Berkley Center

Lopa Banerjee is the director of the Civil Society Division at UN Women and executive coordinator of the Generation Equality Forum. Lopa has worked for over three decades on international development, policy advocacy, communication, and partnership building across the UN and in the private sector. 

Martine Dushime is a youth leader for the Anglican Church of Burundi. Ms. Dushime is also a fifth-year medical student at the University of Burundi and was a delegate for the Anglican Communion Office at the United Nation’s delegation for the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2020.

Ruth Gopin is an events and communications manager in the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She was the Berkley Center’s events and projects manager from August 2019 through April 2022. Prior to that Ruth worked as an independent contractor for the World Faiths Development Dialogue. She holds a B.A. in international development studies from McGill University.

Talia Kaplan is an organizer and educator studying for rabbinic ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Talia currently serves as the program director of JustCity, which focuses on the intersection of Judaism and justice, and volunteers as a ritual immersion guide with ImmerseNYC.

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.

Jamie Ahksistowaki Medicine Crane is an activist, educator, and multi-disciplinary artist. Jamie has been involved with the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) for over 20 years, serving on the boards of YWCA Canada, YWCA Lethbridge, and as vice president of World YWCA. Jamie is currently working with NorQuest College as a curriculum developer.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the executive director of UN Women and affiliated with several organizations devoted to education, women’s empowerment, and gender equality. She has also served in many government roles, including as deputy president of South Africa and as a member of Parliament during South Africa’s first democratic government.

Naomi Woyengu is currently the regional coordinator for the young women's leadership program in Asia and the Pacific for World YWCA. She is also an active member of the YWCA of Papua New Guinea, and specializes in co-designing, implementation, and evaluation of leadership programs.