Governance

Ms. Hope Murera is the Managing Director of ZEP-Re (PTA Reinsurance Company), a specialized institution of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) charged with the development of the insurance industry in the region.

She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree from Makerere University, an MBA from IMD International, Lausanne Switzerland and is an alumnus of Stanford Business School where she majored in strategic leadership. Hope has over 20 years’ working experience in the insurance and reinsurance industry in Africa.

Ms. Murera, a mother of two, is passionate about girl-child education, mentorship and empowerment of women in the workplace. This has seen the ZEP-RE’s core CSR develop around supporting girl-child education in several member states. She has put in place a Young Professionals Programme (YPP) with a bias on girls. Through deliberate actions such as these, ZEP-RE has achieved gender parity across its ranks and currently 30% of the management team are ladies.

Hope sits on the Boards of African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), the Organization of Eastern and Southern African Insurers (OESAI), Uganda Reinsurance Company (Uganda Re) and the Global Give Back Circle, a girl mentorship and empowerment organization.

Margo is the retired Vice President of U.S. Education for Microsoft Corp. She was responsible for the U.S. Education strategy and sales to K–12 and higher education customers across the U.S. Through partnerships, programs, and technology, Microsoft plays a significant role in helping institutions and educators transform learning that makes a real impact on educational outcomes and helps students realize their full potential.

Margo has more than 31 years of experience in high-technology and has held several exec roles at Microsoft over the past 14 years. She was a 2014 Circle of Excellence, Platinum Club Founders award winner, 2006 Microsoft Most Inspirational Woman award winner, and in 2012 was nominated for the Anita Borg Women of Vision Social Impact Award.

Making a difference in people’s lives is important to Margo. She has been deeply involved in funding the building of secondary schools for vulnerable girls in Kenya. She took a one-year leave of absence from Microsoft to focus her energies on raising funds and awareness for World Vision’s Kenya Child Protection and Education Project. This project is positively affecting 17,000 children in four areas across the Rift Valley.

Margo is the former national co-chair for the World Vision National Leadership Council for Child Protection, Board of Advisors President for the Renton/Skyway Boys & Girls Club, and past founding board member of SeeYourImpact.org.

Christina Sass is a lifelong champion of youth and a fierce advocate for women and diverse leaders across the globe. She brings a wealth of experience in global development and youth employment as the President and Chief Executive Officer of International Youth Foundation (IYF).

Prior to joining IYF, Christina co-founded Andela in 2014, creating an on-ramp to the digital economy for thousands of young technologists worldwide. Christina served as Andela’s COO and President, where she played a pivotal role in scaling Andela to six countries in Africa, selecting, training, and placing developers as full-time team members in growing tech companies around the world. Together with her co-founder, she raised over $181M in venture capital, growing from two people to over 2,000 employees and acquiring 200+ clients, achieving a $50M annual revenue run rate in six years. Today, Andela is the world’s largest private marketplace of skilled technical talent, operating in over 150 countries. Christina has demonstrated her commitment to driving positive change and fostering innovation as an active investor in impact-oriented, early-stage Future of Work companies, both as an angel and through Dive In, a fund which invests and offers extensive executive coaching to founding teams.

Christina has also held pivotal positions at renowned organizations dedicated to advancing education and employment opportunities for youth. Notably, she directed the Program department of the Clinton Global Initiative and provided strategic counsel to the President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation, a $30B global foundation committed to enhancing education and financial inclusion for African youth.

Christina’s dedication to youth empowerment extends beyond her professional endeavors. She has built education and employment programs in diverse regions, including China, Gaza and the West Bank, Kenya, and Nigeria, reflecting her commitment to expanding opportunities for young people worldwide. Christina serves on the Advisory Council of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights and the board of Global Give Back Circle, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering at-risk adolescent girls.

Christina holds a BA in Ancient Philosophy from the University of Georgia and an MA in International Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Linda is the founder of Global Give Back Circle. She is a Forbes ’50 over 50 List’ honoree  – a serial social entrepreneur dedicated to sustainable solutions for gender equity. 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, on a global basis, in change management and business development, and a desire to give back to society enables Linda to transfer commercially successful applications from the private sector to bring structure to a critical social intervention; the economic empowerment of the world’s most marginalized women and girls enabling them to gain employment, live independent lives, and give back to their communities.

Linda has a BS from Drexel University and an MBA from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University.

Jackie is a corporate attorney with a strong commitment to public service and social impact. She began her legal career at an AmLaw 20 firm, where she advised clients on complex corporate transactions before joining a boutique firm with an international focus. In addition to her corporate practice, Jackie maintains a robust pro bono portfolio, with a particular emphasis on supporting female-founded foundations and mission-driven organizations. Her experience across both large-scale corporate law and nonprofit advocacy brings a unique perspective to her board role.

Jackie holds a B.A. in Art History from Emory University and both a J.D. and M.B.A. from New York University School of Law and New York University’s Stern School of Business, respectively.

As Treasurer, Alan brings extensive experience in commercial banking, consulting, financial market analysis, and non-profit governance. Starting his career as an international economist at Citibank, Alan transitioned to commercial credit management at The Fuji Bank Ltd becoming SVP and credit supervisor for the Americas. Subsequently, Alan worked as an independent consultant on a wide variety of loan quality reviews and due diligence projects spanning the United States, Europe, Mexico and Central America. He taught banking in Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Central Asia.

Since its founding in 2014, Alan served as a director and treasurer of ALIMA USA (affiliate of the Alliance for International Medical Action), an NGO delivering medical care to vulnerable populations in West Africa and Haiti. Previously, he served as president of the NY Association of Business Economics and treasurer of Economists for Peace and Security.

Alan holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from McGill University, graduate degrees in Economics and Finance from Columbia University and New York University.

Zoe is an attorney at BlackRock and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Zoe advises on complex matters to ensure the company’s operations and investments are lawful and ethical. She previously worked in Geneva, Switzerland for an asset manager focused on impact investing in emerging and frontier markets. There, Zoe covered the regions where Global Give Back Circle has a presence. Zoe is passionate about economically empowering girls in these regions and is excited to work with Global Give Back Circle to do so. Zoe previously worked for AM Law 100 firms in New York City and as an elementary school teacher in New Orleans through Teach for America.

Zoe holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.