Megan Garcia

CONVENER

• Organization: William and Flora Hewett Foundation
• Department: Nuclear Security Initiative
• Title: Program Officer

Megan Garcia is a Program Officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, where she manages the foundation's Nuclear Security Initiative, a portfolio of grants aimed at increasing nuclear security. Before joining the Hewlett Foundation, Megan was Legislative Assistant to U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky for national security and foreign affairs, policy fellow for U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown during his time in the House of Representatives and a consultant to USAID's Office of Military Affairs. Megan holds a master's in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley and an undergraduate degree from Harvard University.

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David McNair

CATALYST

• Organization: Save the Children UK
• Department: Advocacy
• Title: Head of Growth, Equity and Livelihoods

David McNair is Head of Growth, Equity and Livelihoods at Save the Children UK, a charity that works in 120 countries, protecting children's rights.

Previously, David led Christian Aid's tax and development work and played a key role in turning a niche NGO campaign into a global issue addressed by the G20, EU, OECD, UN and international businesses.

A former trustee for numerous charities, David also sat on the OECD's Task Force on Tax and Development. He holds a PhD (Queen's University of Belfast) and is a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) where he sits on the Under 35s steering group.

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Rachel Cohen-Gerrol

CONVENER

• Organization: Nexus Global Youth Summit
• Department: Innovative Philanthropy & Social Entrepreneurship
• Title: Founder

Rachel Gerrol co-founded the NEXUS Global Youth Summit on Innovative Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship, whose inaugural event at the UN gathered 350+ young influencers and catalyzed over $10 million in philanthropic and social investment dollars. In 2012 Nexus summits are scheduled in London and Beijing in addition to the Global Summit in New York. Rachel previously spent nine years as Special Assistant to Ambassador Nancy Rubin, US Representative to the UN Human Rights Commission. In 2012, Rachel was a delegate to the UN Youth 21 Summit in Nairobi, the G8 Young Summit and the Global Diaspora Diplomatic Summit in Israel.

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Alia Mahmoud

CATALYST

• Organization: Maghreb Enterprise Development Initiative (MEDI)
• Title: Managing Director

Alia Mahmoud has an M.S. in International Business and Economic Development from New York University. Half-Tunisian and originally from NYC, she is currently working in post-revolution Tunis to launch the Maghreb Enterprise Development Initiative, a think tank dedicated to rationalizing and optimizing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Maghreb by conducting strategic research, promoting collaboration and engaging in public policy advocacy.

Alia has pursued her interest in entrepreneurship through her studies and work at organizations such as Ashoka, UNDP's Private Sector Division and Endeavor. She is a contributor to Wamda.com and a core member of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Tunis Hub.

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Jennifer Chowdhury

CONVENER

• Organization: Jeevika Development Society
• Department: American India Foundation William Jefferson Clinton Fellowship for Service in India
• Title: Fellow

Born in Bangladesh and raised in Brooklyn, Jennifer Chowdhury has focused on raising awareness of human rights issues in the domestic and international context since she was 13. Her passion lies in research-based advocacy and the use of social media to inspire action that promotes dignity, equality and justice. Jennifer has a B.A. in Political Science and Human Rights from Barnard College (2006) and an M.S. in Global Affairs from New York University (2012). In 2011, she began a 10-month American India Foundation W.J. Clinton Fellowship with Jeevika Development Society, a grassroots women's rights NGO located in West Bengal, India.

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Damien Ma

CATALYST

• Organization: Eurasia Group
• Department: Asia Practice
• Title: Analyst

Damien Ma is an analyst in the Asia practice at Eurasia Group. He studies and analyzes the intersection between Chinese politics and markets, with a particular focus on energy policies, climate change, commodities, elite politics, industrial policy, U.S.-China trade, and social/Internet policies. Damien also covers Mongolian politics and mining. He provides up-to-date analysis on the impact of political issues on business operations and their implications for investors. Damien serves a range of clients from institutional investors and multinational corporations to the U.S. government.

In addition to his analytical work, Damien writes a regular China column for The Atlantic Monthly's website. He also served as an adjunct instructor at Johns Hopkins SAIS. He has published widely, including in Foreign Affairs, Slate, The New Republic, BusinessWeek, Forbes, and the China Business Review. He has also appeared in a range of U.S. and Chinese print and broadcast media, including the Charlie Rose Show, Bloomberg TV, CNBC Asia, Time, The Wall Street Journal, and Caijing. Damien is currently working on his first co-authored book.

Prior to joining Eurasia Group, Damien was a manager of publications at the U.S.-China Business Council in Washington, DC. He also worked in a public relations firm in Beijing, where he served clients ranging from Ford to Microsoft. He holds an MA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and both BA and BS from Boston University. He earned an advanced international student certificate from People's University in Beijing in 2006. Damien has lived, worked, and studied in Beijing and Shanghai, China, as well as in Oxford, England. Damien speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and some Shanghainese dialect.

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Cameron Chisholm

CONVENER

Cameron Chisholm

• Organization: International Peace & Security Institute
• Department: Executive Leadership
• Title: President

Cameron M. Chisholm is President and founder of the International Peace & Security Institute (IPSI), a DC-based educational and training nonprofit with a mission to empower the next generation of global peacemakers. IPSI's programs are designed to be rigorous, substantive learning experiences that give future world leaders the tools they need to make peace reality. From the program's onset, the focus has always been on providing the most practically useful training, taught by the world's most accomplished practitioners who have actually worked through conflict resolution processes firsthand.

Before founding IPSI, Cameron worked with the World Bank, CEWARN, the U.S. Department of State, and The Carter Center. He has a B.A. from Emory University and a M.A. from the University of Bradford. He is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Elliott School and is a Rotary World Peace Fellow Alumnus.

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Winston Ibrahim

CATALYST

• Organization: Hydros Bottle LLC
• Department: Executive
• Title: Co-founder & Executive Chairman

Winston Ibrahim is at the forefront of global entrepreneurship and international relations. He is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Hydros, a sustainable water bottle company that is engaged in global water infrastructure projects, which he directs. Ibrahim is also Co-Founder of the Ibrahim Leadership and Dialogue Project in the Middle East, a leadership program that promotes inter-cultural understanding. He serves on numerous corporate and non-profit boards, including that of the Interfaith Youth Core and ThinkImpact.

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