Abebe Bekele, MD, PhD, FCS (ECSA), FACS, FRCS(Ed), MAMSE, is Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academic and Research Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda. He has served as the CEO of the Black Lion Teaching Hospital and Dean of the School of Medicine at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He is a Professor of Surgery (General and Thoracic Surgery). He holds full professor faculty positions at UGHE, Addis Ababa University, and the University of Rwanda, as well as a professorship in global health at Duke University. He has received fellowships in Medical Education from FAIMER in Philadelphia, Simulation-Based Education from the University of Washington, and Surgical Leadership from the Harvard Medical School. He has extensive experience in medical and surgical education, spanning over 22 years and is a fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Master Surgical Educators of the American College of Surgeons.

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Professor Abebe is the Secretary General of the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), he is the Editor-in-Chief of the East and Central Africa Journal of Surgery and sits on the editorial board of the JAMA Health Forum, BMC Medical Education, and the Ethiopian Medical Journal. He has published over 140 articles and book chapters and received several regional and international awards, including the CUGH Distinguished Leadership Award in 2024. He serves as a member of the advisory councils and boards of the Ethiopian Ministry of Sciences and Higher Education, the WHO Council on Learning and Capacity Building in Health Emergencies, the Global Surgery Foundation, and the African Forum for Research and Education in Health. He is also the founder and the secretary-general of the Consortium of Medical Schools of Africa (COMSA).

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Professor Abebe is actively engaged in Global Safe Surgery and has served as a senior advisor to the Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopia, in the Saving Lives Through Safe Surgery initiative. He is the founder and current chairman of the Pan African Surgical HealthCare Forum (PASHeF). His research interests include trauma, surgical oncology, equity in global surgery, and education.

Dr. Yogita Abichandani is an interdisciplinary researcher and educator, currently serving as an Associate Professor of Business Studies (HR & OB) at the Management Development Institute (MDI) Murshidabad. Her academic journey includes a Ph.D. and M.Ed. from the University of Georgia’s Department of Learning, Leadership, & Organization Development, where she was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni and Outstanding Graduate. She also holds two additional Master's degrees in Personnel Management and HRD.

As a Certified Qualitative Researcher, Dr. Yogitta’s work critically examines the intersection of AI and human capability, alongside leadership, gender studies, and healthcare. Her career spans prestigious institutions across the globe, including faculty positions at Symbiosis International University and Western Carolina University in the USA. A committed global academic, she has successfully forged international partnerships with schools like SOAS-UK and ESC Claremont France and runs a regular Virtual Exchange Program. Her research is published in top-tier Q1/Q2 journals, and she has actively contributed to the Academy of HRD, USA, including a nine-year tenure as Chair of its India SIG.

Dr. Tequam Worku, DrPH, MPH, is a public health leader and policy strategist with extensive experience advancing evidence-based solutions at the intersection of research, global health, and equitable policy. She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of the One Health Global Alliance, where she provides strategic and operational leadership across activities. Previously, Dr. Worku held roles at the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, directing consensus studies and multi-stakeholder collaboratives—including the 2022 study on
Improving the CDC Quarantine Station Network’s Response to Emerging Threats; an
international study on rare-disease drug regulation, the national effort to establish a Working Definition of Long COVID and the Action Collaborative on Engaging Community Practices in Clinical Trials. She also worked at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) supporting states and territories in advancing evidence-based public health strategies and strengthening clinical-to-community connections. Dr. Worku holds a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) and a Master of Public Health (MPH) and is deeply committed to driving solutions that improve health outcomes for communities

Alina Rivilis is the CEO and co-founder of AI Future Leaders, with the goal to deliver AI education that blends technology, leadership and creativity.  A seasoned AI executive, with over 25 years of experience, Rivilis brings expertise in AI, data science, strategy, and innovation. She currently serves as Director of Data Science & AI at Fairstone Bank of Canada and part time faculty, Informatics, at Northeastern University. Recognizing the need for AI leadership and education, Alina launched AI Future Leaders to close the gap between traditional education and the demands of an AI-driven world. A finalist for the 2025 Women in AI Awards (Private Sector), she is a passionate advocate for responsible and ethical AI and inclusive innovation

Tobi Olatunji is a physician turned Machine Learning Scientist with a decade of experience in Clinical Natural Language Processing (NLP), Speech Recognition, & Speech Translation for healthcare. After building intelligent systems for healthcare at AWS Health AI and Enlitic in San Francisco, he founded Intron Health, the first automated real-time ambient medical scribe that supports 300+ African accents and 20+ languages saving overworked doctors 3+hrs per day. 
Tobi holds 3 US technology patents, is a Member of the Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Consortium (CAIC), and the Research Director at Bio-RAMP Labs. Tobi currently sits on the Advisory Board at the OpenNotes Lab at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and serves as Technical Advisor to the Harvard Blavatnik Institute of Global Health and Social Medicine on scaling digital and mHealth interventions in Africa. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan; an MSc in Medical Informatics from the University of San Francisco, a Certificate in Healthcare Management from Yale School of Management and an MSc in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has published at Interspeech, Neurips, ACL, Nature, NAACL, EACL, MIDL, EMNLP, and other top machine-learning conferences/workshops.

Maraki Fikre Merid, a native of Ethiopia, is dedicated to expanding healthcare access in Africa through innovative service and financing models that promote private sector participation and system resilience. She is a founding partner of CHS Advisory, a boutique healthcare consultancy with offices in Ethiopia and the UAE, bringing over 20 years of experience in healthcare and education across more than 10 African countries, working with public, private, and donor clients. CHS's workforce initiative complements her work, Skills Quest Africa (SQA), which advances industry-aligned training and practical learning in the health and pharmaceutical sectors. Maraki specializes in strategic consulting and operational management, with recognized leadership in private sector engagement, PPPs, and market-shaping interventions. Her work includes catalytic initiatives with UNECA, Africa CDC, UNAIDS, and Africa Resource Center, particularly in designing sustainable financing and pooled procurement mechanisms. In recent years, Maraki co-founded Youth Education Services in Addis and a social enterprise in Canada to empower youth and professionals across the Ethiopian diaspora with practical skills and industry exposure. Fluent in French and English, she holds a PhD in Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation from the University of Toronto, and degrees in Epidemiology and Biochemistry from McGill University. She is currently based in Addis Ababa and Toronto.