Leadership Summit Speakers Line Up
Kiki Lawal, BA, MBA
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Kike (Kiki) Rebecca Lawal has over two decades of national and international experience in banking and the private sector, partnerships, resource mobilization, inter-agency coordination and intergovernmental processes. Her skills and experience also include building relationship, strong client interaction, ESG governance, negotiation skills and as well as disaster risk reduction. Prior to joining the Global Fellowship Initiative, Kiki worked for the United Nations system in Geneva, New York and Bangkok. Her UN career has taken her to Africa, Asia and the Middle East, Australia, Europe, North and South America. She initiated Private Sector for Disaster risk reduction now known as ARISE and was proud to coordinate the private sector input to Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. She drew on her earlier experience working in UK banking to persuade Nigerian banks to join the United Nations Environment Finance Initiative to align their economies with sustainable development.
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A high point of her UN career was serving as a chair of focal point for the UN Racial Justice Network in New York and making valuable recommendations to Secretary General António Guterres which were incorporated in the UN Strategic Action Plan on Addressing Racism and Promoting Dignity for all in the United Nations Secretariat. Kiki is passionate about addressing gaps between the South and West by leveraging her diverse experience and background to close and bridge these gaps in understanding and implementation and aims to foster job creation in multilateral organizations and local and national governments, cities and communities, including faith-based community.
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Dr Sanjay Pooran: MD, FRCPI, FFPHMI, FFPH, LLB, MBA, MFFLM, MSc, MCFP, FACLM, FAcadMed
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Dr Sanjay Pooran is a uniquely qualified specialist global public health and infectious diseases physician with a focus on health system strengthening. He was recently made a public governor of University College London Hospital (UCLH) NHS for the next three years. He has held positions as Director of Public Health , Chief Scientific Adviser and Senior Medical and Forensic Examiner. He was made a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators of the United Kingdom in October 2022 and is currently a fellow in residence at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
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He is also an international relations technical lead with qualifications and training from The London School of Economics and Political Science gaining an MSc in international strategy and diplomacy. Has provided independent consultant services and presented topics for LSHTM, IATA, WHO, PHAC,NIH , CDC,TTCS ,Vitas House Hospice and various Global Ministries of Health. His focus is on healthcare economics, forensic medicine, public health medicine, infectious disease , aviation medicine, epidemiology, global strategy and diplomacy, HIV prevention and sexual health. He has experience in AFRO, SEARO, WPRO, EMRO, EURO regions and countries in emerging economies, fragile, conflict and post-conflict states, small island states on projects on behalf of the national governments, advocacy organizations and trade associations.
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Dr Pooran’s research interests centers on the interdisciplinary approach to geopolitical issues and the evolution of international relations outside the traditional parameters of social sciences ,but at the interface of science and policy. He also has 9 years experience as a broadcast journalist and radio announcer. A Public Speaking Strategist with a focus on voice projection and analysis.
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Ambassador Yvette Stevens: BSc., MSc.
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Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO, Permanent Mission to the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations Office at Geneva. She has had a broad and long experience in the United Nations System. An Engineer by training, Ambassador Stevens studied at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute and at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. She taught Engineering at the University of Sierra Leone for six years, before joining the United Nations in 1980, as a Village Technology Expert in ILO. At UNHCR, she served as Evaluation Officer as well as Chief of the Technical Support Section of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, both of which involved thorough analyses of refugee situations in about 30 countries, all over the world.
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She also served UNHCR in Africa, first as Deputy Liaison Representative in Ethiopia (1995 to 1997) and as the UNHCR Representative to Kenya and Somalia (1997 to 1999). In the latter capacity, she acted as the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia on several occasions. From 1999 to 2004, she worked as Director in DESA, the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa. Before retirement, she was the United Nations Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator and Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva from 2004 to 2006. After retirement from the UN, between 2006 and 2009, Ambassador Stevens worked as a freelance consultant on humanitarian issues as well as on disaster risk reduction in Africa. She worked as an Energy Policy Adviser to the Government of Sierra Leone from 2009 to 2012, before being appointed as Permanent Representative in Geneva. As Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone, Ambassador Stevens was active, inter alia, on human rights issues, (including Child Early and Forced Marriage, Persons Living with Albinism and Women’s Rights); trade (Women and Trade, Trade Assistance to Least Developing Countries); disarmament (Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems). She was a Geneva Gender Champion.​
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Susan Mahon: BSc., MSc.
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Ms Mahon is an Environmental Scientist and Sustainability Consultant. She is also an artist and writer and former Academic and Managing Director of Bellairs Research, Institute of McGill University. In 1992, at the United Nations Earth Summit, Ms Mahon won the Global 500 Award in recognition for her outstanding practical achievements in the protection and improvement of the environment.
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