At Namati, our people are our greatest resource.

“Tommy” holds a bachelor of science degree in Education from Njala University, University of Sierra Leone and taught for several years at various institutions before and after completing his studies. He served in the local government as Bo District Councilor from 2004-2008 and joined Timap for Justice in 2007, where he served as a community-based paralegal and lead paralegal, working in different parts of the country and particularly in the Southern and Eastern Provinces. Tommy joined Namati as a Legal Empowerment Advocate in 2014 and is currently based in our Kenema office, where he works on community land protection, land negotiation and environmental justice cases.

Abigail Moy is the Director of the Grassroots Justice Network, convened by Namati. Since Namati's earliest days, she has led efforts to build a thriving global movement for legal empowerment: one capable of innovating boldly and collectively tackling the greatest justice challenges of our time. The Grassroots Justice Network works to achieve this vision by connecting, strengthening, and expanding the number of community paralegals around the world. Prior to joining Namati, Abigail worked with access to justice programs in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, in cooperation with the World Bank, The Asia Foundation, Fundación Soros-Guatemala, and Timap for Justice. She previously clerked for the Hon. David H. Coar in the Northern District of Illinois, served in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the United States Department of State, and worked in the New York office of White & Case, LLP. Moy was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship, graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, and holds a master’s degree in law and development from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Abu Bakarr Kargbo was born in Freetown and holds a Diploma and Advance Diploma in Human Resource Management from the Institute of Commercial Management (UK) and is in his final year at the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) pursuing a Bachelor of Business Management and Administration. Abu is an advocate and human rights defender based in Sierra Leone. At Namati, he works as a Legal Empowerment Advocate helping communities to protect; map and document land right issues as part of the 2015 National Land Policy as well as environmental justice and land negotiation cases. Before joining Namati, Abu worked with the Centre for Youth and Exploited Children (CeYEC-SL) leading an anti-human trafficking movement in Sierra Leone, which could be traced to the notorious case of the now defunct NGO Help a Needy Child International (HANCI), which trafficked scores of children out of the country during the war years. He emerged as the voice and face of the affected parents. To date Abu has reunited over 20 of the trafficked children with their biological parents. Abu enjoys playing and watching soccer (football) and reading.

I work as security officer for a righteous and virtuous organization, Namati Sierra Leone, Freetown head office. I help protect the lives of people (staff), protect properties and maintain safety in the office. I worked collaboratively with colleagues to achieve goals. I usually find new challenges in my roles and encounter them. I like doing research on specific areas, I love reading and studying. I am currently single, I'm not yet married.

Abudo came to Namati with a decade of experience as a grassroots activist. From 2005 to 2011, he worked for Geração BIZ, a national program focused on protecting and promoting the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth across Mozambique through access to contraception and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. From 2011 to 2014, he was employed first as an activist for an HIV prevention initiative for intravenous drug users sponsored by Academy for Educational Development (AED) and then as an HIV testing counselor and trainer. Abudo is a native of Maputo. He joined Namati as a health advocate in February of 2015.

Aimee Ongeso is a Global Network Manager at Namati, where she works on regional advocacy and learning initiatives to advance Namati’s mission. For the last nine years, Aimee has worked to support communities in ensuring their active participation in the design, execution and implementation of pro-poor policies and legislation. Prior to joining Namati, Aimee managed a variety of projects for the Public International Law & Policy Group and the Kituo Cha Sheria Legal Advice Center based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Born and raised in the capital city of Nairobi, Kenya, Aisha has long been an advocate of women and girl child rights in marginalized communities, believing fundamentally in the rights of all individuals. She comes to Namati with over four years’ experience in advocacy and communications, capacity building, team building, mentorship, collaboration and networking skills. Before joining Namati, Aisha held the post of program officer with the Pastoralist Girls Initiative, based in Garissa County, Kenya, where she implemented several programs within the county on women's economic, social, and political empowerment. Working as a mentor, she also pioneered a girls-led movement whose mandate is to advocate for girl child rights on accessibility of basic needs such as education, safety, and protection from traditional retrogressive cultural practices within the Somali pastoralist community. Aisha's career first began as an attachee at a police station in Kilimani in an attempt to understand the systems and procedures undertaken during the investigation of crimes - from intake to prosecution - with an emphasis to child protection cases. While pursuing her studies, she worked with Terra Nouva as an intern. Aisha holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, Sociology and Psychology and a Diploma in Criminology and Social Order from the University of Nairobi.

Akhila Kolisetty is Namati’s Senior Advocacy Officer, where she drives forward campaigns to improve global access to justice and expand the reach of the legal empowerment movement. Akhila brings years of experience in research, advocacy, and partnerships to advance legal empowerment, gender justice, and human rights across Nepal, Sierra Leone, India, Bangladesh, and the United States. Most recently, as MADRE’s Policy and Campaigns Manager, she partnered with grassroots women and girls-led organizations to advance feminist policies for peace and environmental justice. Previously, she was a Presidential Fellow with the Open Society Foundations and a Consultant on legal empowerment data, policy and research with the Open Society Justice Initiative and Alliance for Social Dialogue in Nepal. A lawyer by training, she has also provided legal representation and advice to low-income survivors of domestic violence in family courts in New York. She holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor’s in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University. With roots in Andhra Pradesh, India and New Jersey, she enjoys poetry, creative writing, and exploring our beautiful planet.  

Selected Publications

The Delivery of Civil Legal Aid in Nepal: An Assessment of the System and Recommendations on the Way Forward. Akhila Kolisetty and Neetu Pokharel. National Human Rights Commission, Nepal. Sambahak: Human Rights Journal, Vol. 15 (May 2020)

Examining the Effectiveness of Legal Empowerment as a Pathway out of Poverty: A Case Study of BRAC – World Bank Justice and Development Working Paper Series (2014)

Book Review – The International Rule of Law Movement: A Crisis of Legitimacy and the Way Forward – Harvard Human Rights Journal

Akmaral is originally from Almaty, Kazakhstan. She has over 14 years of accounting and finance experience. She has spent the last 8 years with non-profit organizations involved in international development. Most recently she worked as a Financial Analyst for Counterpart International. The work involved detailed financial analysis of grants, final close out of grants and communication with donors. At the American Bar Association Akmaral worked as Senior Grants Accountant and provided full cycle financial management and support for multiple projects around the world. Akmaral holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting.

Alanna was born in Queens, NY, and has lived in nine different cities across Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, and Japan. Alanna spent 1.5 years in Osaka, Japan, teaching English and exploring the country while learning Japanese. Her professional journey began as a Marketing Administrative Assistant at an educational credit union while in high school. Her work experience ranges from working as a cashier in a local coffee shop in Washington, D.C., to serving as a resident assistant for three years while actively participating in extracurriculars like founding and leading the Asian Culture Club and a member of the volleyball club at Mount St. Mary’s University, while earning her Communications degree.  Most recently, she worked as a receptionist and administrative assistant for a grant-giving non-profit organization before supporting a small CPA firm in near the same capacity after returning from Japan. She additionally helped to establish the HR function for an international vertical SaaS tech start-up. There, she supported the full employment lifecycle and simultaneously managed schedules, travel, and operations for various members of senior leadership.  Alanna loves all things cats, quality time with family and friends, karaoke, environmentalism, and learning Japanese. She is also enthusiastic about gaming, particularly Zelda and Stardew Valley, but also thoroughly enjoys card and board games of all kinds! And yes, she love cherries, but not maraschino cherries