Our Team

Kyra’s journey with PartnersGlobal began in 2017 when she was tapped for her expertise in access to justice, rule of law, and human rights issues to advance Partners’ programs and local partner capacities. Over time, she took on diverse management roles and in January 2020 became Managing Director for Program Portfolios. In this capacity, Kyra provides strategic oversight and guidance on management and program implementation across all regions and thematic areas. In January 2021, she was named Co-Executive Director.

From 2014-19, Kyra served as Senior Technical Director of New Rule, LLC, providing technical assistance across the globe while involved in all aspects of the development and growth of a woman-owned small business. She has lived in South Asia and Eastern Europe, where she advised national human rights institutions, government agencies, and community-based organizations on capacity building and citizen services delivery. Kyra launched her development career as one of the initial directors of the American Bar Association’s overseas programming. She credits this experience with igniting her passion for justice for the underserved and opening her eyes to the reality that lasting change requires long-term commitment.

Kyra is a Double Hoya – a graduate of both Georgetown University Law Center and Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. She and her husband have four children and two cats. When not traveling together (19 countries as of 2019), they play a lot of board games – very competitively – and everyone pretends to listen to Kyra pass down family lore.

Roselie joined PartnersGlobal in 2015 as Global Director for Civil Society. In this position, she played a dual role with a foot in both the regional teams and the technical support team. She provided strategic planning and oversight for the Latin America programs and played a leading role in advancing PartnersGlobal’s civil society resiliency programming and innovative Resiliency+ Framework, which offers tools and tactics to support organizations in navigating complexity and thriving in uncertainty. In 2021, Roselie was promoted to Co-Executive Director.

She began her career in Moscow as a PR manager on the first USAID public-private partnership promoting distance learning for staff of Russian-American joint ventures.  From there she spent several years working at the intersection of capacity-building, advocacy, and entrepreneurial skill-building, often in politically challenging and conflict-affected environments.  She has designed and led multiple projects, including as Country Director and Chief of Party for programs to build organizational sustainability and resiliency through soft diplomacy, social entrepreneurship, public-private partnerships, and alternative revenue generation in fragile and volatile states.  She has worked across Russia and Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Among her achievements, she created a sustainable civil society capacity building program in Central Asia, worked to empower women social entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia, and built a network of women’s health advocates across nine countries in the Middle East and North Africa. She also launched and led her own small business delivering last mile connectivity solutions for civil society organizations.

Holding a master’s in international communications, Roselie approaches her work through a lens of strategic communications and entrepreneurial thinking.

Rasha started her journey with the Partners Network in 2009. She first worked at PartnersJordan for around eight years then joined PartnersGlobal team in 2019 as the Director of Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Civil Society Strengthening. Prior to her work at Partners Network, she worked at the private sector for couple of years, and with other local and international organizations.

Rasha is a catalyst for change and is driven to make a difference through advocating for human rights issues and for safe and resilient environments for women, youth, human rights activists, and marginalized communities. That’s what resonates with her about Partners Network and PartnersGlobal work.

Passionately throughout her career, Rasha worked with civil society organizations and activists around the world to amplify their voices, increase citizen participation in decision making processes, advocate for human rights, and create innovative solutions to community issues. She is part of a diverse network of activists and civil society organizations around the globe, and she helped establishing networks in the MENA region and lead many advocacy campaigns and initiatives on social accountability, governance, transparency, anti-corruption, defending civic space, and a variety of awareness raising campaigns.

Rasha serves on the Board of Directors for Amnesty International – USA for the 2022-2025 term. In 2022, she was recognized as one of the Arab America Foundation’s 40 under 40. Rasha holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, a Community Organizing Certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School, and abachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Jordan.

Manal joined PartnersGlobal in February 2020 as a Finance Associate for the Middle East and North of Africa (MENA) programs. She provides financial leadership and oversight of the financial aspects of multiple programs including leads and proposals, start-up, implementation, and control, monitoring and evaluation, close-out, and cross-cutting functions.

Her journey with the Partners Network started first with PartnersYemen in 2009 until 2015 where she worked as an HR and Finance Manager. Prior to that she worked with National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) Yemen in finance and operations and contributed to programs implementation with local CSOs in the field. She also worked for five years in finance and operations for a travel agency.

Originally from Yemeni descent, Manal was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she earned her Associate Degree in Marketing and Management from Commercial College of Addis Ababa University. She moved in 2004 to Yemen where she earned her Bachelor of Arts (BA) English literature from Al Andalous University. Manal has extensive training in conflict analysis and resolution, security management and crisis leadership, first aid, basic ticketing, and intermediate a peroration at Yemenia Airways- Yemen. She also spent earning a several credit hours in Accounting for Non-Accountants.

Manal likes to spend her free time cooking, traveling, visiting historical places, and learning about new cultures. She also loves dancing and movies.

Samuel Basa joined PartnersGlobal in 2021 as Executive Coordinator. In this capacity, Sam supports the leadership team, provides overall administration and office management for the organization, and supports communications and marketing efforts. Sam graduated from Chowan University with a Bachelors’ in Graphic Communications.  He has extensive experience in administration, graphic design, and theatre management.

In his spare time, Sam enjoys the fine arts especially theatre, visiting the many art spaces in DC, and playing RPGs with friends.

Julianyth has served as Sr. Finance Manager since 2024. She is an accomplished finance and operations professional specializing in sustainable development programs. With a wealth of experience in implementing projects across the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, Julianyth has worked within institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the private sector. Julianyth’s expertise lies in providing comprehensive project management, overseeing financial aspects of portfolios, including budget development, data analysis, project preparation and implementation, program goal monitoring, and negotiations with international institutions, governments, and private sector entities. Julianyth holds a B.S. in Accounting, a master’s degree in International Business Management; and specializations in Business and Financial Modeling and Corporate Finance.

Biljana has served as the Chief of Party for Serbia Civil Society Resilience Strengthening Activity at PartnersGlobal since September 2023. In this position, Biljana is responsible for providing leadership, management, representational, and operational oversight of the activity, including maintaining strong partnership and dialogue with USAID Mission staff in Belgrade.

Biljana brings over 20 years of experience in program management, strategic planning, organizational development, fundraising and partnerships, and cross-sector cooperation. Biljana has previously served as the Executive Director for Trag Foundation from 2014 to 2023, where she oversaw institutional development and operations, guiding the organization in its mission to promote active citizenship, local philanthropy, and community development across the Balkans. She successfully led the efforts to establish the first endowment fund for civil society in the Balkans. Prior to her tenure at Trag Foundation, she’s held various senior roles working at the Balkan Trust for Democracy of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, Pax Christi Netherlands and other.

Biljana studied History at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy. An alumna of the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network, she continues to share her knowledge and experience in several mentoring programs.

Biljana believes in the power of collective action and finds inspiration in citizen-led initiatives coming together to create positive changes in their communities.

Cesia Delcid Hernandez is the Human Resources and Talent Management Coordinator. In this role, Cesia provides support for the HR functions, including talent acquisition, onboarding and offboarding processes, employee and labor relations, performance management, and HR systems data entry and reporting.

Cesia has recently graduated from the University of Maryland, with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics (International Relations Track). In addition, she completed a study abroad semester at the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico where she focused her studies in human rights and judicial interpretation, and conflict negotiation in Latin American and Europe. Cesia has previously served as a Community Outreach Assistant with Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP) in Silver Spring, MD, where she provided translation and general support for low-income families applying for assistance programs. Prior to that she has served as an intern and volunteer with many organizations including the International Rescue Committee, the Library of Congress, and Students Helping Honduras.

As a Human Resources & Talent Management Coordinator, Cesia is excited to support PartnersGlobal’s mission by fostering a collaborative and inclusive workplace culture.

Luis has been part of the Partners Network since 2008, starting his career at our sister organization in Mexico, Centro de Colaboración Cívica (CCC), where he served as a facilitator for complex multi-stakeholder dialogue processes and Director for the Citizen Security and Human Rights portfolio. He joined the PartnersGlobal team in 2015, bringing to the organization a deep level of technical and regional expertise. He has experienced firsthand the power of dialogue and believes deeply in positive conflict transformation.

At PartnersGlobal, Luis oversees Partners’ Civil Society Resilience portfolio as well as the organization’s peacebuilding and democracy-building programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is one of the organization’s lead trainers and focal point persons for civil society capacity-building and conflict resolution, providing support to other regional teams and leading different global consultancies. He has a decade of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating multi stakeholder dialogue, negotiation, and consensus-building processes and platforms concerning human rights, access to justice, and human security policies and laws, as well as designing organizational change management processes and supporting civil society organizations to undertake those processes.

Luis earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas in Mexico City and his Master of Arts in Development Studies with a specialization in Crises, Emergency Interventions, and Development Actions from Université Panthéon – Sorbonne in Paris.

In addition to his work at PartnersGlobal, Luis is an avid reader and chef, as well as an aspiring potter.

Christian Labossiere joined PartnersGlobal as an intern for the Africa Team in February 2021. After a year, Christian was offered a Program Associate position to assist with the implementation of the Africa Team’s current security governance and gender equity initiatives.

Upon graduating from Florida State University with a Bachelor’s in French and International Affairs, Christian spent a few months volunteering in Port au Prince, Haiti before joining the US Peace Corps in 2018. As a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa, Christian supported his school and community by teaching English and Creative Arts full-time and collaborating with local partners to apply for infrastructure funding for the school itself. Christian’s Peace Corps service was cut a few months short due to COVID evacuations but by this time he had already been accepted into Georgetown University’s MA Conflict Resolution Program.

Christian has in M.A. from Georgetown University with a degree in peacebuilding, mediation, negotiations and diplomacy. In his free time, Christian enjoys gaming with friends, watching science documentaries, and reading books on consciousness and meditation.

Amy joined Partners in February 2024, inspired by its commitment to supporting those on the frontlines of rights-based movements and the potential of Powered by the People to enable collective action that advances human rights, social justice, democracy, and inclusive development.

Amy brings over 20 years of experience facilitating global networks and partnerships, delivering programs that strengthen civic action, and advocating for practices that make social good organizations more effective and accountable to the people we serve. She’s held varied leadership roles, working for and with Accountable Now, CIVICUS, Global Integrity, and WINGS.

Originally from the United States, Amy has spent most of the past two decades living in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a lifelong learner and explorer, actively seeking opportunities to expand her understanding of cross-cutting issues for civil society, from civic space and corruption to climate justice and technology. Amy completed an MA in sustainable international development at Brandeis University.

Bridget is a native of the Boston area and started working at PartnersGlobal in 2013 as an intern while pursuing her Master of Arts in Latin American Studies at Georgetown University. She previously lived and worked in Maracaibo, Venezuela as a Fulbright Fellow.

As Director for Business Development, Bridget provides strategic leadership for Partners’ business development efforts. Her role includes developing and leading knowledge management processes, building and sustaining external partnerships, supporting new programmatic and funding opportunities, and coaching and mentoring team members and local partners. Bridget is an experienced trainer and facilitator in English and Spanish and leads PartnersGlobal’s Facilitating Accountability, Integrity, and Resilience approach, which supports local civil society and governments to jointly counter corruption and increase transparency in all aspects of governance. In addition to her official duties, Bridget takes pride in making Partners a better place to work and believes strongly in the power of teamwork, collaboration, and playfulness.

In her free time, she enjoys going on adventures, testing new and ever more elaborate recipes, and pretending that her cat and dog get along.

Jeffsky Poincy joined PartnersGlobal in August of 2021 as a Program Manager for the Africa portfolio. As a Program Manager, Jeffsky works with local implementing partners and Partners Network members based in the region on projects in accountable governance, civil society strengthening, and peacebuilding.

Jeffsky comes to PartnersGlobal with a rich background in project management and diverse technical expertise. He has over seven years of experience in economic development, strategic planning, program management, and policy development across public, private, and NGO sectors. He has worked for organizations such as Plan International, the Haitian Ministry of Tourism, and the Haitian Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Civic Action. In addition, he is the Founder of BUSY (Business-driven Solutions for Youth), a Haitian-based economic development organization whose mission is to promote and foster economic empowerment of marginalized youth in Haiti.

Jeffsky has a Master of International Development Policy from Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, focusing on Governance and Economic Development. He also obtained a master’s degree in International Project Management and a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management from the People’s Friendship University of Russia. He is fluent in English, French, Haitian Creole, and Russian. In addition to his work at Partners, Jeffsky is a passionate and committed advocate for social justice.

Tihomir has served as Finance Manager at PartnersGlobal since 2023. In this position, Tihomir is responsible for supporting project partners and finances. He has previously served as Finance and Grants Senior Officer with USAID project and Finance Manager with international environmental organization. Tihomir holds a bachelor’s degree in finance management from Educons University and specialist degree in Crisis Management from Faculty of security studies. He is inspired by the achieving civil society to become an important partner to all.

Alex currently serves as the Managing Director (Chief of Party) of PartnersGlobal’s Powered by the People initiative, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Democracy, Rights, and Governance Bureau. As the single largest grant, to date, awarded in support of citizen action and social movements by USAID, this $45 million, 5-year initiative sets out to redefine global development practices.

Prior to this, he was at The SEEP Network from 2019 until 2022, as its Executive Director. In this capacity, he supported SEEP’s team in the execution of programmes and initiatives, keeping focused on innovation and transformation of the Network. Alex has also held leadership positions at CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation and Counterpart International. He holds a Doctorate from the Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University. His research focused on social change processes through institutional (primarily vocational education) reform and improvement discipline in fledgling democratic and transitioning market economies.

Born in Iran, he and his family have benefited first-hand from the important role citizen action and community organisations play in improving lives especially at times of crisis. He became a refugee at the age of 8, and spent formative years in refugree camps across Europe. He spent a good part of his adult life in Armenia—his ancestral homeland—where he worked with and learned from local leaders as they forged a new path after independence from the Soviet Union. He is passionate about figuring out how human beings can have a louder, more powerful voice and unhindered agency in what happens to their lives and in their communities.

Milica Skiljevic has served as the Deputy Chief of Party on the USAID Civil Society Resilience Activity since July 2022. In this position, Milica provides technical oversight for the programs designed to build the resilience of civil society to new and emerging civic space challenges, and coordinates the efforts related to the improvement of the enabling environment for civil society development in Serbia.

Milica brings her knowledge and over 10 years of experience in civil society development and collaboration with institutions. Her work over the past couple of years has focused on project development and management, strategic development of partnerships and networks with CSOs, and international partners. She was an elected representative in relevant national, regional, and European youth structures, such as the National Youth Council of Serbia, and the Regional Youth Cooperation Office.

Milica earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences.

The motivation and drive in her work comes from the direct encounters with community driven initiatives and the transformative potential of ordinary people coming together.

Ferishta Stanekzai has served as Finance Manager at PartnersGlobal since 2024. In this position, she oversees day to day program financial activities, including financial budgeting and forecasting, financial review and analysis, and timely financial reporting, for Powered by the People (PxP) program.   

Ferishta offers a strong background across a broad spectrum of functions within the Finance industry. She has managed multiple projects simultaneously in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments. She possesses strong collaborative skills, and thrive within diverse, multicultural teams.  

Prior to joining PartnersGlobal, she served in finance roles with Population Services International, Democracy International and University Research Company.  

Ferishta holds a B.B.A from Preston university in Pakistan and a M.B.A from California Coast University in the US. She is fluent in Dari and Pashto and speaks conversational Urdu. Outside of work she enjoys doing charity work. 

Bisrat Yohannes is the Deputy Chief Financial Officer at PartnersGlobal with a key role in financial management, financial forecasting and planning, development of relevant financial information, and timely financial reporting. He assists the CFO in developing internal control policies, guidelines, and procedures as well as establishing and maintaining an infrastructure that supports future stable growth and ensure that highest standards of financial integrity are being attained.

Before joining PartnersGlobal, Bisrat worked at Helen Keller International as program finance manager overseeing everyday program financial activities for multimillion-dollar programs funded by USAID and private foundations. He has extensive experience in all aspects of financial management ranging from simple accounting to complex financial management.

Bisrat holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting with more than 15 years of experience. Originally from Ethiopia, he enjoys reading books and playing/watching sport in his free time.

Jacqueline is a lawyer, feminist and a social development thought leader. She is the Founder and CEO of CivSource Africa, a philanthropy support organization, which works to influence philanthropic practice in Africa. She is working to shape narratives about giving, generosity and philanthropy in Africa. She, and by extension, CivSource, does this through story telling, research on African philanthropy, capacity support to community foundations and advocacy to address the power and resource imbalance in the global philanthropy sector.

Jacqueline serves on the boards of various social justice organizations.

When she is not at work, Jacqueline is a nature junkie and loves any place with water or trees. She is also a prolific reader and loves to dance!

Danaé holds a certification in International Training on Dialogue and Mediation from Uppsala University and Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Sweden. She also received a diploma in Social Impact Assessment and Indigenous Consultation from Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales (FLACSO). She has received her International Relations Bachelor’s Degree from Universidad Autónoma Nacional de México (UNAM).

Danaé has been a member of the Partners Network since 2014, through her work at our Mexico Center, Centro de Colaboración Cívica (CCC). At CCC, Danaé is Director of the Sustainable Development Program in charge of coordinating the design and implementation of participatory processes to inform public policies and leads the efforts to design, facilitate and train on best practices for multi-stakeholder dialogue related to the sustainable development agenda with a participatory, gender and human rights approach. Her specializatins include the following topics: environmental governance for natural resources, socio-environmental conflict, just energy transition, implementation of the Escazú Agreement in Mexico, natural protected areas, climate change, air quality, sustainable cities and transportation.

Danaé has been an resiliency coach in Honduras – assisting NGOs to identify external threats and internal vulnerabilities to achieve more resilient operations and outcomes.

Additionally, she has collaborated on projects related to a broad array of human rights topics, most recently – justice for adolescents, and reducing violence against women and girls through a non-punitive, intersectional, and long-term perspective and approach. In the area of capacity building, she has developed and implemented workshops and courses on: Negotiation, Coalition building, Do No Harm, Collaborative Advocacy and Effective Communication for NGOs, government, private sector and academia.

Alyssa Ramacho has served as the Executive Human Resources & Talent Management Intern at PartnersGlobal since January 2025. In this position, Alyssa aids in developing HR policies that are driven to create an inclusive workplace environment that aligns with and strengthens PartnersGlobal’s mission. Additionally, she supports the HR team with recruitment efforts, onboarding, and employee engagement initiatives.

In addition to her primary role, Alyssa is committed to advancing and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, as reflected through her professional and academic experiences. Alyssa is passionate about fostering inclusive spaces where individuals from diverse backgrounds can thrive and build a sense of community. She has previously worked as an Inclusion Support Counselor at a youth center, where she supported children with disabilities (e.g. ADHD and autism) by tailoring activities to individuals needs and addressing accessibility barriers.

Alyssa is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in General Business from the University of Maryland, where she is expected to graduate in May 2025. Alyssa believes that organizations thrive because of their people and that equitable HR practices foster inclusive workplace cultures, promote collaboration, and empower individual growth & development. She is inspired by PartnersGlobal’s mission to cultivate equity and leadership, and she looks forward to lending her voice to this purpose.