Yasmina Zaidman is the chief partnerships officer at Acumen, where she leads engagement with strategic corporate partners who share Acumen’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurial approaches to tackling poverty. She initiated and managed the organization’s water portfolio, and has worked in international development, corporate sustainability, and social entrepreneurship for the past 25 years.

Yasmine Sherif is the director of Education Cannot Wait, a global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crisis established at the World Humanitarian Summit and hosted by UNICEF. A human rights lawyer with 30 years of experience in international affairs, Yasmine joined the United Nations in 1988 and served in New York, Geneva, and in crisis-affected countries in Africa, Asia, Balkans, and the Middle East.

With over 14 years of experience, Yassica is an accomplished senior manager who has spent most of her career working in the international development industry; primarily supporting donor funded projects. She has worked in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East; in subject areas related to economic growth, governance, agriculture, rule of law and legal reform.

Yath is former development data specialist. She was primarily responsible for Devex data gathering, analysis, and reporting, and leveraging that data to generate a wide range of business-focused editorial content. Yath has more than five years of experience in the development sector, and has served as a consultant to the World Bank, UNEP, UNIDO and ADB. A native of Chennai, India, Yath earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Asian Institute of Management.

Naderev Saño is the former lead Philippines climate negotiator. He initiated the People’s Pilgrimage: throughout this year Yeb has been traveling to places at the heart of the climate crisis — across India and Asia — and has just walked all the way from Rome to Paris with group of pilgrims from different countries.

Dr. Yemane Yihdego currently serves as Abt Associates’ chief of party for the Africa Indoor Residual Spraying Project in Ethiopia. Prior to his work with Abt Associates, Yemane served for six years as the country coordinator for the Center for National Health Development in Ethiopia. He holds both a doctoral and a master’s degree in immunology and infectious disease from Harvard University.

Dr. Yemi Kale is the group chief economist and managing director of research and international cooperation at Afreximbank, Egypt. He was formerly a partner and chief economist at KPMG, Nigeria. Prior to this, he served as the statistician general and CEO of the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria.

Dr. Yetnayet Asfaw is vice president for strategy and impact at EngenderHealth. She has more than 15 years of global reproductive health experience in her native country of Ethiopia. Until recently, Asfaw was EngenderHealth’s Ethiopia country director where she oversaw highly successful programs in the country. In previous positions, she led and managed diverse health and development programs, major health projects funded by USAID and private donors. She previously consulted for the government of Ethiopia, the World Bank, World Health Organization, and the United Nations Children’s Fund in Ethiopia.

Yetnebersh Nigussie is a senior inclusion advisor at Light for the World and a 2017 Right Livelihood Award Laureate.

Yinka Oyinlola is CEO of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative. A seasoned international development leader with over 30 years experience in executive and management roles with the United Nations, the World Bank and USAID as well as in the private sector, his areas of expertise include public and government affairs, major project and strategic management, policy formulation and performance monitoring and evaluation.