Board of Trustees

Njideka Harry

Founder and Executive Board Member

Njideka is the president and CEO of Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF). In this role, she is responsible for setting the organization’s strategy, overseeing its programs, and managing its relationships with YTF’s public and private partnerships. In addition, Njideka works with the YTF senior leadership team to review and evaluate the results of program activities, and organizational and administrative policies for program objectives.

Njideka earned her BBA in finance and economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She completed her post-graduate studies at Stanford University where she was a Reuters Digital Vision Fellow. She is an Ashoka Fellow and a social entrepreneur at the World Economic Forum.

Alessandra Dilorenzo

Chief Commercial Officer, LastMinute.com

Alessandra is the chief commercial officer for media & partnerships at the lastminute.com group. Heading up the group’s media business, The Travel People, she oversees non–e-commerce revenues for the group. With over a decade in digital marketing, Alessandra has previously held roles at eBay Advertising and Vodafone, with a focus on mobile and data-driven product development. Passionate about all things digital, she has developed knowledge and strong connections in the media space since starting her career in 2004 at Nokia, where she managed partner relationships and business development across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Prior to this, she was a mobile managing partner of marketing activities at Yahoo!

She is a strong believer in the value that digital communications can bring to developing countries, in particular via mobile.

Bambo Sofola

Director of Engineering, Microsoft

Bambo is the partner director of software engineering for the Windows Fundamentals team, part of the Windows and Devices Group. Under his leadership, his team is responsible for Windows Community and Windows Deployment, as well as Application and Device Compatibility. The Fundamentals team also has the privilege of owning the Business Data Insights and Diagnostics team, which uses data to delight consumers with outstanding Performance and Reliability starting in the first hour of customer usage in the newest Windows products.
Bambo joined Microsoft as a customer support engineer supporting Windows 3.x family products. Staying true to his roots as a customer support engineer, Bambo has continually championed the customer experience for the products he has shipped, spanning Windows for consumers, Enterprise, and Windows Embedded.

Irving Lee Rother, PhD

Professor, McGill University

Lee is an award-winning expert on English language arts and media education, with more than 30 years’ experience teaching, consulting and designing curricula at the school, university and provincial levels. He has lectured at McGill University, Bishop’s University and the University of Hong Kong. Lee volunteers his time on dozens of international education projects in developing and post-conflict countries.

Don Okonny

CEO, Sagamy LLC

Don is the founder and CEO of Sagamy LLC and is responsible for the profitable growth and strategic direction of the company. Prior to founding Sagamy, Don spent 4 years as business development manager at Wipro, a $5 billion global technology company. He was responsible for expanding Wipro’s software services business for the media, technology and travel industries in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, where he grew the new business revenue to over $8 million and received the highest recognition for excellence in the company – the “Wipro Winners Circle” award from Wipro chairman & CEO Azim Premji.
Don has gained in-depth experience in the global software services industry and has spent months in India and China developing the Offshore Software Delivery Model. Prior to Wipro, Don worked for Motorola.

Don is also advisor to Giticom Microfinance Bank and serves on the boards of Washington Community Alliance for Self-Help (a microfinance institution) and Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz Alumni Association.
He received both his bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s degree in information system management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Silvia Lovato

Media Researcher, Northwestern University

Silvia is a children’s interactive media producer turned researcher. She has over 15 years of experience in developing educational games and other interactive features for children ages 2 to 12. She has worked on a range of projects, from formal curriculum areas like math and science to music, consumer education and emotional well-being.

Silvia has spent much of her career with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Besides managing PBS KIDS interactive products, she spearheaded initiatives to enable public TV stations in communities across the United States to collaborate in creating their own digital media tools. She currently researches how children understand and use the media and communications technologies available to them.

A native of Brazil, Silvia started her career in online journalism before moving to the United States. She has a master’s degree in communication, culture, and technology from Georgetown University.

Leo Osahor

Founder and CEO, FlightSpeak

Leo recently embarked on his next chapter after a 5-year stint at Microsoft, where he was an executive communications manager for the vice president of the Microsoft Advertising Business Group (MSA BG). Prior to assuming that role, Leo served as a senior product manager of Community Courseware, Tools and Services in Microsoft Learning, an organization dedicated to training and readiness on Microsoft technologies, and was responsible for a $2M portfolio of learning products and solutions.

As founder and CEO of FlightSpeak, Leo is able to translate his love of flying into transforming the way people travel. His specialties include business planning/strategy, marketing, communications, public speaking, startup leadership and world-class consumer experiences.

Leo is passionate and curious about all things related to design, exploration, communications, and leadership.

Leo holds an MBA in finance and a master’s in strategic management from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, and a bachelor’s degree in science and engineering from Oral Roberts University. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring new foods and cultures, playing sports, and spending time with friends.

Nicholas Okoye

President and CEO, Anabel Group, Inc.

Nicholas is the president and CEO of Anabel Mobile Group, a mobile platform, mobile technology and mobile device manufacturing company. Prior to this, he was the group executive director for Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), involved in oil, gas, hospitality and agriculture.
Nicholas is an expert on the convergence of the telecommunications industry with technology and entertainment. He is also regarded as an authority on global trade and global market dynamics as well as national investment strategy, national competitive advantage and competitive strategy.

Nicholas holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Anambra State University of Technology and completed several executive education courses in leadership from Harvard Business School and the London School of Economics.

Alex Yancher

Co-Founder & COO, Pantry

Alex is the co-founder and head of sales for Pantry Retail, a San Francisco−based start-up that markets smart kiosks that vend fresh food and beverages. He began his career as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley, covering a range of food-industry clients including California Pizza Kitchen and Peet’s. After Morgan Stanley, Alex joined the Business Operations team at Facebook, where he managed strategic and operational projects around monetization.
Alex graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in economics and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley. He enjoys traveling, comedy clubs and everything technology.

Katherine Maher

Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation

Katherine is the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, a longtime advocate for free and open societies, and an expert in leveraging technology for social impact.

Katherine has lived and worked around the world, leading the introduction of technology and innovation in human rights, good governance, and international development. She was a founding member of the UNICEF Innovation team, where she helped introduce open-source innovation for health and child welfare. She has worked with the National Democratic Institute, the World Bank, and Access Now on programs supporting innovative technologies for democratic participation, civic engagement, youth entrepreneurship, open government, and human rights.

Katherine is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on Human Rights, a fellow at the Truman National Security Project, a member of the advisory board of the Open Technology Fund and a trustee of the Project for the Study of the 21st Century.