In alphabetical order:
Mr Jean Marie Altema, CEO, profIT Development Consulting, Haiti
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Jean Marie Altema is a Computer Science Engineer. He is also Assistant Coordinator at the Presidential Commission for Innovation and Socio-professional Integration of Youth in Haiti. Mr Altema has been a Senior ICT Adviser in capacity development, strategy and digital governance, telecom regulation, cyber security and internet governance. Mr Altema was Director General of the National Telecommunications Council (CONATEL). Prior to joining CONATEL, he held the position of Coordinator of the e-Governance Unit at the Prime Minister's Office and ICT Advisor to the Prime Minister. He is the founder of profIT Development Consulting, a consulting firm in strategy and digital governance. Mr Altema created his blog
www.altemajeanmarie.com to better communicate about the ICT sector and engage the stakeholders.
Mr Kila Aluvula, Manager Special Projects, National Information and Communications Technology Authority, Papua New Guinea
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Mr Aluvula is currently the Manager Special Projects with the telecommunications regulator in Papua New Guinea, the National ICT Authority or NICTA. His post is attached to the Office of the CEO. His role as Manager Special Projects include the development and implementation of appropriate plans, policies, codes and guidelines for the fair and cost efficient regulation of the telecommunications industry in PNG. Some of the recent projects he is currently involved in include the Sim Card registration, Cybersecurity CERT establishment and the analogue to digital television migration to name a few. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the PNG University of Technology as well as an MBA from James Cook University, Australia.
Dr Supavadee Aramvith, Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
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Supavadee Aramvith received the B.S. (first class honors) degree in Computer Science from Ma-hidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, in 1993. She received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, in 1996 and 2001, respectively. She joined Chulalongkorn University in June 2001. Currently, she is an Associate Professor and Head of Digital Signal Processing Laboratory at Department of Electrical Engineering. Her specializations are Video Communication Technology researches. She published over 120 papers in International Conference Proceedings and Journals with 4 International Book Chapters. She is one of the author of the ITU book, “ICT-centric economic growth, innovation, and job creation.” She has rich project management experiences as the project leader and technical advisor to the NBTC and the formerly MICT of Thailand. In addition, she is very active in international arena with JICA Project for AUN/SEED-Net, IEEE, IEICE, and APSIPA. She is currently a member, IEEE Educational Activi-ties Board (EAB) and Chair, IEEE EAB Pre-University Education Coordination Committee.
Dr Carlos Baca, Research Coordinator, Techio Comunitario, Mexico
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Carlos Baca is currently coordinator of the research area in Redes por la Diversidad, Equidad y Sustentabilidad A.C., an organization that works to support communitarian and indigenous communication and communication processes. He has a doctorate in Sociology at the Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades - BUAP in Puebla, Mexico. In this same institution, he developed his Master's studies in Sociology and, previously, his Bachelor's Degree in Communication Sciences from the UDLAP. He is a professor in the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Campus Puebla. He has collaborated in different communication projects for social change and since 2010 teaches in different universities in the city of Puebla.
Mr Brian Bosire, Founder, UjuziKilimo & HydroIQ, Kenya
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Brian Bosire is a Kenyan Serial entrepreneur with focus on digital technologies in water & agriculture. He has passion for emerging technologies and applying them to solve the biggest challenges in emerging markets. He is the founder of UjuziKilimo & HydroIQ. UjuziKilimo collects & analyzes millions of data points using sensors, and Data science to provide actionable insights that inform the agriculture industry. HydroIQ focuses on bringing intelligence in access and distribution of water by developing smart water grids using IoT and Data analytics to bring value in every drop of water.
Ms Jennifer Britton, Deputy Programme Manager, ICT for Development (ICT4D) for CARICOM Secretariat, Guyana
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Mr. Britton has over 20 years of experience in the Information Technology. This includes local and wide area networking (LAN/WAN), systems analysis, business process re-engineering, technical advice, project management and policy formulation. Currently, she is the Regional Coordinator and Technical Adviser on ICT for Development (ICT4D) for CARICOM Secretariat. Her responsibilities include regional policy formulation and oversight of implementation, technical assistance – related to ICT4D, the Digital economy and the CARICOM Single ICT space, initiating programmes for strengthened coordination and interaction among Member States and associated members, regional and international agencies with respect to ICT/ information society and finally technical advice to the Secretary General, CARICOM and CARICOM Lead Head of Government with responsibility for ICT.
Mr Adrián Carballo, Board Member, CCAT LAT and SSIG
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Adrián Carballo is Co-Founder and director of Institutional Relations of the South School on Internet Governance. He is also Co-Founder and director of ARGENSIG - Argentine School of Internet Governance. He also serves as director of Marketing and Commercial Strategy and Co-Founder of Dominios Latinoamerica Conference and Exhibition. He is a member of the board of directors of CCAT - LAT, High Technology Training Center for Latin America and the Caribbean, an international non – for profit organization that is a ITU Training Center of Excellence and among its activities trains CITEL members - Commission International Telecommunications. CCAT LAT organizes every year the South School on Internet Governance, the Argentine School of Internet Governance (ARGENSIG) and the Conference and Exhibition Dominios Latinoamerica in different countries of the region. He previously held the position of Coordinator of the MERCOSUR Technology Advisory Committee for Productive Integration in the Undersecretariat of Economic Integration for America in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina. He was also the Coordinator of the Financing Commission for the Regional Action Plan for the Information Society eLAC. Prior to these positions, he worked as a specialist in innovation and development in information technology and communication at the Secretary of International Trade of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina where he developed programs to promote SMEs to do their first export. In the past he has held functions for Telefónica Argentina in the Marketing Department. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Argentine Internet Society Chapter, ISOC AR, and an active participant in ICANN, LACNIC, LACIGF, IGF, among other meetings.
H.E. Dr Margarita Cedeño, Vice President of the Dominican Republic
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Margarita María Cedeño Lizardo is the first woman in the Dominican Liberation Party who holds the position of Vice President of the Dominican Republic. She has been appointed Extraordinary Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and ratified in July 2012, as well as Continental Ambassador for the Elimination of Rubella in the Americas, Global Ambassador of the Special Olympics, and Panel Member of International Eminent Persons of UNCTAD. More than 800 thousand families benefit from the social policies that the Vice President directs. She has brought 102 Community Technology Centers to communities in the country and installed 43 Training and Production Centers. She has fostered alliances with more than 1,400 training centers in all the country and has driven the access of more than one million people to the internet. As part of her commitment, she’s devoted to training to consumer protection, financial education, digital literacy and promotes the Dominican model of social protection.
Mr Albert Daniels, Senior Manager for Stakeholder Engagement for the Caribbean, ICANN
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Albert joined ICANN in 2013. He is located in Saint Lucia and is a member of ICANN’s Global Stakeholder Engagement team for Latin America and the Caribbean. As the ICANN Senior Manager for Stakeholder Engagement for the Caribbean, Albert leads engagement in 32 Caribbean Territories and also leads specialized projects in the ICANN Latin American and Caribbean Regional Strategy. Albert's responsibilities include developing and executing the organization's strategic and tactical objectives in the Caribbean region. Prior to working at ICANN, Albert served as an Information Systems, and Information Security Auditor & ICT Consultant at Creative Technology Solutions Limited (CTSL). He also held the position of Regional IT Manager at KPMG Eastern Caribbean, and Accounts Supervisor/IT Trainer/Group IT Director at the CHL Group in Saint Lucia. Albert served on several national Boards in Saint Lucia, and has broad internet and technology related experience having personally introduced the Internet to Saint Lucia in 1993. He has attended many ICANN meetings; and has been involved in the ICANN Fellowship program as one of the first fellows in 2007 and also as a fellowship mentor. Albert holds a Bachelors of Business Administration in Information Technology and also specialized in Project Management at the University of Cambridge; he also holds several professional and industry certifications. Albert is fluent in English and conversant in Spanish, French, Norwegian and French Creole.
Dr Virginia Dignum, Associate Professor, Social Artificial Intelligence, Delft University, Netherlands
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Virginia Dignum is Associate Professor on Social Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of Technology Policy and Management at TU Delft. She holds a PhD from the Utrecht University, in 2004. Prior to her PhD, she worked for more than 12 years in business consultancy and system development in the areas of expert systems and knowledge management. Her research focuses on value-sensitive design of intelligent systems and multi-agent organisations, in particular on the formalisation of ethical and normative behaviours and of social interactions. In 2006, she was awarded the prestigious Veni grant from NWO (Dutch Organization for Scientific Research) for her work on agent-based organizational frameworks. She has wide experience with obtaining research funding both at national as international level. She has given keynote speeches on her work at many leading conferences, is member of the reviewing boards for all major journals and conferences in AI and has chaired many international conferences and workshops. She has published several books and more than 180 peer-reviewed papers. She is Executive Director of the
Delft Design for Values Institute, Executive Committee member of IEEE Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous Systems, Director the AI and Robotics MSc program at TU Delft, and member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of
AI4People,
Ada-AI and
SIDNFonds, and is advisor on the societal impact of AI to national and international governments and organisations.
Dr Hopeton Dunn, Professor of Communications Policy and Digital Media, University of the West Indies, Jamaica
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Hopeton Dunn is Professor of Communications Policy and Digital Media and Director of the Caribbean School of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) at The University of the West Indies. He also heads the UWI's Mona ICT Policy Centre (MICT) based at CARIMAC.He is the author, co-author or editor of seven books (7), twenty-five (25) book chapters and twenty (23) journal articles, as well numerous publications in non-traditional and audio-visual formats. Prof Dunn is a five-time recipient under the UWI Principal's Research Day Awards Scheme. He was the recipient of the prestigious UWI Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in the area of Public Service in 2014. He is the former Secretary General of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). He served two five-year terms as Chairman of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica, the national regulatory body for radio, television and cable. Professor Dunn currently presides as Chairman of IAMCR’s international panel for the 'Stuart Hall Prize', awarded for publications of excellence in media and cultural studies.
Ms Belinda Exelby, Head of International Relations, GSMA
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Belinda heads the GSMA’s Capacity Building programme, which delivers free face-to-face and online training courses on mobile technology and ICT-related topics for governments and regulators worldwide. Belinda is a Board Director of the US Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) and the UK Telecommunications Academy (UKTA). Belinda also leads the team that manages GSMA’s relationships with international intergovernmental organisations, including the ITU and other UN agencies, the World Bank and the OECD. The GSMA’s broad programme of engagement with these organisations is designed to promote understanding of the mobile industry’s role in generating socio-economic benefit and achieving the SDGs, and to stimulate productive dialogue about enabling policy and regulatory environments.
Dr Mario Ferreira, Continuing Education Manager, INATEL, Brazil
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Mario Ferreira is the Continuing Education Executive Manager of Inatel (National Institute of Telecommunications), the first telecommunications engineering school stablished in Brazil. Responsible for extension courses, distance learning, corporate training programs, and preparatory courses for certifications, Mario is also in charge of developing technological cooperation initiatives with all major ICT players, providing consultancy and R&D services. Mario is a graduate Telecommunication Engineer and in 2012 received the title of Specialist in Network Engineering and Telecommunication Systems from the same institute. He is also a professor in postgraduate programs offered by Inatel in Brazil and other countries.
Dr Anna Förster, Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, University of Bremen, Germany
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Anna Förster obtained her MSc degree in computer science and aerospace engineering from the Free University of Berlin, Germany, in 2004 and her PhD degree in self-organising sensor networks from the University of Lugano, Switzerland, in 2009. She also worked as a junior business consultant for McKinsey&Company, Berlin, between 2004 and 2005. From 2010 to 2014, she was a researcher and lecturer at SUPSI (the University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland). Since 2015, she leads the Sustainable Communication Networks group at the University of Bremen. Her main research interests lie in self-organising and autonomous sensor and opportunistic networks. She applies various artificial intelligence techniques, like machine learning and swarm intelligence, to various aspects of wireless communication protocols and applications. Furthermore, she is active in designing and developing simulation models and benchmarks for wireless networks. Her research group is especially focused to how to achieve better sustainability of communication networks on one side and how to boost everyday sustainability by innovative applications.
Ms Carmen Evarista Oriondo Gates, Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, INICTEL-UNI, Peru
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Carmen Oriondo is the supervisor of the ITU Centre of Excellence at the National Institute of Research and Training in Telecommunications of the National University of Engineering – INICTEL-UNI, in Lima-Peru. She graduated from the same university, with bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering. She obtained a Master’s in Science in Education. She also obtained a Master Degree and Doctorate in Business Administration. She has participated in postgraduate programs in Japan, Korea, Spain, United Kingdom and in the USA. Her career in Telecommunications involved several activities related to training, software development, projects, concessions, licenses, technological transfer and entrepreneurship. She is responsible for the India-Peru Center of Excellence in Information Technology and for the CISCO’s Support Center for more than 30 Peruvian Academies, besides the current portfolio of more than 300 regular and virtual courses. At present she is working to implement the first BICSI’s ADTP in Peru.
Ms Sonia Gill, Secretary General and Board Member, Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), Barbados
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Ms Sonia Gill is a broadcast journalist, media regulator, development practitioner and attorney at law. She is also the first woman to be appointed Secretary General of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) in its forty-eight year history.
She began her career in broadcast news and production at the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Barbados, where she won the Barbados Association of Journalists (BAJ) Radio Journalist of the Year award. After completing a first-class honours degree and then pursuing post-graduate studies in communication policy at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Ms Gill held the post of Assistant Executive Director, and Executive Director (Ag.) of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica for over a decade. Ms Gill spent more than five years as Assistant Resident Representative and Governance Advisor of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office based in Jamaica, prior to taking up duties in January 2014 with the CBU at its headquarters in Barbados. Ms Gill attained an honours degree in law at the University of London and qualified to practice at the Norman Manley Law School. In 2005, she was called to the Bar in Jamaica and in 2014 was enrolled to practice in Barbados. Ms Gill is an avid Rotarian and has achieved the designation Paul Harris Fellow.
Mr Gustav Gonzalez, Founder, MaeFloresta, Colombia
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Mr Gonzalez is a computer scientist with 17 years of experience. He is also a software architect and developer with sysadmin skills. Mr Gonzalez is an entrepreneur in several startups since 2008 related to digital art. He is the founder and CEO of MaeFloresta, a startup focused on 2D animation software and art training for children and teenagers. MaeFloresta is an application ecosystem introducing beginners to the digital art of 2D animation. A tool designed to help solve the challenges of Latin America and the Global South in this century: inclusion, equality in access to information technologies, technical training and the underutilization of technological infrastructure.
Mr Oscar Martín González, Undersecretary of Regulation, Ministry of Modernization, Argentina
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Lawyer and Attorney, Mr Gonzalez studied at the National University of Córdoba, Argentina, and completed a Master of Law at the University of Maastricht (The Netherlands). Since 2016, he has been the Undersecretary of Regulation in the Information and Communications Technology Secretariat, under the Ministry of Modernization of the Argentine Republic, responsible for the formulation of proposals and projects related to regulations, the regulatory frameworks of telecommunications, ICT, satellite services and postal and logistic services. Previously, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales S.A. (ARSAT), participating in the design and implementation of the ARSAT satellite system and the Argentinean satellite policy. At the international level, he has participated in various forums, meetings and international, regional and sub-regional conferences, among which there is the 1994 Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU; the Assembly of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of 1994, the first World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), held in the Argentine Republic, also in 1994 and, as an advisor and consultant in the private sector, in the World Radiocommunication Conference of the ITU, in 1997. He chaired the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference 2017 (WTDC-17), held in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Dr Rolando M. Guzman, Rector, Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo (INTEC)
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Rolando M. Guzman holds a Ph.D. in Economics and a Master's in Pure Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a Master's in Quantitative Economics from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil). He is also an alumni of the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo. His career includes activities in public administration, private management, consulting, and economy and social research. He has been Director of Strategic Planning and Market Intelligence in the Telecommunications Sector, Director of Economic Research of the National Planning Office (ONAPLAN) and Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Economics. As a researcher, he has provided consulting services to various national and international agencies, such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Rolando Guzman has authored or co-authored more than ten books and dozens of national and international publications. An essential part of his contributions has been directed to the analysis of the Dominican educational sector and its links with economic development, international competitiveness and the dynamics of the labor market. In addition, his work extends to the topics of macroeconomic policies, technological innovation, and income distribution.In 2011 he was elected as President of INTEC.
Dr James Hendler, Professor and Director of Institute for Data Exploration and Applications, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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James Hendler is the Director of the Institute for Data Exploration and Applications and the Tetherless World Professor of Computer, Web and Cognitive Sciences at RPI. He also heads the RPI-IBM Center for Health Empowerment by Analytics, Learning and Semantics (HEALS) and serves as a Chair of the Board of the UK’s charitable Web Science Trust. Hendler has authored over 350 books, technical papers and articles in the areas of Semantic Web, artificial intelligence, agent-based computing and high performance processing. One of the originators of the “Semantic Web,” Hendler was the recipient of a 1995 Fulbright Foundation Fellowship, is a former member of the US Air Force Science Advisory Board, and is a Fellow of the AAAI, BCS, the IEEE, the AAAS and the ACM. In 2013, he was appointed as the Open Data Advisor to New York State and in 2015 appointed a member of the US Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee and in 2016, became a member of the National Academies Board on Research Data and Information. In 2017, Hendler joined the Director’s Advisory Committee for the National Security Directorate of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. His most recent book is “Socisal Machines: the coming collision of artificial intelligence, social networks and humanity” (Apress, 2017).
Dr Toni Janevski, Professor, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, TFYR Macedonia
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Dr. Toni Janevski is a full professor in telecommunications at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies (FEEIT), Ss. Cyril and Methodius University (UKIM), Skopje, Macedonia. During 1996-1999 he worked for T-Mobile, Macedonia. From 1999 he is with FEEIT. During 2005-2008 he was Member of the Commission of the Agency for Electronic Communications in Macedonia. In 2008-2016 he was Member of the Senate of UKIM. In 2009 he established at FEEIT an ITU Centre of Excellence. He is author of several books from well-known publishers, including “Traffic Analysis and Design of Wireless IP Networks”, Artech House, 2003; "NGN Architectures, Protocols and Services", Wiley, 2014; "Internet Technologies for Fixed and Mobile Networks", Artech House, 2015. He received “Goce Delchev” state award for science in 2012, and “UKIM best scientists” award for 2013 (both can be received once in a lifetime). He successfully tutored many ITU Academy courses since 2009.
Ms Patricia Kerretts – Kemei, Manager, Communications Authority of Kenya
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Ms. Patricia Kerretts - Kemei is a Human Resource Professional having practiced for over 15 years and is currently the Manager/Talent Management & Organization Development at the Communications Authority of Kenya. Patricia obtained her Masters in Business Administration from University of Nairobi, and is a certified Ethics Officer under the Institute of Ethics (South Africa). She is a member of the Institute of Human Resource Management and alumni of Kenya Institute of Management. Patricia has been involved in the area of learning and organizational wealth, knowledge management, performance management, strategy and change management and has championed many initiatives at the workplace. She has also been involved in developing and influencing inclusion of curriculum on ethics and child-on-line protection in conjunction with the Ministry for State for Public Service and Kenya School of Government.Patricia is passionate about community development and the use of ICTs in alleviating poverty and currently serves as a Director at Kamasai Education Centre, Nandi County. She has also served as Board member of Communications Sacco.
Mr Paolo Lanteri, Legal Officer, WIPO
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Paolo is a lawyer, specialized in IP law, and a member of both the Spanish and the Italian Bar Association. He works in the Copyright Law Division of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); he is part of the restricted team of lawyers dealing with all the copyright substantive matters within the Organization, ranging from legislative and policy advice to Member States to training and capacity building for both public and private sector. He was directly involved in all substantial and procedural matters leading to the adoption of the two latest IP treaties adopted at the international level; namely the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances (2012) and the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled (2013). He manages a number of projects in areas at the intersection between copyright law and new technologies, such as Internet Intermediaries, User Generated Content, Software and Videogames protection, new business models, access to knowledge initiatives and emerging licensing schemes. Before joining WIPO in 2007, Paolo practiced in the IP department of the law firm Uría Menéndez Abogados LLP in Madrid (Spain), and worked in the legal department of the Spanish collecting society, Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE). An Italian National, he speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish. He holds an Italian and a Spanish LL.B. and an LL.M. from the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Ms Halima Letamo, Training and Development Officer, ITU
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Halima Letamo currently works as a Training and Development officer for the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). She works for the human capacity building division which is responsible for ITU’s training interventions and human capacity development support to the ITU membership. She holds a master of Business Administration degree and a Master of Education degree as well as 20 years work experience in human capacity development, spread across service in the Botswana Government, UNESCO, Botswana Training Regulator, Botswana Telecommunications Corporation and ITU. Her international service includes chairing the programme for development and training of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation and serving in the organisations governing board. She is a change management practitioner and holds other professional qualifications such as Project Management, Balanced Score Card, Targeted Selection, Human Rights Based Approach to Programming and Implementation of Quality Management Systems
Mr Patrick Masambu, Director-General, ITSO
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Mr Patrick Masambu was elected as the Director General of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) at the organization’s Assembly of Parties meeting held in Washington, D.C in October 2016. Previously, Mr Masambu served as the Deputy Director General and Director of Technical Affairs at ITSO Headquarters in Washington, D.C for a period of 7 years. In this role, he made significant contributions to top level decision making in ITSO as well as related key satellite industry initiatives.
In the period prior to the year 2010, Mr Masambu held several top level management positions in Uganda’s telecommunications sector, where as the founding Chief Executive of the country’s communications regulatory agency, the Uganda Communications Commission, he had the opportunity to spearhead the country’s telecommunications and ICT reforms, operations and regulation. Mr Masambu has also actively led and participated in the design, development and implementation of various works and initiatives at regional and international level institutions such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO), African Telecommunications Union (ATU), World Bank and a number of Academic Institutions. Mr Masambu holds MBA and B.Sc(Engineering)(Hons) degrees; a Postgraduate Diploma in Telecommunications Systems Management and several certificates in specialized disciplines in telecommunications; regulation and ICT.
Mr Fabricio Gomez Mazara, Member of the Board of Directors, INDOTEL
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Mr Mazara is a professional in economics and finance, a professor and researcher. He graduated in Business Administration and has a master in Financial Economics from the University of Chile in 2000. He has completed a postgraduate in Public Services Regulation and Defense of Competition at the Center for Economic Studies for Regulation (CEER) of the Argentine University of Business (UADE) in 2002. Mr Mazara also graduated from the Telecommunications Senior Management Program of the Telecommunications Executive Management Institute of Canada (TEMIC) in 2003. He is a member of the DR-CAFTA Negotiating Team (Trade Capacity Building) in 2004 and a manager of Concessions and Licenses of the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (INDOTEL) from 2000 to 2004. In the period 2006-2010 he was the Director of the Economics Degree at the School of Business Administration and Business Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC). In addition, Mr Mazara is a professor of Social Policies and Governance Training and Political Management for Youth USAID, CIES and CEGES-INTEC in 2006-2008. He is also a professor at the PUCMM and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES). Mr Mazara has been a consultant to international organizations such as IDB, UNDP and UNFPA.
Dr Maurice McNaughton, Director, Centre of Excellence for IT-enabled Innovation, Mona School of Business and Management, Jamaica
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Dr Maurice McNaughton is an Engineering Graduate of the University of the West Indies and holds a PhD in Decision Sciences at Georgia State University. He has over 20 years senior management and leadership experience in the planning and direction of enterprise-level Information Technology in organizations. His research interest spans the domain of Open ICT ecosystems and integrates extensive industry experience with focused academic research about the strategic use of ICTs as an enabler of business innovation in small and large enterprises, as well as a growth-enabler for developing economies. Dr McNaughton is currently Director of the Centre of Excellence for IT-enabled Innovation at the Mona School of Business & Management and is currently doing active research in the areas of Open/Big Data, Mobile Financial Services, and Open Source platforms. He is a founding member of the Caribbean Open Institute, a regional coalition of Caribbean organizations that engages and works with regional governments, researchers, journalists, technologists, NGOs, and academics, to raise awareness, strengthen capacity, and foster collaborations towards the adoption of open development approaches.
Ms Luciana Mermet, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP, Dominican Republic
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A development specialist with more than 15 years of experience in developing countries and international organizations, Luciana was United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) advisor on poverty reduction and international trade policies, with special focus on capacity building programmes fo r Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, with field experience in Asian and African countries. She led UNDP’s contribution to the Aid for Trade initiative of the World Trade Organization as well as the global monitoring of MDG 8 (partnerships and financing for development). Before joining UNDP, she served as trade officer in the Ministry of Economy and Production of Argentina with leadership in multilateral and regional trade negotiations focused on non-agricultural products, trade rules, dispute settlement, South-South cooperation and multilateral environmental agreements. She was a researcher at the Economic Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Chile focusing on fiscal and trade policies. She holds two master's degrees in Public Policy (Georgetown University) and International Development (New York University), and currently serves as Deputy Resident Representative of the UNDP in the Dominican Republic, where she leads the programme and operations of the organization in the country, with a strong focus on sustainable development policies vis-à-vis SDG mainstreaming, implementation and monitoring.
Dr Fengchun Miao, Head, ICT in Education, UNESCO
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Dr. Fengchun Miao is the Chief of the Unit for ICT in Education at UNESCO, Education Sector, Headquarters in Paris. He is leading UNESCO Education Sector’s programmes in areas of ICT in education policy planning and development, ICT competency standards for teachers and students (ICT CFT), Open Educational Resources (OER), mobile learning and AI for education, and future e-schools. He is also in charge of UNESCO Prize for the Use of ICTs in Education. He has launched the following major ICT in education events of UNESCO: International Conferences on ICT and SDG 4 for Education 2030 which has been convened twice (2015 and 2017) , UNESCO Mobile Learning Weeks (for seven years consecutively since 2011), Asia-Pacific Ministerial Forums on ICT in Education which has been organized for five times since 2010, and African Ministerial Forums on ICT in Education which has been organized twice.
He has directly planned and organized more than 30 workshops on ICT in education policy development for more than 1000 policy makers from over 50 countries, and 15 workshop on OER policy development for more than 20 countries. Before joining UNESCO, Dr. Miao was the Director-General of the National Research Centre for Computer Education, Ministry of Education, China. In that capacity, he was responsible for the development of ICT in education policy and ICT curriculum standards for students and managing the National Association for the Use of ICT in K-12 Schools of China.
Mr Luis Henry Molina, President, INDOTEL
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Luis Henry Molina is the current president of INDOTEL. He studied Law at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and did a Master's Degree in Public Law, mention of Constitutional Law from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He was Deputy Minister of the Presidency and Executive Director of the Center for Exports and Investments of the Dominican Republic (CEI-RD). Founding Director of the National School of the Judiciary institution that managed to position itself as a model school in Latin America. He is also the former Executive Director of the National Commission for the Execution of the Criminal Procedure Reform (CONAEJ). He was the first general secretary of the Ibero-American Network of Judicial Schools (RIAEJ). He has contributed to the creation of networks of judicial schools in the Mexican states (REJEM) and the Argentine provinces (REFLEJAR), in the Euro Social Project of the European Union and as coordinator of the E-justice Project: justice in the knowledge society, of the Ibero-American Judicial Summit. He worked as an associate lawyer of the firm Pellerano & Herrera and executive director of the Commissioner of Support for the Reform and Modernization of Justice. He has served as a professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. Where he taught the subjects: History of Law, Introduction to Law, Comparative Law at the bachelor's level; and Constitutional Law, at the bachelor's and master's level; and in the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE), as well as in the Judicial Power, in the Master of Constitutional Law. In January 2011, he founded Connexting, SRL, a consulting firm that supports the strategic and business development of companies and institutions. There he offered services to companies, organizations and leaders in the formulation and development of successful strategies, in increasing the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of organizations, with emphasis on the information systems approach, the paradigm of the network society, information and communication technologies and advocacy capabilities.
Dr Nizar Ben Neji, Professor, Faculty of Sciences, University of Carthage, Tunisia
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Nizar Ben Neji is an Associate Professor and a researcher at the University of Carthage in Tunisia and former US Fulbright visiting scholar at the Massachusetts University. He has more than 14 years of experience in Cybersecurity consultancy and training. Dr. Ben Neji worked as Project Manager at the Tunisian Government Certification Authority (ANCE) of the Ministry of ICT in Tunisia and was member of several national steering committees and working groups in charge of supervising and conducting National PKI related projects such as TUNEPS (Tunisian Online E-Procurement System) and the National committee in charge of revising the cybersecurity and cybercriminality law in Tunisia. To date, Dr. Ben Neji is delivering professional seminars at an international level in wide variety of subjects related to cybersecurity and cybercriminality with ITU Centres of excellence (International Telecommunication Union), CTO (Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization) and AICTO (Arab Information and Communication Technology Organization).
Mr Mike Nxele, Senior Human Capacity Building Officer, ITU
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Mike Nxele is the Senior Human Capacity Building Officer in the Human Capacity Building division of the Bureau of Telecommunications Development of ITU. He is based at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva. In this capacity, Mike is responsible for providing advice and support to ITU member states and sector members in developing their human and institutional capacities to fully leverage the benefits of ICTs. Mike has over 30 years' experience in the field of human resources and human capital development. Prior to joining ITU in 2002, Mike Nxele worked as Director Human Resources for ten years within the incumbent fixed telecommunications operator in his native country, Zimbabwe.
Ms Jiwon Park, Co-founder, CodePhil
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Jiwon Park is a Co-founder of CodePhil, Inc. and Science Policy Interface Focal Point of the UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY). CodePhil is youth-led nonprofit that aims to empower and connect youth in rural Philippines through digital literacy skills. Since 2016, CodePhil has reached more than 2,000 youth in the Philippines and has partnered with the Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines to distribute TypePhil, a typing software developed by CodePhil, at 1,628 Tech4ED community e-centers across the country. CodePhil was selected as a winner of the “Call for Innovations” competition of the 2017 UN Multistakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation and the Davis Projects for Peace. In her role at UN MGCY, Ms. Park has been facilitating a global youth consultation on the Future of Work/Decent Jobs for Youth. Jiwon graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in June 2017, and following graduation, conducted chemistry research in Poland as a Fulbright Scholar.
Mr Lee Rainie, Director of Internet and Technology Research, Pew Research Center
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Lee Rainie is the Director of Internet and Technology research at the Pew Research Center, a non-profit, non–partisan “fact tank” that studies the social impact of the internet. His project was described by the American Sociological Association as the “most authoritative source of reliable data on the use and impact of the internet and mobile connectivity” and the ASA awarded him and the Internet Project its award for “excellence in the reporting on social issues award.” The Project has issued more than 650 reports based on its surveys that examine people’s online activities and the internet’s role in their lives. All of its reports and datasets are available online for free at:
http://www.pewinternet.org. Lee is a co-author of
Networked: The new social operating system with sociologist Barry Wellman about the social impact of the internet, mobile phones and social media. He is also co-author of
five books about the future of the internet that are based on
Project surveys about the subject. Prior to launching the Pew Internet Project, Lee was managing editor of U.S. News & World Report.
Mr Alvaro Ramirez-Bogantes, Skills and Enterprise Specialist, ILO
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Mr. Ramirez is a Skills and Enterprise Development Specialist in the International Labor Organization for Central America, Panama, Dominican Republic and Haiti. He has worked as Enterprise Specialist in ILO Geneva, as well as the Chief Technical Specialist for a US-funded social dialogue project in the DR-CAFTA countries. Before joining the ILO in May of 2004, Mr Ramirez worked as the executive director of the Costa Rican business federation (UCCAEP). He participated in a number of tripartite entities such as the National Labor Council and the Minimum Wage Council. He was also member of the Legislative Committee on Fiscal Reform and weekly columnist for La República. A native of Costa Rica, Ramírez is an economist from the University of Costa Rica with a Master of Science in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Mr Bruno Ramos, Regional Director, ITU Office for the Americas Region
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Bruno Ramos has a degree in electronic engineering from the Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and holds two Master's degrees, one in telecom regulation and the other in Electronic Engineering, from the University of Brasilia (UnB). Mr Ramos was Anatel’s Superintendent for data, mobile and satellite communication. As a Brazilian representative in ITU, he was Vice-President of the Study Commissions of the ITU Standardization Sector from 2000 to 2013. In several occasions Mr Ramos was the Head of the Brazilian. In several occasions Bruno Ramos was the Head of the Brazilian Delegation in International Conferences. Since 2013, he is the ITU Regional Director for the Americas Region, based in Brasilia and is responsible for maintaining and developing relationships with representatives from the highest levels vis à vis with Governments and members of the ITU, regional and international organizations in order to adopt initiatives and projects related to the development of the sector of the telecommunications and of them TIC. As ITU Regional Director, Mr. Ramos is also responsible for the planning, coordination and implementation of all ITU activities, initiatives and projects in the Americas region, which involves the coordination among the Regional Office and the Area offices in Bridgetown, Santiago and Tegucigalpa. He is the responsible for the direct supervision of all the work of ITU in the Americas, highlighting assistance and support to countries related to telecom/ICTs regulation, manage and monitoring of the radio electric spectrum, strengthening of telecom institutions and capacity building in telecom/ICTs in Americas among others.
Mr Santiago Reyes-Borda, Senior Policy Advisor, Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Canada
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Mr Reyes-Borda studied Law, Political Science and International Affairs. He is currently a Senior Policy Advisor on International Telecommunications Policy at the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada (ISED). He is Canada’s Councillor to the ITU and Chairman of the Global Capacity Building Initiative (GCBI). His responsibilities with the Canadian Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) include the ITU Development Sector, Council, World Telecommunications Policy Forum (WTPF) and the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT). He also represents Canada at the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), the Asia-Pacific Telecommunications and Information Working Group (APEC Tel), the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO), and the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO). He is the Chairman of CITEL's Working Group on Conference Preparations for the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference.
Prior to joining the International Telecommunications Policy Directorate in 2003, Mr. Reyes-Borda was the Associate Director of the Office of International Partnerships (OIP) at the Information Highway Applications Branch of the Department of Industry of Canada, responsible for the promotion of the "Connecting Canadians" strategy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Reyes-Borda is co-author of the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas and Plan of Action of Quito (ACAPAC) and a former member of the Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA).
Mr Donal Rice, Senior Design and Policy Advisor on ICT , Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at the National Disability Authority, Ireland
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Dónal Rice is a senior design and policy advisor on ICT for the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at the National Disability Authority, Ireland. He recently returned to the Centre from a secondment at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. At IHREC he managed implementation of the new Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty (Section 42, IHREC Act 2015). He has worked on international policy development and education projects with the European Commission, and UN agencies such as UNESCO and the ITU. He has authored policy and research reports for the ITU, UNESCO, the European Commission and the IITE on accessibility. Dónal has been an evaluator of FP6, FP7 and more recently Horizon 2020 projects. He is undertaking an LLM by research with the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway and lectures on the LLM in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy.
Mr Martin Roos, CEO, Altice, Dominican Republic
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Mr. Martin Roos, a national of Sweden, is a Chemical Engineer with postgraduate degrees in economics, finance and marketing from the Stockholm School of Economics, London’s School of Business and Columbia Business School, respectively. Since 2001 he began a professional career in the area of telecommunications, accumulating an experience of more than 15 years in that sector. Starting first in the multinational Ericsson, in which he remains for 13 years, he held important positions as Director of Sales of Services, in Ericsson Italy, Global Vice President of Sales of Services for the parent company as well as positions of Vice President and President, respectively, for the Caribbean region and Central America, as well as President of Ericsson Puerto Rico and General Manager for that area. Mr Roos consolidates his experience in the sector, during the period 2013-2015, assuming the position of CEO, for the Caribbean region, of the telecommunications multinational Cable & Wireless Communications, covering a portfolio of mobile, fixed, internet and pay television clients , residential and corporate, in 14 islands of the region. In January 2016, he took on the challenge of managing Altice Group's subsidiary in the Dominican Republic, Altice Dominicana, where he is leading the largest expansion made by the company in its infrastructure of mobile and fiber optic networks nationwide. He envisions an acceleration of the democratization in the telecommunications sector in the Dominican Republic through expanding the legacy by providing the best mobile data, broadband internet and paid television experience, associated with unequaled customer service.
Mr Orlando Perez Richiez, Flying Lab Coordinator, WeRobotics, Dominican Republic
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Orlando Perez Richiez is the Executive Director of EMPRENDE Incubadora de Negocios Tecnologicos; a technology business incubator located in Cyberpark, Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He graduated from The Technology Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC) as a Systems Engineer and later on got his Masters in Business Administration degree. Worked for almost a decade in government for the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, where he was responsible for developing the National Entrepreneurship Program, supporting local universities in the development of curriculum and programs regarding entrepreneurship. Also, he fostered the creation of various university entrepreneurship centers. Responsible of the management of projects funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in 2010 and 2016, as well as by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Science and Technology Program (2009). Board member of Enlaces Business Angels Network and of the Drone Innovation Center. Since 2008 has been country representative of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN). Professor of Entrepreneurship class at UNIBE University for The Florida International University (FIU) program. Husband and father of 4: Liah, Isabella, Rodrigo and Maria Paula.
Mr Brahima Sanou, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU
Mr Brahima Sanou has been Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) since 2011. In October 2014 he was elected to a second four-year term. As BDT Director, he has led key initiatives, like for instance the m-Powering Development Initiative, to deliver improved services such as healthcare, education and business over mobile platforms; and the Smart Sustainable Development Model initiative, focused on optimizing resources for sustainable development and disaster management. Mr Sanou draws on over thirty years of experience in the ICT sector at national and international level. As Head of ITU Regional Office for Africa and Liaison Officer to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) from 2000 - 2010, he worked to foster the growth of mobile telecommunications across the continent. From 1997 to 2000, he worked as coordinator of the African regional project on telecommunications reform and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). He began his professional career in his native Burkina Faso, where he held several high-level positions in the Posts and Telecommunications services. Mr Sanou holds a degree in Engineering from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (ENST) in Paris, and a post-graduate diploma from the Centre for Financial, Economic and Banking Studies in Paris.
Dr Marco Serrato, Executive Director, Vice Rector for Executive Education, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico
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Dr. Serrato is a researcher and professor at the Ph.D., MBA, M.Sc and B.Sc. levels. He has been awarded as Outstanding Professor and has also received the Best Professor Award by graduating students of the MBA program. He has participated as Executive Education Professor at Open-Enrollment and Custom-Made programs, and has also designed and delivered a MOOC on Data Analysis for Decision-Making, which has registered 50,000+ learners from sixty eight countries worldwide. He has published several research articles on international peer-reviewed journals, as well as four books and two book chapters. He has also participated as visiting Scholar and Researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Besides such experience in the Executive Education industry and academic world, Dr. Serrato is an entrepreneur with broad networking connections all over Latin America. He has co-founded two start-ups that provide IT-based solutions for organizations located in this region and related to the manufacturing, automotive, health and governmental sectors.
Mr Enrique Shadah, Head, Strategic Relationships, Office of Digital Learning, MIT, United States
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Mr Shadah is the Head of the Workplace Learning Collaborative at MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL;
http://jwel.mit.edu). In this role, he is responsible for leading a community of academics, practitioners and learning professionals to rethink workplace learning and the organizations that support it. He has helped executives in large publicly traded and privately-held companies in Spain, Mexico, France, and several U.S. cities develop successful research collaborations with members of the MIT community. Prior to joining J-WEL in 2016, Mr Shadah was Program Director at MIT’s Office of Corporate Relations Industrial Liaison Program (ILP). In that role, he managed strategic relationships with executives and technical leaders in Spain and Latin America, in industries such as construction, banking, healthcare, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas and software development. Mr Shadah was the creator of MIT’s Startup Exchange, an online tool that enables interactions between ILP’s corporate members and MIT-connected startups (
http://startupexchange.mit.edu) and remains an active mentor in the MIT startup community. Prior to MIT, he advised small and large firms on venture creation, helped business founders liquidate their holdings, led product development a VC-backed startup in Boston, and started three venture projects, one of which is still ongoing. Mr Shadah earned a Masters in Business Administration from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts (Magna Cum Laude) and a Bachelors of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela. He is fluent in English and Spanish and has basic knowledge of Portuguese.
Dr Paula Alexandra Silva, Research Fellow, Digital Media and Interaction Research Centre, Department of Communication and Arts, University of Aveiro, Portugal
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Dr. Paula Alexandra Silva is a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) scientist, researcher, and practitioner who is interested in how we can leverage technology to create a better future for us all. To understand how to design for better user experiences that improve everyday life and common good fascinates her. She is also a passionate teacher who, through understanding and applying teaching and learning methods, strives towards creating exceptional learning experiences for her Design and HCI students. She is currently a Principal Researcher at the Digital Media and Interaction Research Centre within the Department of Communication and Arts, University of Aveiro- Portugal. Before she held appointments as a Postdoc Fellow at the University of Hawai’i and as a senior Scientist at Fraunhofer Portugal, where she managed the Human-Computer Interaction area and group.
Ms Elena Stankovska-Castilla, Human Capacity Building Officer, ITU
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Elena Stankovska-Castilla works as a Human Capacity Building Officer in the Projects and Knowledge Management Department at the International Telecommunication Union. Ms. Stankovska-Castilla has a Bachelor degree in International Studies, Political Science track and a Master’s degree in International Security Studies. Previously to ITU, Ms. Stankovska-Castilla worked at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, as part of the Knowledge Systems Innovation section, where she was in charge of the development and delivery of e-learning and face-to-face courses. In 2014, she worked as an Assistant in the Communication Department of Europol and in 2011, she was an Assistant Knowledge Manager at the NATO Civil-Military Fusion Center.
Mr Phillip Stoner, Director, Cyber Solutions, CYBRScore
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Since the beginning of his career in cybersecurity, Phillip Stoner has consistently endeavored for new and exciting ideas impacting both people and technology. With over four years of experience at Comtech Telecommunications Corp. and 15+ total years in the industry, Mr Stoner has been involved in a diverse set of challenges including national defense, training and education, as well as, cyber-awareness to enable a security-first culture in the workplace and at home. He currently specializes in cyber training and education as the Director of the Cyber Solutions for CYBRScore™, the leader in cybersecurity competency-based training and workforce development.
Mr Stoner began his career when he entered the United States Air Force at the age of 20. Upon separation from the Air Force, he attended the University of Maryland University College where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity. He started his career at Comtech as a Network Security Engineer and worked in various roles designing and building virtual systems/networks and developing cybersecurity-focused training labs in the areas of network defense and intrusion detection, while also occasionally teaching courses on cyber awareness. Most notably, Mr Stoner earned a patent during the development of Comtech/CYBRSCore’s cybersecurity scoring technology - “PerformanScore”. While not working, he enjoys spending time with his family and participating in auto-cross and road & track events with the National Capital Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America.
Mr Veda Sunassee, Head of College, African Leadership University, Rwanda
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Veda Sunassee has spent nearly 8 years serving the African Leadership (AL) Group - founded by Fred Swaniker, one of Africa's leading entrepreneurs and changemakers. During his time with the group, Veda has played a key role in the design and implementation of several key programs and products across all AL entities. Veda started his career with the group at the African Leadership Academy (ALA) - a pan-African high school in South Africa, seeking to nurture leaders from all over the continent. For 5 years, Veda has also served as the lead designer and facilitator/emcee of the African Leadership Network (ALN)'s annual gathering - an event run as a leadership retreat for hundreds of entrepreneurs and leaders from all over Africa. Since 2015, Veda has been working at the African Leadership University (ALU), first as the Director of Student Life at the Mauritius campus and currently serving as Head of College at the Rwanda campus. Veda Sunassee is a citizen of the beautiful island of Mauritius and is an alumnus of Princeton University.
Dr Susan Teltscher, Head, Human Capacity Building Division, ITU
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Dr Susan Teltscher is Head of the Human Capacity Building Division of the International Telecommunication Union’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. In this context, she is responsible for ensuring the delivery of ICT-related capacity building activities and projects, with the objective to enhance knowledge and skills in the field of ICT, in particular in developing countries. This includes the direction and coordination of the ITU Academy and of the ITU Centers of Excellence network, working in partnership with Government, industry and academic institutions. From 2008 to 2017, Dr Teltscher was Head of the ITU Statistics Division. In this position, she was responsible for the collection, harmonization, analysis and dissemination of ICT statistics worldwide, and for the production of analytical reports on global and regional trends in ICT, including the annual ITU Measuring the Information Society Report and the ICT Development Index. Before joining ITU in July 2008, she was Chief of the ICT Policy and Analysis Unit, ICT and E-Business Branch, of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva. Dr Teltscher received her Ph.D. in Economic Geography in 1992 from the University of Washington (Seattle, United States).
Dr Spencer Thomas, Chairman, National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), Grenada
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Dr Spencer Thomas is a Consultant Economist for the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority and the Chairman of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Grenada. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Howard University and a post-doctoral Masters’ degree in Telecommunications Regulation and Policy from the University of the West Indies. Dr Thomas has over 20 years experience as a telecommunications consultant in the Caribbean region.
Ms Stella Uzochukwu-Denis, Founder, Odyssey Educational Foundation, Nigeria
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Stella Uzochukwu-Denis is the founder of Odyssey Educational Foundation. She holds degrees in Electrical Electronics Engineering, Physic Electronics and Educational Technology and a Masters in Telecom Management from Aegis School of Business and Telecom Mumbai, India. Ms. Uzochukwu-Denis worked at Intercellular Nigeria PLC, a foremost telecom company, as a Switch Engineer. She is an ambassador for Girl Rising. A master educator, mentor, and regional ambassador with Technovation, Ms. Uzochukwu-Denis is also a mentor with the New York Academy of Science, helping mentoring girls on the STEM project and has become a member of the Society of Women Engineers, heading various projects. Ms. Uzochukwu-Denis is a coach with the FRIST LEGO League Robotics competition, named one of the 25 women in Robotics. She is also African Women in Technology role model, a champion in advocacy programs for ensuring that girls choose STEM careers in schools and beyond.
Ms Rebeca de la Vega, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, CISCO
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Rebeca De La Vega leads Corporate Affairs efforts in Latin America with responsibility for Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility programs in the region, in particular the Cisco Networking Academy program. Education and economic empowerment are key areas of Cisco CSR impact in Latin America. Prior for this position, Rebeca led the Cisco Networking Academy program in Mexico where the program has widely extended for 20 years and was responsible for building strategic partnerships with education institutions, Federal and local governement bodies, non-profit organizations and development agencies. Before joining Cisco, Rebeca worked for federal governement offices and for some private companies in the areas of marketing, communications and media regulations. Rebeca graduated from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, where she also obtained a Masters degree on Business Administration. She was a professor at this same institution, where she developed a passion for education. She also has further studies in public sector at the Public Administration Institute in Mexico.
Dr Cosmas Zavazava, Chief, Department, Projects and Knowledge Management, ITU
Cosmas Zavazava works in the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the ITU. Since 2001, Cosmas Zavazava has been passionately designing and implementing ICT projects for both sustainable development and public safety of ITU Member States. He has a track record in high-level negotiations, resource mobilization and publishing. He writes of the use of ICT to address the unique needs of least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, Small Island Developing States, developing countries in general, and disaster risk reduction and management. He is currently working on solutions to mitigate the Ebola disease and epidemics in general through ICT including harvesting big data. He taught MBA classes with a focus on strategic management, management information systems and other related topics.
He has spoken at many international conferences to include the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries that was held in Istanbul, Turkey in May 2011, the Third United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States held in Apia, Samoa in August 2014, the Third United Nations Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan from 14 to 18 March 2015.
Dr Cosmas Zavazava: PhD, LLM in Telecommunication and Information Technology Law, MA (summa cum laude), MBA, BBA, Dipl. Telecommunications and Systems Engineering.