Deborah Elizabeth
Deborah Elizabeth founded Women United Foundation on a conviction that would not leave her. That the women with the greatest influence in the world rarely had structures built to match it. She built the platform, the system, and the architecture to change that.
Read Full BioDeborah Elizabeth
Deborah Elizabeth is an international consultant who has spent more than a decade on the ground across Africa, building relationships, navigating complex markets, and watching extraordinary women lead with vision that the world was only beginning to see.
Long before Women United Foundation existed, she was already in the work. And in those years, she recognized a gap that would not leave her. Women of real influence, access, and insight, operating without the structures to turn that power into lasting opportunity.
That observation became a conviction. That conviction became a platform.
She founded Women United Foundation to close that gap and built NEXUS, the African Women Business Union, and the Women's Prosperity Alliance as the engines to make it real. Today, as Founder and Global Executive Chair, she leads an organization that convenes some of the world's most influential women, First Ladies, business leaders, and global decision-makers, and gives that influence the structure, the strategy, and the platform it has always deserved.
She did not wait for the world to create the right platform. She built it, named it, and made it real.
H.E. Ana Dias Lourenço
H.E. Ana Dias Lourenço is not simply a First Lady. She is an economist, a former senior architect of Angola's national planning leadership, and one of the most substantive women operating at the intersection of state power, development finance, and international institutional engagement on the African continent.
Read Full BioH.E. Ana Dias Lourenço
H.E. Ana Dias Lourenço is not simply a First Lady. She is an economist, a former senior architect of Angola's national planning leadership, and one of the most substantive women operating at the intersection of state power, development finance, and international institutional engagement on the African continent.
Her presence within Women United Foundation is not ceremonial. As Co Chair of Global Leadership and Strategic Affairs, she brings the kind of credibility that cannot be borrowed or built overnight. She has sat in the rooms where national economies are shaped, where development capital is directed, and where long range policy decisions are made. She brings all of that with her.
For Women United Foundation, her role means something specific. It means that when the platform speaks to governments, to institutions, and to the world's most serious financial and development bodies, it speaks with the weight of someone who has operated at that level her entire career.
H.E. Ana Dias Lourenço does not add prestige to this platform. She raises its ceiling.
H.H. Princess Isabella Orsini de Ligne de La Trémoïlle
H.H. Princess Isabella Orsini de Ligne de La Trémoïlle brings a combination of attributes that very few people in the world hold at once. Legal training, a serious international acting and producing career, a genuine commitment to women and the environment, and a place within one of Europe's most distinguished noble families. She does not simply open doors in Europe. She belongs in the rooms behind them.
Read Full BioH.H. Princess Isabella Orsini de Ligne de La Trémoïlle
H.H. Princess Isabella Orsini de Ligne de La Trémoïlle serves as Vice President of European Affairs and Cultural Diplomacy at Women United Foundation, strengthening the platform's reach across Europe through a combination of stature, legal intelligence, and genuine cultural authority.
Born in Perugia, Italy, she graduated in law before pursuing a distinguished international career in film and production, training at the Actors Studio in both Italy and the United States. Her work as an actress and producer spans feature films and television across multiple countries, and she has been recognized with a Best Actress award for her craft.
By marriage to H.H. Prince Edouard de Ligne de La Trémoïlle, she became a legally recognized member of the House of Ligne, one of Europe's most historic noble families, whose princely rank has been formally recognized in Belgium since 1923. The family seat is the Chateau d'Antoing in Belgium, where she and her husband created what has been recognized as the largest ecological hotel complex in Europe, reflecting a commitment to sustainability that extends into her broader public work.
She is deeply committed to the advancement of women, including through her film production activities and public platform, which she has used to elevate causes that align with the values Women United Foundation holds.
Within Women United Foundation, her role is not symbolic. She positions the platform at the intersection of European diplomacy, cultural influence, and high level international relationships in ways that take years to build and cannot be replicated.
Where law, culture, nobility, and conviction meet, you find Isabella Orsini. That is exactly where Women United Foundation needs to be.
H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio
H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio is the First Lady of Sierra Leone and the elected President of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development, chosen by her fellow First Ladies at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in 2025. She is one of the most active and visible women leaders on the African continent and she brings all of that to Women United Foundation.
Read Full BioH.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio
H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio serves as Global Spokesperson and Strategic Ambassador of Women United Foundation, bringing public leadership, continental reach, and international visibility to the platform.
As First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, she has built a record of sustained, on the ground advocacy that goes well beyond ceremonial leadership. Her Hands Off Our Girls campaign has become one of the most recognized initiatives in West Africa, addressing gender-based violence and the protection of women and girls with urgency and consistency.
In February 2025, she was elected President of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development at the 29th General Assembly of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, chosen by her fellow First Ladies across the continent in a closely contested election. She serves a two year mandate leading an organization that has evolved into one of Africa's most prominent platforms for women's empowerment, maternal and child health, and broad development advocacy.
She has represented Africa's women and children at the United Nations General Assembly, hosting a landmark high level dinner at UNGA80 in New York in 2025, bringing together presidents, First Ladies, development partners, and global institutions under the theme of centering women and children in global peace and sustainable development. Her achievements have earned recognition from both the African Union and the United Nations.
Within Women United Foundation, she strengthens the platform's voice across global conversations and reinforces its position as a body capable of engaging governments, institutions, and international partners with credibility, reach, and the highest level of legitimacy.
Her record is not measured in titles. It is measured in lives her work has reached.
First Ladies
Leadership Council
H.E. Antoinette Sassou Nguesso
H.E. Antoinette Sassou Nguesso has served as First Lady of the Republic of Congo across more than four decades of public life. A teacher by profession and a humanitarian by conviction, she founded the Congo Assistance Foundation in 1984 and has never stopped building it. Her record of sustained commitment to her people is one of the longest on the African continent.
Read Full BioH.E. Antoinette Sassou Nguesso
H.E. Antoinette Sassou Nguesso serves as Honored Patroness of Women United Foundation, bringing distinction, moral authority, and one of the longest records of sustained humanitarian leadership on the African continent.
A teacher by profession, she has dedicated more than four decades of her public life to the welfare of the Congolese people and the broader African community. In 1984 she founded the Congo Assistance Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to health, education, development, and vocational training that has received international acclaim for its humanitarian work.
Under her leadership the foundation has worked to reduce HIV prevalence across the country, supported cardiac care for children from poor families, advanced cancer treatment infrastructure, worked to combat sickle cell disease, trained women for senior leadership roles, and engaged in efforts to end female genital mutilation. The foundation operates in partnership with institutions across Africa and Europe and continues to grow its impact under her direct involvement.
At the international level she has served as President of the African First Ladies Peace Mission against conflicts, bringing her commitment to stability, peace, and the protection of vulnerable communities to the continental stage.
Her decades of humanitarian service to the people of Congo make her presence within Women United Foundation a true honor.
H.E. Débora Katisa Carvalho
H.E. Dr. Débora Katisa Carvalho, First Lady of the Republic of Cabo Verde, is a woman of causes. A cultural advocate, climate activist, and champion of social solidarity, she brings to Women United Foundation a genuine commitment to African creative power and the belief that women hold the transformative force to shape a more just and harmonious world.
Read Full BioH.E. Débora Katisa Carvalho
H.E. Dr. Débora Katisa Carvalho serves as Cultural Ambassador for Fashion and Creative Industries at Women United Foundation, where she plays an active leadership role in advancing CREATE GLOBAL.
Born in Praia, Cabo Verde, she is a woman of deep cultural roots and long-standing civic commitment. Long before becoming First Lady she was already an activist, working across causes including climate change, sustainable development, gender-based violence, child protection, and social solidarity. The role of First Lady did not create her sense of purpose. It gave it a larger platform.
Through CREATE GLOBAL she helps position fashion, media, design, and creative enterprise not simply as cultural expression, but as industries with the power to shape perception, expand market presence, and open long term economic opportunity for African creators and communities.
Her public voice has carried across international forums, where she has spoken with clarity and conviction about the responsibility of women to lead the transformation the world needs. She has been clear that women hold the transformative power for a more harmonious, greener, and more just world and she carries that conviction into everything she does within this platform.
Her presence within Women United Foundation reflects a leader who understands that culture is not separate from development. It is one of its most powerful drivers.
Culture, conviction, and a genuine commitment to her people. She brings all three to this platform.
H.E. Dr. Fatoumatta Bah Barrow
H.E. Dr. Fatoumatta Bah Barrow is the First Lady of the Republic of The Gambia and one of West Africa's most committed humanitarian advocates. Known affectionately as the little lady with the big voice, she has dedicated her public life to the welfare of women, children, and vulnerable communities across The Gambia and beyond.
Read Full BioH.E. Dr. Fatoumatta Bah Barrow
H.E. Dr. Fatoumatta Bah Barrow serves as a member of the First Ladies Leadership Council of Women United Foundation, bringing grassroots humanitarian commitment and sustained public advocacy to the platform.
Since assuming the role of First Lady in 2017, she has built a record of on the ground action that reaches into the most vulnerable communities in The Gambia. Her work spans maternal and child health, gender-based violence prevention, education access, poverty reduction, and support for women and youth. She is widely known for the depth of her personal involvement in the causes she champions, regularly visiting communities, hospitals, and shelters across the country.
Among her most significant contributions is the launch of national hotlines for gender-based violence and child protection cases, and the establishment of a shelter for survivors of gender-based violence, where she has also supported vocational training to help women rebuild their lives with dignity and independence.
As Chief Patron of the Women Enterprise Fund of The Gambia, she has worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare to strengthen the capacity of thousands of women and girls-owned enterprises across the country.
In December 2025 she was honored with the UK Black Excellence Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the advancement of women's and children's welfare, reflecting The Gambia's growing visibility within international development and humanitarian circles.
The Gambia calls her the little lady with the big voice. Women United Foundation simply calls her essential.
Global Advisory Council
Daphna Edwards Ziman
Daphna Edwards Ziman serves as Honorary President, Humanitarian Leadership, at Women United Foundation, bringing decades of advocacy on behalf of women, children, and vulnerable communities. She is the founder of Children Uniting Nations and Justice for Women International, and her public work has long centered on child protection, anti trafficking efforts, and the protection of women and girls from violence and exploitation.
Read Full BioDaphna Edwards Ziman
Daphna Edwards Ziman serves as Honorary President, Humanitarian Leadership, at Women United Foundation, bringing decades of humanitarian visibility shaped by advocacy for women, children, and vulnerable communities.
She is the founder and chairperson of Children Uniting Nations, an organization dedicated to child welfare and mentoring for at risk youth, and the founder of Justice for Women International, a platform created to confront trafficking, violence, and exploitation targeting women and girls.
Her humanitarian work has extended beyond advocacy alone. Over the years, she has used her public platform to elevate child protection, support vulnerable youth, strengthen visibility around abuse and trafficking, and build international awareness around the urgent need for protection, dignity, and long term pathways to safety and restoration.
Her work also includes the Every Girl’s City initiative, an Africa focused humanitarian vision developed through Justice for Women to create protected communities for vulnerable children and survivors of trafficking and violence, with public plans describing the first of ten smart city safe havens designed around housing, food security, education, and long term recovery.
Her efforts have been recognized through honors including the Jacqueline Kennedy Award, the Women of Achievement Award from the North American Council for Adoptable Children, the Uniting Children of the World Award from the Child Welfare League of America, the Peace and Tolerance Lifetime Achievement Award for Child Advocacy, and the Hero’s Award for her work on behalf of vulnerable youth.
Within Women United Foundation, she brings humanitarian visibility, advocacy, and a longstanding record of engagement on behalf of women and children, strengthening the platform’s ability to speak with compassion, urgency, and international relevance.
Dr. Martha Namundjebo Tilahun
Dr. Martha Namundjebo Tilahun brings exceptional business authority to Women United Foundation through a career defined by enterprise leadership, regional influence, and long standing institutional credibility.
Read Full BioDr. Martha Namundjebo Tilahun
Dr. Martha Namundjebo Tilahun serves in a Business Strategy Advisory role to Women United Foundation, bringing a level of commercial leadership and executive maturity that few platforms can claim.
As Chairperson of United Africa Group, a privately owned multi billion dollar conglomerate in Namibia, she has led across hospitality, financial services, property development, and energy, demonstrating both range and scale in African business execution.
Her leadership extends across more than 42 highly diversified subsidiaries, including landmark developments such as the Hilton Windhoek and the 1990 Freedom Plaza mixed use development in the central business district of Windhoek. Her record reflects not only commercial success, but the ability to build enduring business platforms with regional significance.
She has also held influential leadership and board roles across major institutions including Standard Bank Namibia, Tullow Oil Namibia, the Namibia Chamber of Commerce, the SADC Chamber of Commerce, MEATCO, and the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology.
Within Women United Foundation, she strengthens the platform through high level business insight, strategic discipline, and the perspective of a woman who has built, led, and governed at the highest levels of African enterprise.
Diane Yoo
Diane Yoo brings strong financial and investment leadership to Women United Foundation and is one of the leaders behind Women’s Prosperity Alliance Fund I, an investment fund focused on technology and women entrepreneurs.
Read Full BioDiane Yoo
Diane Yoo brings strong financial and investment leadership to Women United Foundation, strengthening the platform’s position at the intersection of capital, strategy, and long term economic growth.
She is one of the leaders behind Women’s Prosperity Alliance Fund I, an investment fund designed to direct capital into technology and women entrepreneurs, with a focus on scalable opportunity, serious market participation, and long term value creation.
Her role reflects more than financial sophistication alone. She helps shape the investment architecture behind a platform committed to connecting women led opportunity with disciplined capital, credible strategy, and a broader vision for economic participation at scale.
Within Women United Foundation, Diane strengthens the financial side of the ecosystem, reinforcing that this is not simply a platform of influence, but one that is building real pathways for investment, enterprise growth, and women led market leadership.
Dr. Saima Rana
Dr. Saima Rana brings academic authority and education leadership to Women United Foundation and serves as Chair of Every Child Learns, where her affiliation with GEMS helps position the initiative with real institutional credibility.
Read Full BioDr. Saima Rana
Dr. Saima Rana serves as Chair of Every Child Learns at Women United Foundation, bringing academic authority, education leadership, and institutional depth to one of the platform’s most important areas of work.
Her affiliation with GEMS places her in a uniquely credible position to help guide an education initiative centered on excellence, access, and long term human development. She brings the perspective of a leader who understands both the strategic and operational dimensions of education at scale.
Within Women United Foundation, she helps position Every Child Learns not as a symbolic education initiative, but as a serious platform for educational leadership, stronger systems, and meaningful pathways for children to learn, grow, and thrive.
Her presence reinforces the Foundation’s ability to engage the education sector with credibility, seriousness, and a vision grounded in both institutional strength and lasting impact.
Chantal Pembe
Chantal Pembe serves as President of the African Women Business Union, bringing private sector credibility, market understanding, and leadership to one of the most important execution engines within the Women United Foundation ecosystem.
Read Full BioChantal Pembe
Chantal Pembe serves as President of the African Women Business Union, bringing business leadership, market understanding, and private sector authority to one of the strongest execution platforms connected to Women United Foundation.
As a leading businesswoman from the Democratic Republic of Congo, she brings practical knowledge of how African enterprise moves across real markets, relationships, and operating environments. Her leadership reflects both commercial credibility and a deep understanding of the role women play in shaping serious economic activity across the continent.
Under her leadership, the African Women Business Union stands as more than a symbolic network. It is a serious platform of businesswomen positioned to connect influence with enterprise, strengthen commercial relationships across borders, and help translate vision into coordinated action on the ground.
Within the broader Women United Foundation ecosystem, Chantal reinforces the business backbone of the platform, helping ensure that leadership is matched by execution, market access, and real economic participation.
Dr. Hoda Galal Yassa
Dr. Hoda Galal Yassa brings strong regional authority in investment, entrepreneurship, and cross border economic cooperation to Women United Foundation. As President of the Arab Women Investors Union, she strengthens the platform’s reach across Africa and the Middle East through serious business networks and capital connectivity.
Read Full BioDr. Hoda Galal Yassa
Dr. Hoda Galal Yassa serves on the Global Advisory Council of Women United Foundation, bringing strong regional authority in investment, entrepreneurship, and cross border economic cooperation. As President of the Arab Women Investors Union, she has long operated at the intersection of business leadership, relationship building, and regional capital connectivity. [oai_citation:1‡Qna](https://qna.org.qa/en/News-Area/News/2026-1/14/private-sector-social-responsibility-conference-emphasizes-importance-of-good-governance-for-sustainability-of-family-businesses?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Her work reflects a sustained commitment to expanding the role of women in serious business and investment activity across the Arab world and beyond. She is also identified publicly as a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, which further reinforces her standing within broader economic and international policy circles. [oai_citation:2‡Diyarbakır Commerce Chamber](https://dtso.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/arap-afrikaform.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Within Women United Foundation, she strengthens the platform’s ability to engage investment communities across Africa and the Middle East with greater credibility, wider access, and a more sophisticated regional perspective. Her presence reinforces WUF as a platform that is not confined to one geography, but positioned to connect women, capital, and opportunity across multiple strategic markets. [oai_citation:3‡Qna](https://qna.org.qa/en/News-Area/News/2026-1/14/private-sector-social-responsibility-conference-emphasizes-importance-of-good-governance-for-sustainability-of-family-businesses?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
Shawanda Vickers
Shawanda Vickers serves as Strategic Advisor to Women United Foundation, bringing entrepreneurial leadership, partnership development, and community engagement to the platform. As founder and CEO of Shoo Cosmetics, she reflects the perspective of a businesswoman who built her company from the ground up and understands the discipline, creativity, and resilience required to create lasting value.
Read Full BioShawanda Vickers
Shawanda Vickers serves as Strategic Advisor to Women United Foundation, bringing entrepreneurial leadership, partnership development, and community engagement to the platform.
As founder and CEO of Shoo Cosmetics, she represents the kind of businesswoman who has built from the ground up, shaping her company through vision, persistence, and hands on leadership. Her path from former high school science teacher to entrepreneur reflects both discipline and reinvention, as well as the ability to translate ideas into a growing brand within a highly competitive industry.
Her experience brings practical value to Women United Foundation. She understands what it means to build, lead, and create opportunity through enterprise, while remaining grounded in people, relationships, and the importance of community connection.
Within Women United Foundation, Shawanda strengthens the platform through strategic insight, entrepreneurial perspective, and a leadership style rooted in collaboration, resilience, and long term relationship building.
Zeina Chbeir
Zeina Chbeir serves in a Middle East Strategy & Regional Partnerships role at Women United Foundation, bringing business leadership, design sector sophistication, and strong regional connectivity across the Gulf. As founder of Carré D’art in Abu Dhabi, she contributes a refined understanding of luxury markets, high level client relations, and the business of design in the Middle East.
Read Full BioZeina Chbeir
Zeina Chbeir serves in a Middle East Strategy & Regional Partnerships role at Women United Foundation, bringing business leadership, regional access, and a sophisticated understanding of the design and luxury sectors across the Gulf.
As founder of Carré D’art in Abu Dhabi, she has built a business positioned within one of the world’s most relationship driven and high value markets, serving clients across the Middle East through the worlds of luxury interiors, design, and lifestyle.
Her experience reflects more than aesthetic sensibility. It reflects an ability to operate where trust, discretion, quality, and long term client engagement are essential, giving her real insight into how influence, business, and elite relationship networks move across the region.
Within Women United Foundation, Zeina strengthens the platform’s Middle East presence through business sophistication, market fluency, and a highly connected understanding of regional partnerships, strategic access, and long term relationship building.
H.E. Behgjet Pacolli
H.E. Behgjet Pacolli brings rare stature to Women United Foundation as former President of Kosovo, former First Deputy Prime Minister, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, highly successful international businessman, and longstanding humanitarian.
Read Full BioH.E. Behgjet Pacolli
H.E. Behgjet Pacolli serves on the International Advisory Council of Women United Foundation, bringing an unusual combination of head of state experience, diplomatic leadership, global business success, and humanitarian engagement.
He is the founder of Mabetex Group, an international business enterprise built through large scale construction, engineering, and development activity across multiple regions of the world. His career in business has given him a strong global profile in investment, infrastructure, and international commercial relationships.
In public service, he served as President of Kosovo, as First Deputy Prime Minister, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs, placing him among the few figures who combine high level state leadership with substantial entrepreneurial achievement.
He also brings a serious humanitarian dimension through the work of the Behgjet Pacolli Foundation, which has supported education, health, and direct assistance for people in need, alongside broader philanthropic engagement over many years.
Within Women United Foundation, his presence strengthens the platform with diplomatic stature, international business authority, and the perspective of a leader who has operated at the highest levels of both government and enterprise.
Samba Bathily
Samba Bathily brings major entrepreneurial and investment strength to Women United Foundation as founder of ADS Group and a leading African business figure with deep experience in infrastructure, finance, technology, and clean energy.
Read Full BioSamba Bathily
Samba Bathily serves in a Strategic Business & Investment Advisory role to Women United Foundation, bringing broad entrepreneurial reach, investment fluency, and high level business credibility across Africa.
He is the founder and chief executive officer of Africa Development Solutions Group, and public company profiles describe him as having managed more than $5 billion in projects across the continent. His work spans infrastructure, finance, innovation, and business development, giving him a rare command of how large opportunities are structured and executed.
He is also the co founder and chief executive officer of Solektra, the clean energy company behind Akon Lighting Africa, reinforcing his standing in major African growth sectors tied to energy access, development, and scalable enterprise.
His career reflects the profile of a serious pan African business builder, one who understands both private sector ambition and the practical realities of delivering transformative projects at scale.
Within Women United Foundation, Samba strengthens the platform with commercial realism, investment depth, and the perspective of a leader who knows how to connect vision with execution across high value markets.
Legal and Governance
Laird Robertson
Laird Robertson brings exceptional legal and financial sophistication to Women United Foundation as a corporate attorney, investment banker, and co founder of Vantera Partners, with deep experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and international transactions.
Read Full BioLaird Robertson
Laird Robertson serves as Legal Counsel to Women United Foundation, bringing a rare combination of legal depth, investment experience, and strategic advisory capability.
He is a co founder and principal of Vantera Partners, where his work has centered on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, debt and equity financings, and the structuring of complex transactions for companies and investment firms.
Earlier in his career, he also served in the Office of the Legal Advisor at the U.S. Department of State, adding an important international and governmental dimension to his legal background.
His professional profile reflects the kind of legal sophistication serious international platforms require, particularly where cross border relationships, capital structures, and high value partnerships are involved.
Within Women United Foundation, Laird strengthens the governance and legal backbone of the platform, helping ensure that major opportunities and global relationships are supported by credible counsel and disciplined structuring.
René Verrecchia, Esq.
Maître René Verrecchia brings decades of international legal experience to Women United Foundation through cross border advisory work involving commercial law, international affairs, and legal and economic matters across Africa and Europe.
Read Full BioRené Verrecchia, Esq.
Maître René Verrecchia serves as International Legal Counsel to Women United Foundation, bringing decades of experience in commercial law, international affairs, and cross border legal advisory work.
He earned his law degree from the University of Rome and has advised governments, institutions, diplomatic representatives, and companies on complex legal and economic matters involving Africa and Europe.
Over the course of his career, he has served as legal consultant to the Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire in Italy, as legal representative of the Francophone Community in Rome, and has collaborated with the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the European Union, universities, cultural institutions, and international foundations.
He also serves as Secretary General of Comitato Dei 500, a network of leading Italian companies, reinforcing his value in environments where law, business, and high level international relationships intersect.
Within Women United Foundation, René adds important legal depth and European institutional reach, strengthening the platform’s capacity for serious international engagement and complex cross border partnerships.