Ogbo Awoke Ogbo
Ogbo Awoke Ogbo is a certified executive coach and business transformation consultant committed to driving Africa’s economic growth by empowering entrepreneurs and institutions. With a background at Shell and Chevron as a Remote Sensing & GIS specialist, he transitioned into leadership consulting and has since advised over 200 companies across Africa and Southeast Asia as a Stanford Seed Business Transformation Advisor. He serves as adjunct faculty at Lagos Business School and China Europe International Business School, specializing in leadership, scaling strategy, and governance. Ogbo is also a respected media voice, hosting radio and TV programs on leadership and entrepreneurship, and has facilitated board and leadership retreats for organizations including MTN, Flutterwave, and Chicason Group. He holds an M.Sc. in GIS from the University of Ibadan and a B.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt, with certifications in executive coaching, MBTI®, and emotional design psychology.
Sarah Ellison
Sarah Ellison is a seasoned facilitator, strategist, and organizational development leader with over 18 years of experience working in 18 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and South Asia, the Middle East, and North America. She has lived and worked in Benin and Malawi, bringing a deep cross-cultural perspective to her work. With a BA in History from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MA in International Development from American University, Sarah has designed and led strategic planning sessions, leadership retreats, network convenings, and high-impact learning events for community-based organizations, national NGOs, social enterprises, global philanthropy, and the United States Government. Sarah’s facilitation style is grounded in evidence-based approaches and shaped by her passion for community-led development, network weaving, and capacity sharing. She has a proven track record in guiding complex, multi-stakeholder processes, fostering collaboration, and helping teams align around shared goals. Her commitment to building stronger, more connected communities extends beyond her professional work. She co-founded Local Pivot, which mobilizes pro bono expertise to support local nonprofits, and contributes actively to the Local Systems Community. In her own neighborhood in Maryland, she continues her lifelong practice of service through volunteering and community engagement.
Abraham Tekya
Abraham “Abramz” Tekya is passionate about igniting growth, and fostering creativity, innovation and social change. He is a dedicated workshop facilitator with over 17 years of experience. He has worked in a variety of areas: community building, team building, collaboration, arts & culture, empowerment, innovation, social change, education, personal & professional development, self-awareness and well-being. His mission is to create a supportive and inspiring environment where participants feel safe to take risks, express themselves, explore their creativity and develop new skills. With a background in creative facilitation, wellness through arts, coaching, Hiphop music, breakdance, theatre, visual art, events organizing, concept development, community mobilization, and organizing & facilitating retreats, he brings a unique perspective to his workshops. He has worked with non-profit organizations, local & internationalschools, community centres, juvenile & adult prisons, arts & cultural organizations, universities, rehabilitation centres, consultancy firms, foster homes, refugee centres, government institutions, grassroots community programs, among others. Over the years, he has developed and facilitated breakdance and Hiphop workshops and classes locally and internationally and has judged both local and international competitions. He is known for his work of using breakdance and Hiphop as tools for social change. He believes that growth, innovation, communication, open-mindedness, cohesion, self-awareness, wellness, relationships, diversity and empowerment thrive in a space of creativity, curiosity, exploration, critical thinking, play and gratitude. His workshops give special attention to active participation, safety, collaboration, hands-on activities, self-expression, imagination, reflection, intention, exchange, risk-taking, leadership, deep listening, experiential learning, inclusion, and having fun. He uses group facilitation, experiential learning and the arts because this multi-disciplinary approach enhances the scope and depth of learning as well as catering to different learning styles. Abramz has worked with children, youth and adults of different backgrounds, in various settings. He has worked in Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Swaziland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark, USA, Switzerland, Poland, among other countries.
Tes Cohen
Tes Cohen’s life purpose is to create meaningful opportunities that foster curiosity and community in order to cultivate interconnectedness and continuous learning. She delights in doing exactly that by co-creating transformative gatherings that are infused with intentionality and lead to long-term impact with purpose-driven organizations. Her career began serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica and includes the nonprofit world as well as corporate philanthropy at Gap Inc. Tes is also the co-founder of Radical Reset, creating a movement of rested leaders and a world in which rest is democratized, normalized, and celebrated. Tes has her BA in Psychology and Spanish from Connecticut College and Masters in Public Administration from NYU. She is on the board of Convivir Colorado, a nonprofit that guides youth impacted by migration to find power in their immigrant story. In her spare time, Tes enjoys biking, rock climbing, teaching yoga, and travel (30 states and 30 countries visited and counting!).
Kara Bender
Kara Bender (she/her) is a systems thinker, organizer, participant-centered educator, and a skillful and playful facilitator. Through her consulting organization, Seed & Spiral, she encourages growing our collective imaginations for liberation through body-based, earth-centered, equity offerings. Kara specializes in team building and takes an experiential approach to all of her facilitation in order to foster a mind-body connection, which supports long-term integration and change. She has experience working with departments of Health and Human Services, universities, non-profits, philanthropy, faith-based institutions, along with, for-profit companies. Kara is actively curating customized curriculum in online and retreat settings for white folks going deeper on their anti-racism journeys as well supporting multi-racial organizations in innovative and equity focused systems re-design. Deeply committed to naming her stake and responsibility as a white woman in ending oppressive systems, she has committed over 15 years to learning with and from anti-racist communities of color and anti-racist white folks. Her biggest influences have come from serving as an affordable housing organizer, co-directing a legislative advocacy program, being a racial equity facilitator and educator, and participating in creative projects like the Carnival de Resistance, that bridged art, activism, and faith to engage communities in conversations about environmental justice. With roots on the east coast, she now lives at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, on unceded Osage land that is colonially known as St Louis MO.
Diane Garza
Diane Garza is an executive coach and leadership educator. She is the CEO of iCatalyze, A global organizational consulting and leadership training company that helps high-growth startups and corporate executives strengthen teams and retain their best leaders. She is the author of “EQ Playbook: Navigating People, Power and Purpose with Emotional Intelligence” a practical guide to harness emotional intelligence to drive leadership and foster high-performing teams. A certified leadership coach, she supports entrepreneurs and high-level executives, helping them overcome uncertainty and gain confidence to improve performance and lead with impact. Diane’s coaching style is dynamic, engaging, and results driven. Her approach is both compassionate and challenging, as she helps her clients to step outside of their comfort zones and embrace new ways of thinking and leading. As a trusted adviser to leaders, she has designed and facilitated offsites for strategic planning, change management and team building. She has implemented custom leadership training and coached professionals at companies such as Microsoft, SAP, WeWork, Bloomberg, Workday, MetLife, National Geographic, Morgan Stanley, Uber, Burger King, Kueski, and Tim Horton’s, among others. Diane has worked with Georgetown University for more than 16 years, where she has specialized indesigning and teaching in executive programs for leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She has taught leadership courses to more than 3,500 leaders from more than 20 countries. She has also been an instructor for the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE) Women’s Leadership and Emerging Latino Leaders Programs. Diane holds a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a Master’s Degree in Social Responsibility from Anahuac University in Mexico. She has a Certification in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University and postgraduate studies in leadership from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has been featured on CNN en Español, Entrepreneur en Español, Thrive Global, Latino Leaders Magazine and other media discussing different leadership topics. Diane is also the host of the Spanish-language podcast on leadership and personal development called “iCatalyze Leadership Lab.”