Masterclass Facilitators

Julie Gichuru is the founder and President and CEO of the Africa Leadership and Dialogue Institute (ALADI), a Pan African organisation that drives progress and influence through African storytelling, knowledge building, agenda setting and leadership development. Julie was the Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer at the Mastercard Foundation where she led corporate and programmatic communications, policy & thought leadership and public affairs. She helped develop capacity across Africa and Canada, ensuring a consistent focus on African and Indigenous voices, supporting the shift of development approaches to enable communities to lead in driving solutions.

A senior executive with expertise across climate change, organizational strategy, impact measurement, and product innovation. He has led multi-country teams in the deployment and implementation of innovations impacting millions through initiatives in technology, climate change agriculture, innovative financing, and human capital development. Offers a unique perspective bridging experiences in the private and public sectors, across Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

15+ years across diverse sectors have equipped me to be a catalyst for systemic change. As a collaboration enthusiast, he excels in constructing bridges between a wide spectrum of stakeholders, from community activists and social entrepreneurs to policymakers and corporate leaders. Possess a keen eye for identifying opportunities within systems that can trigger large-scale positive shifts. His experience translates ideas into tangible change, fostering a ripple effect that drives lasting societal progress.

Christine Enetak is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®), Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), and certified Nonprofit Succession Planning consultant whose work sits at the intersection of philanthropy, strategy, and global health. She is the Principal Consultant of Grounded in Equity, LLC, a boutique consulting firm specialising in fundraising and grant strategy, and the Founder and CEO of Atlas Symposia, an independent coordination platform that aligns African vaccine ecosystem priorities with the resources required to advance them.

Beatrice Karanja is a global partnerships and strategy executive with over 25 years of experience advising leadership, mobilising capital, and positioning mission-driven organisations for scale across Africa and international ecosystems. Her work spans climate and nature finance, community conservation, institutional strategy, governance, and high-level stakeholder engagement, supporting organisations to translate ambition into fundable, credible, and durable impact.

Across leadership and advisory roles with organisations including Natural State, Nature’s Pitch, Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), and Portland Communications, she has led global partnerships, institutional positioning, communications strategy, and advocacy campaigns, while representing organisations at high-level international forums such as Africa Diaspora Summit, Business of Conservation Conference, Africa Climate Week, the Building Bridges Conference, Harvard Business School Annual SIPS and several other global investment and policy platforms.

14+ years of experience leading community-centred conservation, natural resource governance, donor-funded programmes, carbon project programmes, partnerships and institutional development across East Africa. He currently provides strategic leadership across programmes spanning Kenya’s northern rangelands and coastal ecosystems, as well as Uganda’s Kidepo landscape. Elijah brings practical experience linking ecosystem restoration, community livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and carbon finance; strengthening governance and benefit-sharing systems; building multidisciplinary teams; and translating strategy into accountable delivery, monitoring, and learning. Experienced in engaging community institutions, government, donors, investors and technical partners in complex, evolving operating environments.