Otto Scharmer, author of Theory U and co-author of Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-system to Eco-system Economies, is an action researcher who co-creates innovations in learning and leadership that he delivers through classes and programs at MIT, MITx U.Lab, the Presencing Institute, and through innovation projects with organizations in business, government and civil society around the world. He is a senior lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. He is co-founder of the Presencing Institute. Through MITx and edX.org he currently delivers the U-Lab, a new type of social entrepreneurship MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) that uses presencing practices of co-sensing and co-creating emerging futures with a platform of 25,000 participants from 191 countries that collaborate through more than 100 self-organized U.Lab Hubs across countries and cultures. Scharmer holds a PhD in economics and management from Witten-Herdecke University in Germany. For more information visit www.ottoscharmer.com or www.presencing.com.

Sharon Daloz Parks, author of Leadership Can Be Taught: A Bold Approach for a Complex World is a teacher/speaker, theorist, and consultant. For sixteen years she held faculty and research positions at Harvard University in the schools of Divinity, Business, and the Kennedy School of Government. She currently teaches at Seattle University and is a senior fellow at the Whidbey Institute. Her other writings include Big Questions, Worthy Dreams, and the co-authored, Common Fire: Leading Lives of Commitment in a Complex World.

Vusi Mahlasela is simply known as ‘The Voice’ in his home-country, South Africa. He is celebrated for his distinct, powerful voice and his poetic, optimistic lyrics. His songs of hope connect Apartheid-scarred South Africa with its promise for a better future. Raised in the Mamelodi Township, where he still resides, Vusi became a singer-songwriter and poet-activist at an early age teaching himself how to play guitar and later joining the Congress of South African Writers. After his popular debut on BMG Africa, “When You Come Back,” Vusi was asked to perform at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration in 1994. Vusi has released seven studio albums to-date and has toured globally and shared the stage with Dave Matthews Band, Sting, Paul Simon, Josh Groban, Ray LaMontagne, Natalie Merchant, Taj Mahal, among many others.

In light of his international and national acclaim, the SAMA Awards (South African Music Awards) honored Vusi with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.  Vusi was proud to have been an ambassador to Nelson Mandela’s 46664 campaign (an awareness effort surrounding the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa) and holds an honorary doctorate degrees from the prestigious Rhodes University in Grahamstown, SA and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.  Additionally, South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma awarded Vusi with the National Order of Ikhamanga, recognizing him for “drawing attention to the injustices that isolated South Africa from the global community during the Apartheid years.”

Agostine Ndung’u works to support entrepreneurs in Africa and around the world, to promote multi-ethnic cooperation and employment that will reduce youth participation in violation. To this end, he was worked for Ashoka in the global internship program and the fellows program, and he has worked for Impact Hub to set up programs in support of entrepreneurs in Africa. He is the founder of Audible Concepts and a former manager at Intellecap. He has worked extensively on the Sankalp Forum conventions for entrepreneur networking and fundraising both in Africa and in India.

Ndung’u is a graduate of Amherst College. As a student, he was named a Dalai Lama Fellow in 2011 to develop the Amani Seed Project in partnership with Baraka Agricultural College to promote inter-ethnic integration among rural youth in Kenya through agribusiness. He is currently a prospective Master of Business Administration candidate at the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business in Canada.

Annan is an adjunct lecturer for the final year Entrepreneurship Capstone at Ashesi University and also a leadership faculty at Ashesi Innovation Experience. Annan holds an Master of Arts in applied economics with specialization in project management, innovation, and entrepreneurship economics. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Ashesi University. Annan has over 8 years of progressive experience in managing projects in education, oil and gas, technology, start-ups, and healthcare with projects and public presentations in Ghana, Senegal, USA, and Czech Republic and 6 years’ experience in the informal sector. Annan currently runs two companies in retail, transportation, and real estate. In 2013, he was named a Dalai Lama Fellow for his literacy and empowerment work.

Landa Mabenge is the author of Becoming Him – A Trans Memoir of Triumph. A University of Cape Town alumnus, he is the founder and managing director of Landa Mabenge Consulting, which creates awareness of the transgender experience. He is the first known transgender man in South Africa to receive medical aid to finance his gender alignment surgeries.

Mabenge has extensive experience working in the private and public health care sectors in South Africa, and uses this knowledge plus his personal journey to reach out to marginalised and impoverished communities. In 2017, he was selected for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in the USA. Mabenge now serves on the USAID’s youth advisory board and is a youth mentor at SAYes Youth Mentoring. He also serves as a non-executive board member for Transgender Intersex Africa (TIA), which advocates for the rights of transgender and intersex persons. He currently works for the Stellenbosch University Equality Unit.

Justine Hamupolo has vast experience in development, administration, and management of programmes working with youth and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people in supporting young people’s organized response to HIV/AIDS as well as human rights topics. She is currently the country coordinator for Namibia Diverse Women’s Association, where she works on creating change and protecting the social, political, and economic rights of all.

Hamupolo’s previous work includes UNAIDS, where she oversaw youth programming for young girls. She has also contributed to the development of women’s sports in Namibia, currently mentoring young girls in football. She has worked on youth media literacy development projects, travelling the country to ensure access to media and information literacy. Additionally, she has served as the manager for an LGBT organization to build a more inclusive human rights movement. In 2017, Hamupolo was selected for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders program in the USA in recognition of her role in civic leadership.