the lead expert in the field of gender indicators, monitoring, and evaluation tourism of the UNWTO Centre Stage: women’s empowerment during COVID- 19 recovery. 

Instructor & Program Manager

Deviyani Dixit is a Senior Research Associate at the Global Women's Institute with experience working on gender issues and  violence against women and girls in the Pacific Islands (PNG, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu) and South Asia (Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka). From her prior work experience at the World Bank, Deviyani brings expertise on EVAWG programming in operational sectors of the World Bank such as Transport and Extractives. In this capacity, she led the development and pilot testing of a GBV and Child Protection Codes of Conduct and Action plan along with supporting activities to prevent and mitigate risks of sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment on World Bank transport projects in the Pacific Islands. Deviyani has worked with local service providers, women’s groups and Governments in the Pacific Islands to develop GBV and Child Protection training materials, identify and support appropriate referral pathways and support M&E frameworks. Deviyani has led strategic communication campaigns on gender at the World Bank and currently leads all communications and outreach at the Global Women's Institute. Deviyani holds a Master's in International Development and Social Change (IDSC) from Clark University.

Instructor

Nancy Abwola has over ten years’ experience in Violence against Women (VAW)/GBV programming, in both development and conflict settings. She has supported several NGOs, INGOs Faith-Based Organizations, governments and UN organizations in Sub Saharan Africa to strengthen their VAW programming using evidence based approaches. She also supports the World Bank (Uganda) to ensure risk of GBV is mitigated within the Bank funded projects. Nancy Abwola is an optimist who spreads her warm energy all around her.

Instructor

Nick Metheny, PhD, MPH, RN is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies in Coral Gables, Florida, USA.  He completed his PhD in Nursing Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2019. He holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Global Health Policy from The George Washington University, a BA in Public Health at The College of William and Mary, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. Nick’s research interests center on reducing and preventing intimate partner violence in multiply-
marginalized populations, including LGBT+ populations and women in low- and middle-income countries. He is more broadly interested in the prevention of intimate partner violence and its clinical sequelae through structural, community-based interventions.

Instructor

Andrea M. Bertone, Ph.D. has over 20 years of international development and research experience on gender integration, gender equality in education, human trafficking, female empowerment, and gender-based violence. She has managed projects, and conducted research about women and gender. She has co-authored two girls’ mentoring guides and authored several peer-reviewed articles on human trafficking. Dr. Bertone is the Director of FHI 360’s Gender Department, where she provides strategic programmatic and technical leadership, gender technical assistance across development sectors and geographic locations, and is overseeing the implementation FHI 360’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Framework 2.0. Concurrently, she serves as Adjunct Professor at George Washington University where she has been teaching graduate courses on human trafficking, and gender and development since 2006. Dr. Bertone holds a PhD in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park. 

Instructor

Anne Eckman brings twenty years of experience in participatory, gender-transformative approaches to advancing gender justice, health equity, and the rights of women, girls, and marginalized communities in the US and globally. Her sectoral areas of focus include sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), HIV/SRHR, and more recently mental health, trauma, and resilience. Anne currently splits her time between providing technical assistance for global SGBV and health programs and direct trauma-focused counseling with survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, forced migration, and torture. Previously, Anne led the gender and advocacy portfolios of a large, global SRH/HIV program with a 35-country reach and co-authored many of the core gender integration training materials used by USAID. Anne holds a PhD in Cultural Studies, completed post-doctoral training in public health, and earned a master’s degree in clinical social work with a focus on violence prevention and trauma. She has worked in the US and 25+ countries including Bolivia, Mexico, Jamaica, Nepal, Tanzania, and the Balkans.

Instructor

An independent consultant with a focus on education and gender, Asif has worked on girls’ education, child marriage and gender data with UNICEF in the past. Previously, Asif worked on education data, social accountability and economic policy with the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Pakistan. 

Instructor

Laxman Belbase has over 17 years of experience working with and providing technical support to various I/NGOs, UN Agencies and Government in the areas of Gender Equality and Justice, Child Rights, SRHR for all, and transforming masculinities and working with boys and men in gender justice. He is experienced in organizational development and strategic planning, program development and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and advocacy for gender equality & child rights. Laxman currently works as Global Co-Director at MenEngage Alliance. Prior to this Laxman worked for Save the Children Sweden, as Global Gender and Health Advisor for 7 years and played an instrumental role in the development of the agency's gender policy and various tools. Laxman is also a member of the CSO Global Reference Group of the UN Spotlight Initiative.

Instructor and Program Director

Dr. Mary Ellsberg is the Executive Director and Founding Director of the Global Women's Institute at the George Washington University.  Dr. Ellsberg has more than 30 years of experience in international research and programs on gender and development. Before joining the university in August 2012, Dr. Ellsberg served as Vice President for Research and Programs at the International Center for Research on Women. Dr. Ellsberg’s deep connection to global gender issues stems not only from her academic work, but also from living in Nicaragua for nearly 20 years, leading public health and women’s rights advocacy. She was a member of the core research team of the World Health Organization’s Multi-Country Study on Domestic Violence and Women’s Heath, and she has authored more than 40 books and articles on violence against women and girls. Dr. Ellsberg earned a doctorate in epidemiology and public health from Umea University in Sweden and a bachelor's degree in Latin American studies from Yale University.

Instructor

Saima Abbasi has 15 years of international and national level work experience serving in fragile, conflict sensitive zones for IDPs and refugee populations in Pakistan, Sudan, South Sudan, Malawi, Uganda, and Syria. She is an expert in gender, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), gender-based violence, civil society engagement, social protection, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), UN Cluster coordination, disaster risk management, capacity building, communication, reporting, donor coordination, and resource mobilization. She loves traveling, music, reading poetry, and literature. 

Instructor

Samrawit has more than ten years of experience in theareas of Gender Based Violence (GBV) Prevention and Response both in development and humanitarian settings. She has worked with different governmental, non-governmental, Community Based Organizations and UN agencies to establish and improve GBV systems in different capacities toward improving the
wellness of women and girls. Samrawit has worked directly with refugees, Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and local communities and has experience working globally and nationally (Ethiopia) providing direct case management and psychosocial support services, coordinating with different agencies to establish systems to support survivors of GBV.  Samrawit is a native Amharic and Tigrignya speaker, is fluent in English and has basic Italian language skills.

Instructor

Sarita Karki is a gender professional with more than 20 years of experience in gender-integrated programming, gender in emergency response, social inclusion and program management, planning and designing and conducting gender analysis. She has designed and delivered gender trainings to national and international project teams, and has a profound knowledge of gender within the Asian context. Sarita is a member of national and international networks, including the CARE International Gender Cohort.  Currently amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarita Karki has conducted several gender rapid assessments on it sectoral impact, including its socioeconomic impact on women.