IEF 28th Annual Conference

Khela Baskett studied chemistry and computer science at UC Berkeley. She has worked in biotech at the Joint Genome Institute, and held software engineering and project management roles for academic, government, and industry projects. Her latest venture is an environmental retrofit start-up for residential customers. She is interested in bringing people together and collaborating on what we can do in our daily lives and communities to address the climate crisis.

Professor Payam Akhavan is the Chair in Human Rights at Massey College, University of Toronto, Visiting Professor at Sciences Po in Paris, Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and Special Advisor to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. He serves as counsel to the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice.

Sovaida Ma’ani Ewing is a prolific author, speaker, and international lawyer with 20 years of experience in public and private legal practice. She is the founding director of The Center for Peace and Global Governance (cpgg.org), a virtual think tank and online forum that pools and proposes principled solutions to pressing global challenges. She has published five books in the area of peace and global governance. Her latest book is “The Alchemy of Peace: 6 Essential Shifts in Mindsets and Habits to Achieve World Peace.”

Joshua Lincoln (PhD) is a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Law and Governance (CILG) at the Fletcher School of global affairs, Tufts University. He is also an advisor to leaders in government, business and non-profit organizations, sits on the advisory board of the Cambrian Futures Group and is a member of the New Carbon Economy Consortium. His current work includes projects on the governance implications of the global decarbonization shift and the negotiation and implementation of a plastics pollution treaty.

Dr. Wendi Momen is a social activist and advocate, focusing on a cluster of issues that promote social justice: the advancement of women, poverty eradication, health, criminal justice, interfaith harmony, housing, the environment and business ethics. She is a trustee of Widows Rights International, an executive board member of the UK Civil Society Women’s Alliance, treasurer and trustee of Bedford Council of Faith, an ambassador for the National Alliance of Women’s Organisations, trustee of the Bahá’í Agency for Social and Economic Development UK and trustee of the Ashworth Charitable Trust and a member of two women’s organisations, Soroptimist International and Advance. She is co-founder and Governing Board member of Ethical Business Building the Future (ebbf.org) and a board member of the International Environment Forum.

LEONG Lau Kheng, Janice is an active senior member in the Bahai Community in Singapore, engaged deeply in social action and building vibrant communities in her neighbourhood. She previously worked in Cisco Systems Singapore, NCS, the Info Communication Technology arm of Singapore Telecom holding senior positions providing Smart government and IT solutions in Hong Kong, India, China, Australia, and Malaysia. Upon retirement, she also helped in ICT consultancy work and in a social entrepreneur company Angels of Impact to help women entrepreneurs in the region to improve the lives of their communities by offering technical expertise and financial governance support to entrepreneurs. 

Halldór Thorgeirsson has been the Chair of the Icelandic Climate Council since 2018. He served as senior director at the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) in Bonn for fourteen years (2004-2018). His responsibilities included managing substantive support to international climate negotiations culminating in the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. As a climate negotiator for Iceland, Halldór served as the Chair of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) for a two-year term. He holds a Ph.D. in Plant Ecophysiology from Utah State University.

Ayman Reyhan is 29 years old and has served as a pioneer in a neighborhood area of intense activity in the United Arab Emirates. He is an animator and is involved in helping expand the youth movement. He is also part of the neighborhood core team.

Amelia Hedley is an undergraduate student studying English with a focus on education and literacy. She did an internship with FUNDAEC with the PSA (Preparation for Social Action) program.

Dr. Lucas Umpierre Conter is a biomedical scientist and holds a PhD in Molecular and cellular biology. He is an active member of the Bahá'í community and supporter of the junior youth empowerment program.

Louisa Yazdani is a 26 years old Brazilian Bahá'í. She is a psychologist and works as a therapist for individuals and families. She is also involved in community-building efforts for moral, spiritual and social development.

Dr. André Akhavan is a 29 years old physician specialized in anesthesiology and pain medicine. Through his personal experience with Baha'i inspired community building in Brazil and having witnessed the shortcomings of current healthcare, he is interested in the necessary connections between health, community and sustainability.

Moderator: Peter Adriance served as Representative for Sustainable Development in the U.S. Baha'i Office of Public Affairs from 1990 to his retirement in 2016. He represented the Baha'i International Community and the Baha'is of the U.S. at numerous national and international fora on sustainable development issues. He also helped found and served for several years on the governing board of the International Environment Forum. He and his wife now live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Liliane Nkunzimana is a Representative of the Baha'i International Community’s UN Office in New York. Her areas of work include gender equality and peace. Liliane has a background researching and writing issues related to diversity and inclusion. She currently serves as a Member at Large on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women. Previously, Liliane served as Secretary of the NGO Committee on Social Development and as Co-Chair of the Communications Task Force of the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security. Liliane has also served as a community organizer engaging youth and their families in educational programs designed to build capacity to contribute to the well-being of society. She has worked on government-funded development projects as well as public affairs in the private sector. Liliane holds a Masters in Public and International Affairs and a Bachelor of Social Science specializing in African Studies with a minor in Political Science.

Dr. Arthur Lyon Dahl, a specialist in complex systems, is President of the International Environment Forum, and a retired Deputy Assistant Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. He coordinated the UN System-wide Earthwatch, led work on indicators of sustainable development and global solidarity accountability, represented the Baha'i International Community at the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment and other international meetings, served in the Secretariat of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit drafting Agenda 21, and has participated in numerous UN conferences on sustainable development and climate change, addressing most recently challenges of global environmental governance.

Monica Maghami (LLB and LLM) is an EU and Brazilian senior regulatory lawyer, with focus on technology and sustainability for over 20 years, living in London, England. She holds a Master's degree in Commercial and Business Law from Coimbra, Portugal. Monica worked for global leading law firms (Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith), Big 4 consultancies (Deloitte) and top tier technology and media companies (Accenture, G&D and BBC). Most recently she was invited to participate at COP28, the UN Nairobi Conference and speak at the upcoming IF G20 in Brazil. Monica is a trustee of NAWO, an NGO that advocates for the rights of women and girls in the UK. She facilitated a SotF workshop for the FCDO UK and regularly consults with them in meetings to review Chapters 3 and 4 of the Pact for the Future. Monica is a convenor and co-convenor of several Working Groups, including Institutional Mechanisms and Environment of the UN UNECE countries for Beijing+30, AI SIG and Climate Change for the OPA UK and an active member of the global IF 20 Environment forum.

Victoria W. Thoresen
As an educator and researcher, Victoria W. Thoresen has specialized in curriculum development, global education, value-based education and education for sustainable development. She has written articles and textbooks for teacher training and has functioned as an international educational consultant. Thoresen has been the leader of PERL, The Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living, (a network of 140 universities in 50 countries) and founder and director of The Collaborative Learning Centre for Sustainable Development at the Inland Norway University. She has worked closely with UNEP, UNESCO, the E.U. and other international agencies concerned with sustainable development. Thoresen was appointed UNESCO Chair for Education for Sustainable Lifestyles in 2014 and became professor emerita in 2020. She is also presently adjunct professor at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa.