Danette Wilkins Marte
Danette Wilkins Marte (they/them, elle, elu) is an expansive strategist, intuitive facilitator, and liberatory changemaker with over 20 years of experience providing strategic, technical, programmatic, and operational support to diverse organizations and groups and implementing research, programming, and training across the globe (primarily Central America, North America, South America, and Southern Africa). Prior to consulting, Danette worked with U.S. government agencies (U.S Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Peace Corps), consulting firms (Cultural Practice, Tetra Tech), international non-governmental organizations (Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs), and academic institutions (Emory University, Johns Hopkins University) addressing a wide range of health and development areas including agriculture and economic growth, democracy and governance, education, environment and natural resources, and health (e.g., animal disease preparedness and response, gender-based violence, mental health and psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health). They also have demonstrated experience in gender mainstreaming and integration (e.g., men’s and boys’ engagement, women’s and girls’ empowerment), social and behavior change (e.g., entertainment education, gender transformative approaches, provider behavior change), and diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (e.g., gender equality, disability, and social inclusion, gender and sexuality diversity, and LGBTQI+ inclusion). Danette holds a bachelor of arts degree in Hispanic Studies and Government from the College of William and Mary, a graduate diploma in Gender and Development from the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) in Ecuador, and a master of public health degree in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University. Outside of formal schooling and training, they pursue informal learning through popular education and self-directed learning. As an Afrodiasporic child of immigrants and working-class people, Danette’s approach to facilitation values the wisdom of lived experience and centers humility, curiosity, empathy, authenticity, and respect.
Elliot Corona
Elliot Corona. With over 15 years of experience supporting an industrial training ecosystem (Aramco), complemented by leadership development (QatarEnergy LNG) and leading virtual learning projects (U.S. Dept. of State), Elliot brings a unique combination of corporate and academic perspectives in developing competency-based learning solutions that address capability gaps and business goals. At Aramco, one hybrid learning project involved working with the Corporate Academy to co-design and implement a Sustainability Awareness Program targeting trainees – Aramco’s largest onboarding pipeline. As the lead designer, Elliot conducted a thorough needs analysis, co-developed the program’s learning framework with SMEs, and co-facilitated the pilot delivery. He subsequently trained 14 facilitators from seven training centers, enabling scalable implementation. Pre-COVID, he led the development of a behavioral change model for the “Quit & Win” smoking cessation program in collaboration with healthcare professionals, a smoke-free steering committee, and a dozen certified facilitators to consolidate data. In three years, these efforts resulted in 100 verified “quitters” kingdom wide. Across initiatives, Elliot has served as a bridge between learners, SMEs, facilitators, and operational stakeholders to ensure that development efforts tackle underlying performance needs rather than satisfying statistical requirements alone. More recently, Mr. Corona has broadened his talent development expertise as a Virtual Educator supporting four U.S. Department of State projects in Bangladesh. Designing integrated modules in job readiness and academic profile-building skills, Elliot scaled a synchronous VILT program from one to five in-person learning hubs. He engaged over 100 participants per cohort by linking EdTech, competency frameworks, centralized reporting, and partnerships with local support systems. In parallel, Elliot facilitated in-person workshops for QatarEnergy LNG via a regional training provider, challenging employees to apply leadership skills in emotional intelligence, creativity, time management, and technical writing in task-based simulations. Outcomes were evaluated through qualitative performance observations, L1 evaluations, and pre/post measures designed to identify competency gains and knowledge gaps using standardized methods. Elliot’s professional experience is backed by a master’s in management from Harvard University with an emphasis in organizational performance, coupled with certificates in L&D and project management. In short, Elliot is a versatile trainer who is ready to contribute to the co-design and development of learning solutions with evolving needs. He welcomes a discussion on how “we” could make a meaningful impact.
Rizwaan Akhtar
Rizwaan Akhtar is a facilitator, trainer, and civic leadership development professional with over fifteen years of experience helping individuals unlock their potential to create positive social change and foster inclusive communities. He is the Senior Director of Learning, Development, & Inclusion at Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) where he designs experiences that support leaders to engage politically and build more just and liberatory systems. Based in Chicago, Rizwaan is a Board Member of the Chicago Community Bond Fund and a former Local School Council member of Reilly Elementary School. Before LEE, he led an international team at World Learning, overseeing an initiative that trained over 2,500 young people in civic leadership and peacebuilding efforts in Iraq and the U.S. His expertise includes dialogue facilitation, conflict resolution, cross-cultural communication, and people management. Rizwaan is a Fellow of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, is proficient in Arabic, Spanish, and Urdu, and holds an Executive Nonprofit Management Certificate from Georgetown University, an M.A. in International Education from the SIT Graduate Institute, and a B.A. in Psychology and Middle East Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.