Aude has been with Witness Change since its foundation. She brings a diverse professional background to her complex and multi-faceted role as Operations Manager. Aude has worked in Search Engine Marketing in the gaming industry, a Franchise and Operations Manager in the fitness industry and combined her love of food and her hometown of Paris to form a successful food tour guide business. She applies her skills in organizing, finance and management to ensure Witness Change runs smoothly. Her information technology expertise ensures Witness Change’s digital platforms effectively disseminate storytelling to relevant audiences. Her responsibilities include managing Witness Change staff and volunteers. Born in France, and of French, Spanish and Algerian descent, Aude has lived in France, South Africa and The United Kingdom.

Michael is a lifelong social justice and LGBTI+ rights activist. He is the founder of two successful not for profit human rights organizations, and is Council of Europe international expert on both LGBTI+ rights and the rights of national minorities. Michael brings a broad range of experience to Witness Change having been a frontline community worker, a CEO, an academic, a campaigner and a policy analyst. He recently completed a doctorate in social science, examining the role of civil society organisations in affecting government policy change. Michael is currently the manager of The Equality Fund, which supports work with minority and marginalized communities in Ireland.

Maddy is a freelance photographer, writer, and documentary filmmaker based in South Africa. Born and raised in Washington DC, she holds a first-class degree in English Literature from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, and is currently a master’s candidate in Documentary Arts at the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Film and Media Studies. She is particularly interested – across her research and her creative practice – in collective and individual memory of trauma, both cultural and personal. Maddy is passionate about the power of storytelling to hold space and to effect change, and has been involved with Witness Change since late 2017, focusing specifically on social media copywriting and editing for the In My World project.

Stephanie is a French-American queer intersectional feminist who has been an activist and campaigner in SOGIESC issues for 10 years now. She has a Gender Studies Masters from Utrecht University and joined WC in early 2019 as an intern. From 2015-2017, Stephanie was a Community Environmental Conservation Peace Corps volunteer in Panama. While there, she was elected as Vice President of the PCV Gender and Development Committee. She spearheaded the creation and facilitation of gender equality workshops under the UN Women HeForShe Campaign, led Diversity and Inclusion trainings as well as leadership, sexual education and empowerment ultimate frisbee and soccer camps across the country. She takes WC’s mission and Theory of Change seriously writing grants, developing partnerships, conducting research and managing projects. Stephanie speaks English, Spanish and French fluently, and has lived in the U.S., Canada, Spain, Norway, Panama and the Netherlands.

Emina is a researcher on disability rights at Human Rights Watch. She leads the organization’s work on the situation of people with disabilities in emergencies and on the institutionalization and isolation of children and adults with disabilities. Emina has investigated their discrimination and abuse in Brazil, Croatia, Lebanon, and Serbia. Most recently, she has investigated the chaining of people with mental health conditions in Nigeria. Previously, she documented police abuse against migrants and asylum seekers in Serbia and Macedonia. Before joining HRW, Emina worked as a lawyer in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She holds a law degree from the University of Sarajevo and an LLM in Human Rights from the Central European University. Emina was born and raised in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Near the end of the Bosnian war, she fled with her family to Sweden where she lived for four years as a refugee before returning to Bosnia.

Samantha is a data methodologist and PhD candidate in Washington, D.C. who specializes in original data collection where non-prior exists. She uses scientific quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and has designed or managed fieldwork operations in conflict and crisis zones. Samantha has worked on over 70+ international projects spanning 30 countries. Samantha’s notable clients include Skateistan, Global Slavery Index – Walk Free Foundation, Asante Africa Foundation, Facebook, Counterpart International, World Bank, and the U.S. State Department. Past projects launching STEM programs for women in Afghanistan, Women Who Code Ghana, Coding with Girls in Washington, D.C., D3 System’s Gender Research Initiative, and the Women in Muslim Countries Project. From 2016-2018, she was the Chair of Business for Statistics Without Borders. Samantha heads Witness Change’s research division providing crucial impact measurement to programs and research that provides context to the humanizing storytelling at the center

Stephen is an aquatic ecologist teaching biostatistics at the University of Oklahoma. He received his Ph.D. in Biology in 2019 from Baylor University, and specializes in quantitative data analysis aimed at assessing community responses to anthropogenic change. He has completed studies on large streams, rivers, and wetlands in the south central United States with a focus on exploring how human activity is altering the natural world. He began volunteering for Witness Change in 2018 and believes data-driven stories of human interactions can lead to positive change around the world. While volunteering he has developed methods to automate online data-collection and analyzed user interactions with Witness Change’s social media accounts.

Robin Hammond is the founder of Witness Change. As the organisation’s lead storyteller he created Witness Change campaigns Where Love Is Illegal and In My World. His multi-award winning photography has appeared on the covers of many of the world’s major publications and has been exhibited widely. He has dedicated his career to amplifying the narratives of marginalized groups through long-term visual storytelling campaigns. Born in New Zealand, Robin has lived in Japan, South Africa, France and The United Kingdom.

Bram is a South African activist residing in Cape Town. His family was involved in the anti-apartheid movement and as a result, his family was in exile in Zimbabwe where he was was born and raised. In 2008 he founded PASSOP, a refugee rights organisation. In 2012 he was involved in lifting the South African national minimum wage of farmworkers, as a coordinator working for the Food Allied Workers union. He has served on the National Development Agency board and the boards of several NGOs including AFP, Cape Town TV, FOCUS and SDC. The South African government appointed Bram as a Social Cohesion Advocate in 2019. He’s been placed in the 200 Young South Africans list by the Mail & Guardian for his human rights work, awarded the Inyathelo youth in philanthropy award and appointed as a panelist by the minister of home affairs for the South African Mkhaya migrant awards.

Kasha has lived openly as a lesbian her whole life and was a part of the legal campaign to repeal the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda, which criminalized homosexuality with life-in-prison sentences. In 2003 she founded Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG). She has addressed LGBTI issues at the UN Human rights council, addressing the two historical LGBTI panels at the UN General Assembly and working on resolutions at the UN, European Union and African Commission. Kasha has been honored with the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2011, the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award in 2013 and the Right Livelihood Award in 2015. In 2019 she received the University of Toronto Bonham Centre Award to celebrate 50yrs of LGBTI activism worldwide. Currently, Kasha is the Executive Director of Kuchu Times Media Group, based in Kampala, and continues her work in community mobilization.

Ms. Pragya Lodha is a Clinical Psychologist and Research Associate at DeSousa Foundation. She is the Honorary Associate Editor for the Indian Journal of Mental Health with over 100 national and international publications. She is also the Programme Director for The MINDS Foundation, Mumbai and serves as a Consultant for the Mental Health vertical at One Future Collective. She has served as an Assistant Professor for Postgraduate Psychology at SNDT University. Pragya is the Trustee at the Global Society for Digital Psychology and a core team member at Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India.

William is an American photographer and activist based in Amsterdam. He strongly believes in the transformational ability of photography coupled with personal storytelling. With Witness Change from its early beginnings, William ensures that the stories the organization tells, reach both wide and specific audiences. William has a first hand understanding of Witness Change’s storytelling process, participating directly in field work and supporting Robin Hammond in documenting many of their stories. William has visited multiple Witness Change partners which has given him a deep knowledge of their needs and how Witness Change can best support them through humanizing storytelling.

Langton comes with vast experience as a human rights defender. He has worked with prominent human rights NGOs, including People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty from 2010 to 2013 based in Cape Town. With Global Witness, he was involved in campaigning against the sale of ‘conflict minerals’ in global supply chains, promoting responsible business practices in the corporate sector and anticorruption. Langton completed his doctoral studies at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2018. His thesis explored the changing conceptions and practices of citizenship in the context of transnational migration, with a specific focus on Zimbabweans living in South Africa and the UK. Since completing his doctoral studies, Langton continues with teaching responsibilities in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London. He also continues to explore academic and civil society platforms through which to communicate results of his doctoral work.

Mariah Moore is a national transgender rights activist from New Orleans, LA. Her work includes fighting to ensure equity, equality and safety for Black transgender women. Mariah has worked tirelessly in New Orleans to bring awareness to communities that have been adversely affected by discriminatory laws and policies. Mariah serves on the LGBTQ Task Force NOLA. She also works with the CANS Can’t Stand campaign, created to bring awareness to the crimes against natural law that has historically targeted LGBTQ people of color. Mariah is a Victory Empowerment Alumni, which is a program that identifies and trains LGBTQ community members who wish to run for office. Through sharing her lived experiences as well as the work she does at Transgender Law Center as a Program Associate, she continues to change hearts and minds so that all LGBTQ people can live free from fear.

Hauwa is a mental health advocate and coach who publicly identifies as a person who lives with a mental health condition and psychosocial disability. She’s tagged the voice and face of mental health in Nigeria as she leads She Writes Woman; a movement that gives people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities a voice. Hauwa has received global recognition from Her Majesty the Queen of England, Obama Foundation, MTV, One Young World, and more, for the groundbreaking work she does.

Angela joined Witness Change in December of 2020. Born and raised in Texas, Angela now lives in Denver, Colorado working in the email marketing industry. From a very young age, Angela was aware of the human rights disparities that exist world-wide, being curious about why people were being treated so differently. As she became an adult, she turned the curiosity into opportunities to learn and raise awareness to issues ranging from the imbalance of healthcare worldwide, social justice issues, and mental health awareness. Her interest in the human condition led her to obtain degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice. “Be kind, always” is a mantra Angela follows in her daily life, also trying to influence others to follow the same mindset.

Howard Pulchin has worked for a series of international communications agencies and currently is a Global Creative Director and helps organizations develop compelling ideas and stories. He has launched new brands, developed thought-leadership campaigns, and repositioned organizations for new audiences and environments. Howard facilitates idea-development and storytelling workshops, while also overseeing a range of curricula to foster more creative thinking in organizations. He is a member of his agency’s Diversity & Inclusion council and co-leads its LGBTQ ERG. He has worked with some of the world’s preeminent brands and companies, including Microsoft, Starbucks, Unilever, Audi, ETS, Gensler, Heineken and Diageo. Last year, he was selected to serve on the Cannes Lions Public Relations Jury. He is committed to social advocacy, and serves on the Boards of Hope in the Box (NY), The Sylvia Center (NY) and the advisory council of The Little Guild (CT).

Santiago Ramirez Said is a National Geographic Explorer, a Photo Ambassador for Ponant, a Destination Expert for National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions, and a Research Project Manager at the University of Victoria, Canada, where he is one of the leaders of an international effort to mitigate the impacts of massive Sargassum seaweed accumulation in coastal communities. Born in Colombia and of Lebanese, Spanish, and Indigenous Colombian descent, Santiago grew up in a multicultural and multireligious family circle with all 3 Abrahamic religions intertwined. The diversity of his origins and family history leads him to focus all of his work as a biological scientist on the interface of nature conservation, human rights, and work with local communities. Although still under 30, Santiago has successfully raised over 3 million dollars to implement nature conservation, Indigenous rights, and Human rights support projects in the past 3 years. His work has been featured by National Geographic and in various countries’ news outlets, including Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Puerto Rico, Canada, Egypt, and Spain.

Sarah works in the field of mental health and believes in the need to focus on destigmatizing the idea of mental health in societies and providing people with the proper channels for help and growth. She has been involved in research in the area of mental health literacy among youth, providing psychosocial support through digital means like chats, warmlines and running mental health support groups. She has also handled operations, PR, Social media marketing and communications for many grass-root mental health organizations. Her interest lies in using social media platforms as a means to raise awareness, share perspectives, increase access to resources on issues like mental health among various groups in society.

Leigh Ann is an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, where she co-owns Strickland Webster, LLC, a criminal defense and appellate law firm. Leigh Ann primarily represents indigent defendants in the state and federal systems, with a focus on appellate and post-conviction work. She grew up in rural Georgia before obtaining her Bachelor of Arts from Emory University. After graduating from Emory, she attended Harvard Law School. While in law school, Leigh Ann worked with various organizations, including the South African Human Rights Commission, PASSOP, and the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic. After graduation, Leigh Ann completed a fellowship with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project. She subsequently worked as a Staff Attorney at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.