Executive Office

The Executive Team oversees financial management, establishes corporate policy of the organization and hires its senior directors. It ensures that the organization is managed efficiently and is well focused on its targets.

Ousmane Badiane

Executive Chairperson

Ousmane Badiane, Executive Chairperson

Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Distinguished Fellow of the African Association of Agricultural Economists, recipient of the Africa Food Prize in 2015 and member of the World Academy of Sciences, is the Executive Chairperson of AKADEMIYA2063. He has over 30 years of experience, as academic and a practitioner, in international development. As the Director for Africa at the International Food Policy Research Institute, he was instrumental in developing and guiding the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme.

As Lead Specialist for Food and Agricultural Policy at the World Bank, he served as advisor to the Vice President for Africa and originated projects with funding ranging from US$5 million to US$150 million. Between research and development finance, Dr. Badiane taught Economics of Development in Africa at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies for many years.

Dr. Badiane received PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Kiel in Germany. He is also recipient of a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the University of KwaZulu Natal.

Mariama Ba

Chief of Staff

Mariama Ba, Chief of Staff

Christian Henning

Lead Scientist

Christian Henning, Lead Scientist

Dr. Christian Henning, is lead scientist at Akademiya2063. He is currently on leave as a professor and chair of agricultural economics, University of Kiel (Germany), where he taught agricultural economics and computational political economy since 2000. His main areas of specialization are applied political economy and applied economic modelling of agricultural and development policies. He has over 30 years of experience, as scientist and consultant, in developing and applying innovative methods for modelling and evaluating policy processes especially in African and European countries, where he worked with leading international research institutions and universities including University of Chicago (James Coleman, Department of Sociology), Stanford University (Barry Weingast, Department of Political Science), MIT (Prof. Ezra Zuckerman, Sloan School of Management), IFPRI, the FAO, the World Bank and the EU.

Dr. Christian Henning studied economics, agricultural economics, sociology, political science and mathematics and earned PhD’s in agricultural economics, in economics and in political science.

Julia Collins

Senior Associate Scientist

Julia Collins, Senior Associate Scientist

Julia Collins is a Senior Associate Scientist with AKADEMIYA2063, based in Washington, DC. She supports a variety of ReSAKSS projects and AKADEMIYA2063 publications.

She previously worked at IFPRI as a Senior Research Analyst, contributing to support for National Agriculture Investment Plans and other ReSAKSS projects.

She earned her MS in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012 and holds a BA from Knox College in French and International Studies.

Serge Sewase

HR Officer

Serge Sewase, HR Officer

Serge has 6 years of experience in working with international NGOs, including 5 years in the HR Administration field. He started with World Vision International (WVI). He contributed to an implementation of its core programs – education, health and nutrition, protection, and livelihood – as Sponsorship Volunteer from 2016 to 2017 to improve most deprived and marginalized children’s lives in Rwanda.

His HR career started with Save the Children International (SCI) as HR Assistant in 2018. He assisted SCI staff to ensure that they are smoothly and effectively supported to deliver the SCI common goals: child rights governance, child protection, education, health, and nutrition of marginalized children.

Serge joined AKADEMIYA2063 as HR Officer effective June 1st, 2022. Prior to that, since 2020 he has been working with the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), a Partners In Health initiative. As an HR Assistant, he contributed to UGHE’s mission – radically change the way health care is delivered around the world by training generations of global health professionals who strive to deliver more equitable and quality health services for all. Serge is a certified trainee on various HR and administrative subjects and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from University of Rwanda.

Pascaline BIRARO

Executive Assistant

Pascaline BIRARO, Executive Assistant

Pascaline is a capable, determined, and well-organized Executive Assistant with extensive experience in supporting senior managers and board members.

Her expertise includes administrative assistance, customers relationships, procurement/tenders, logistics, scheduling appointments, organizing meetings, travel arrangements, translation, media capacity building, and others.

Before joining AKADEMIYA2063, she worked with regional NGOs, public institutions, and private companies. She holds a Master’s Degree in Development Studies from Mount Kenya University and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Rwanda.

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