Dr. Jane Pratt
Dr. Jane Pratt has over 30 years of leadership and experience in environmentally sustainable and equitable development in the international arena. She has worked in the environment, health, water, energy, agriculture, and transportation sectors in East, South and Southeast Asia, Anglophone and Francophone Africa, and the Andean region of Latin America. Dr. Pratt was the coordinator of the UN International Year of Mountains in 2002 and the lead author of the World Bank’s report on Sustainable Mountain Development.
Dr. Pratt was the President and CEO of The Mountain Institute for eight years. The Mountain Institute (TMI) is an international NGO devoted to conservation of mountain ecosystems and sustainable development for mountain people, rooted in respect for their unique cultures. TMI works in the Andes, Appalachia, and Himalaya and other ranges in partnership with local people and governments.
Dr. Pratt served in various executive positions at the World Bank, including Senior Advisor to the Vice President for Environment and Sustainable Development, Chief, World Bank Office of UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit); Chief, Environmental Operations and Strategy Division, Chief, Country Operations for Rwanda, Burundi, and Zaire; Chief of Strategic Planning; and Personal Assistant to the Senior Vice President, Operations.
Dr. Pratt is a founding partner of EcoLogica, LLC, a consulting firm whose mission is to promote economic and ecologic sustainability. Clients include the World Bank, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, UNDP, UNEP, Aga Khan Foundation, Centennial Group, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Transparency International (TI), the Water Integrity Network (WIN), Millennium Water Alliance.
Dr. Pratt received her Sc.B. from the the University of Michigan, a Certificate in Southeast Asian Studies from Yale University, and her Ph.D. from MIT.
Patricia Donohoe
Patricia Gimper Donohoe is a registered nurse and entrepreneur with an extensive background in clinical and nursing education as well as healthcare staffing. Pat is a cofounder of Medical Staffing Network (MSN), one of the leading healthcare staffing companies in the United States. During her tenure with MSN she was responsible for over 28 successful mergers and acquisitions, the development of healthcare staffing operational guidelines which were instrumental in establishing industry wide standards and was a frequent guest speaker at national nursing and healthcare staffing conferences.
At MSN, she served as Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. She served as co-chair of the Healthcare Staffing Policy Group of the American Staffing Association and on the expert panel which developed the Healthcare Staffing Certification Program for the Joint Commission. Pat has traveled the world extensively, volunteered as a registered nurse working in Dharmasala, India and continues to work with volunteer organizations promoting human rights and health care.
Rick Daniels
Rick Daniels has enjoyed working in the hospitality industry for over twenty-five years. Rick has been with Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island since 1995. His professional and student staff is responsible for the design, coordination and review of 240 events, hosting over 20,000 visitors to the campus per year. Rick first joined JWU as a Food & Beverage Instructor for the Johnson & Wales Inn, one of the university’s largest educational facilities. His responsibilities included educating and evaluating over 300 students per year, while focusing on food, beverage and banquet management.
Rick began his career with the Don Law Company, managing national and international tour productions for world-renowned recording artists and theatrical productions. He is a licensed food safety professional for the State of Rhode Island and has earned the prestigious certification from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. He is an active volunteer, using his skills to benefit his local community. Rick continues to pursue his passion for education and lives by the philosophy that talent is gifted to you, what you choose to do with that talent is your gift to others.
Elizabeth Dearborn Davis
Elizabeth is Co-Founder and CEO of Akilah. Elizabeth moved to Rwanda a few days after graduating from Vanderbilt University. She joined a Global Youth Connect delegation to study post-conflict reconciliation and human rights advocacy. She stayed in Rwanda to volunteer with grassroots education projects and in 2007 she founded a nonprofit organization to provide scholarships to street children and to support an orphanage in Kigali. The idea for Akilah first developed in 2008
Elizabeth has worked on education and community development projects in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and South Africa. Elizabeth was a founding member of Students for Kenya, an organization supporting the Lwala Health Clinic in Western Kenya. At Vanderbilt, she was the president of STAND, the student-led division of the Genocide Intervention Network and a co-founder of Fashion for A Cause. In 2008, she was selected as a StartingBloc Fellow. Elizabeth received the Woman of Peace award from the Women’s Peace Power Foundation in October 2009. She was selected as a speaker at TEDx Tampa Bay in February 2010.
Follow Elizabeth on Twitter at @ElizabethDDavis
Dave Hughes
Dave is Co-Founder of Akilah. A Hong Kong native, Dave moved to Rwanda in 2008 to volunteer with a grassroots organization that runs sports teams for street children. After meeting Elizabeth, they decided to form Akilah. He returned to Hong Kong in 2009 to focus on fundraising and to run the Jade Water Group, a property company. Dave also played for the Sharks Rugby Football Club, which comprises a diverse group of young Rwandans, many of whom live on the streets of Kigali. Dave organized the March 2010 Hong Kong Rugby tour for the Rwandan team to play in the Kowloon 10s Tournament. (www.RwandaRugby.org) Dave is a professional member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, and is a graduate of Reading University Berkshire UK where he received a first class honors degree in investment and finance in property.
"1994 will forever remain imprinted in my memory. We need to educate our new generation about what happened even as we forge ahead with nation building. Yes, I must say that it is difficult, but somehow one must gather the strength to carry on with the mission I seek for a better life ahead."