Berkley Center

Sister Regina Ignatia Aflah, HDR, is a member of the Women Faith Leaders Fellowship 2024-2025 cohort. She belongs to the Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer of Accra, having been elected vice superior general in 2023, and a civil lawyer. She currently works as the executive director for the Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer Sisters Foundation (HDRSF), a non-governmental organization managed by her congregation. She has over 22 years of experience in administration and human resource management, as well as six years in the faculty of law as a tutor in international law, human rights law, and environmental law. She is a confident and persuasive team builder who can motivate and communicate to achieve exceptional performance. Sr. Aflah uses her rich experience to champion respect for humanity’s liberty, especially in deprived communities. She is a member of Caritas Internationalis Legal Affairs Commission.

Sr. Teresa Kiragu, ASN, is a member of the Women Faith Leaders Fellowship 2024-2025 cohort. She belongs to Assumption Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Nairobi and is a theologian. She holds a bachelor's degree in both philosophy and sacred theology from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), where she also earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in moral theology. At CUEA she is a lecturer in the Faculty of Theology and a visiting lecturer of ethics at the Centre for Social Justice and Ethics, as well as a visiting lecturer at the Institute of Catechetical and Pastoral Ministry AOSK- Chemi Chemi Ya Uzima. She is also a leader in two professional organizations: Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church and the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network. She is passionate about empowering girls to seek formal education and health education.

Katherine Marshall, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, leads the center’s work on religion and global development. She is also a professor of the practice of development, conflict, and religion in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, teaching diverse courses on the ethics of development work and mentoring students at many levels. She helped to create and now serves as the executive director of the World Faiths Development Dialogue, an NGO that works to enhance bridges between different sectors and institutions. In September 2022, she was appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Marshall has five decades of experience on a variety of development issues in Africa, Latin America, East Asia, and the Middle East, particularly those facing the world’s poorest countries; one way she shares her expertise is through her blog Faith in Action. She was a World Bank officer from 1971 to 2006, and she led the World Bank’s faith and ethics initiative between 2000 and 2006. Marshall is a member of the Working Group on Child Rights and Family Values and the Working Group on Displaced Persons and Hospitality to the Stranger, both part of the Culture of Encounter Project.

Sister Teresia Kathure Murungi, RGS, is a member of the Women Faith Leaders Fellowship 2024-2025 cohort. She belongs to the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, also known as Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and the current director of the Mission Development Office, Eastern Central Africa Province, located in Nairobi. She holds a master's degree in social transformation with a specialization in organization management and a B.A in leadership and management, a diploma in social work and social development, and a diploma in spirituality. Her mission and passion is to build and strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations, promote integral human development, uphold human dignity, and contribute towards holistic and overall social transformation. Sr. Murungi has over 15 years of experience in management of community-focused empowerment programs and projects that put women, youth, and children empowerment at the center, implementing high-value programs in the fields of education, skills and vocational training, child protection and mentorship, social enterprise development, and women's empowerment. Her experience as a regular employee and in management includes strategic planning, policy development, project cycle management, organizational change management, resource mobilization, and fundraising, among others.

Sister Pasilisa Namikoye, LSOSF, is a member of the Women Faith Leaders Fellowship 2024-2025 cohort. She is affiliated with the Little Sisters of St. Francis and is currently the executive secretary of the Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya, where she is also the principal administrator. She holds a Ph.D. in business administration (finance), a Master of Science degree in finance and investment, a bachelor's degree in commerce, and an advanced diploma in accountancy and a certificate in business administration. In her pursuit to empower women, she published a journal on women's access to microcredit financing. She is a visionary leader with a wide experience in leadership, administration, strategic management, financial resource management, project management, institutional capacity strengthening, and community mobilization.

Sister Bridgita Samba, SSJ, is a member of the Women Faith Leaders Fellowship 2024-2025 cohort. She is affiliated with the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa, Kenya, and is currently serving as the secretary general of the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA). She has a background in journalism and media studies, as well as in interreligious dialogue and Islamic studies. She is passionate about girl child and womens' education, as well as pastoral initiatives that engage communities in identifying issues affecting them and coming up with creative solutions to address those issues. She has been involved in institutional administrative work, community organization and peacebuilding initiatives, advocacy for social justice, civic education, and media education. Samba has worked both in institutions as well as with women (both religious and non-religious), youth and grassroots communities locally, nationally and regionally.