At Namati, our people are our greatest resource.
From our staff to our board, we are united through an unyielding commitment to our mission and deeply-held common values.
For security reasons, not all of our team members appear on this website.
111 results
Abdulai Tommy
Bo, Sierra Leone
Abdulai Tommy
Bo, Sierra Leone
Abigail Moy
Illinois
Abigail Moy
Illinois
Abigail Moy is the Managing 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.
Selected Publications
- Community Paralegals and the Pursuit of Justice (Chapter 5) Community paralegals demystify law and empower people to advocate for themselves. They are at the heart of our movement for justice. But they have been largely ignored by scholars and writers. This book starts to fill that void
- Grassroots Justice in a Pandemic: Ensuring a Just Response and Recovery Communities around the world are reeling from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures
- The Case to Fund and Protect Grassroots Justice Defenders This policy brief offers recommendations for policymakers, donors, and multilateral institutions on how to finance and protect the grassroots justice defenders
- A Global Legal Empowerment Network: Learning from Others, Growing the Movement This paper, from the annual journal Human Rights Education in Asia-Pacific, examines the experiences of the Global Legal Empowerment Network's in supporting the work of members in Asia, and techniques for strengthening regional dialogue and collaboration
- Justice Initiatives: Legal Empowerment The latest edition of Justice Initiatives explores the nature of legal empowerment and its impact in various forms. With an introduction by George Soros, the book includes
- Taking Stock of the Justice 2015 Campaign As the 69th Session of the UN general Assembly approaches, Abigail Moy reflects on the progress of the Justice 2015 campaign
- Kampala Declaration Calls for Support for Community Paralegals Across Africa, a movement calling for stronger national legal aid policies is gaining ground. Legal aid legislation, aimed at assisting those who cannot afford lawyers, is being developed or rolled out in several countries
Abu Bakarr Kargbo
Makeni, Sierra Leone
Abu Bakarr Kargbo
Makeni, Sierra Leone
Abubakarr Conteh
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Abubakarr Conteh
Freetown, Sierra Leone
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.
Aisha Khagai
Nairobi, Kenya
Aisha Khagai
Nairobi, Kenya
Aisha, a native of Kenya, has lived in Nairobi since 1985.
Her passion for justice, fairness, and humanity was shaped early in life, having grown up in a family of strong, outspoken women. This environment greatly influenced her dedication to advocacy, particularly for women and girls. She began her career as a champion for women and girls, working for five years in Northern Eastern Kenya with the Kenyan Somali community. During this time, Aisha played a pivotal role in empowering women and girls to raise their voices and pursue political, economic, and social inclusion. Notably, she supported the establishment of the first girl-led movement in North Eastern Kenya, which focused on advocating against harmful cultural practices, including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early marriage. Building on this foundation, Aisha now serves as a Senior Program Manager at Namati.
She works under the Citizenship Rights Program, where she supports partner organizations that assist ethnic minority communities at risk of statelessness due to discriminatory practices in acquiring nationality documents. Her responsibilities include designing and implementing comprehensive program strategies, ranging from community outreach and forums, legal casework, advocacy and capacity-building. Currently, Aisha is piloting a project aimed at creating a grassroots movement among affected communities. Through legal empowerment, she seeks to enable these communities to advocate for systemic and policy reforms that address the discrimination they face in accessing vital legal identity documents. Aisha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Nairobi, awarded in 2009. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in International Relations, with a focus on Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, at the United States International University–Africa. She draws inspiration from the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Akhila Kolisetty
United States
Akhila Kolisetty
United States
Akhila Kolisetty coordinates learning and action around legal empowerment strategies to advance gender justice, and facilitates member engagement in high-level advocacy spaces.
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
Alanna Cherry
United States
Alanna Cherry
United States
Alexander Rocke
Washington, DC
Alexander Rocke
Washington, DC
Alfred S. Foday
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Alfred S. Foday
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Alli Phillips
Alli Phillips
Amanda Padilla
Costa Rica
Amanda Padilla
Costa Rica
Anirudh Dutta Gupta
Remote
Anirudh Dutta Gupta
Remote
Anne Njoroge
Kenya
Anne Njoroge
Kenya
Anne is a Senior Environmental Justice Officer at Namati. In her role, Anne will work closely with Namati’s country teams to build out new areas of work. She will also draw on learning from grassroots casework and comparative analysis of legal frameworks to develop actionable policy recommendations for more effective, community-centered land and environmental governance. Anne will also foster engagement across Namati teams on common themes and connect experimentation within Namati to movement building in the Grassroots Justice Network.
Anne holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Kenyatta University in Kenya and is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. Prior to joining Namati, Anne worked at Natural Justice (a pan-African Organization that empowers communities to pursue environmental and climate justice) in different capacities and most recently as a Program Officer at Natural Justice's East African Hub and as the East African Hub's Just Energy Transition in Africa representative. Through legal empowerment, policy advocacy and litigation, Anne has supported marginalized communities to know, use and shape the law.
Anne is passionate about building an African agenda for the just energy transition.Aubrie Smith
United States
Aubrie Smith
United States
Babafemi Johnson
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Babafemi Johnson
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Baindu Koroma
Kenema, Sierra Leone
Baindu Koroma
Kenema, Sierra Leone
Bangalie Sannoh
Makeni, Sierra Leone
Bangalie Sannoh
Makeni, Sierra Leone
Branice Mengesa
Branice Mengesa
Branice Mengesa is the Sub-grants Officer at Namati. In her role, Branice will lead the pre-assessment process, working with potential partners to collect and analyze a variety of documents and data, manage sub-grant agreements and financial reporting whilst ensuring compliance to set policies and guidelines. Branice is a CPA (K), a certified PMP professional from the PMI and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Finance) from the University of Nairobi. As a Financial and Grants Specialist, Branice has over nine years’ experience in grants, financial administration, management and control allied to programme due diligence and implementation with demonstrable experience in the financial management of FCDO, USAID, DANIDA, NORAD and other donor-funded projects ensuring compliance with donor standards. Prior to joining Namati, Branice was the Finance Officer at the BBC Media Action, supporting the management of the financial and grant aspects of the NORAD funded Bridges project and previously a consultant Finance and Budgeting Specialist at EAMDA (East Africa Market Development Associates), providing in-depth analysis of budget proposals submitted by grantees for the ATI project implemented by DAI. She also provided grants, financial, budgeting and administrative support to a huge portfolio cutting across seven countries (Kenya, Colombia, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa) implemented by the Palladium Group where she served as the Grants Officer for the UK PACT programme. Before joining Palladium, Branice was a Finance Officer at Tetra Tech International Development for four years and previously at the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS).
Branice is a fitness enthusiast, a passionate social and environmental justice advocate and volleyballer who loves traveling, reading and cooking chapati.Brian James
Sierra Leone
Brian James
Sierra Leone
Brian James is a published author with works featured in various anthologies. He is also a screenwriter, having written several movies produced by Premier Media Films and Paradise Films. Holding a First Class BA Honours degree in Mass Communication, he works primarily as a communications consultant. He is also editor of Hidden Voices magazine and a lecturer at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.
Caitlin Sislin
Oakland, California
Caitlin Sislin
Oakland, California
With a background in environmental law and environmental justice advocacy, Caitlin has worked for a decade in fundraising, organizational development, and strategic planning for social impact organizations.
She has raised millions of dollars in collaboration with NGO leaders, first as a senior member of the program and operations teams for Women’s Earth Alliance, and subsequently as a consultant and facilitator to organizations across the United States. Previously, she built and directed a legal advocacy network linking pro bono lawyers with grassroots environmental justice activists. Caitlin received her B.A. from Stanford University and her J.D. with an environmental law certificate from UC Berkeley School of Law.
Selected Publications
- A Theory of Everything, Guidestar (2015)
- Indigenous Peoples of North America: Environmental Exposures and Reproductive Justice, Environmental Health Perspectives (2012). A discussion of the intersection of environmental health and reproductive justice issues in Indigenous communities as well as the limitations of legal recourse.
- Good news and bad news for New Mexico’s Navajo communities, High Country News (2010)
- First Nations continue tar sands pushback, High Country News (2010)
- The U.N. comes west, High Country News (2010)
- This Saturday, prayers for the Peaks, High Country News (2010)
- Representatives ask Obama to examine impacts of tar sands pipeline, High Country News (2010)
- Gulf tragedy highlights need for Native renewables, High Country News (2010)
- Grand Canyon uranium threatens tribal water, High Country News (2010)
- Sovereignty versus stewardship, High Country News (2010)
- Black Mesa mine mess, High Country News (2010)
- Toxic legacy for tribes, High Country News (2010)
- Saying "yes" to climate justice, High Country News (2010)
- "Messy and unstructured, relentless and global", High Country News (2010)
- Exempting Department of Defense from FederalHazardous Waste Laws: Resource Contaminationas Range Preservation, Ecology Law Quarterly (2005). A look at the Department of Defense's proposed exemptions from toxic waste and clean air laws.
- After SWANCC, the Fourth and Fifth Circuits Dispute Federal Jurisdiction over Non-Navigable Waterways, Ecology Law Quarterly (2004). An analysis of the debate over Congress's constitutional authority to regulate activity bearing only indirectly on interstate commerce.