Mr Norman Tjombe
Mr. Norman Tjombe, Chairperson (Namibia) is Director of the Legal Assistance Centre in Windhoek.

He is involved in public interest litigation, law reform, and making the law more accessible to ordinary Namibians. He was the Chairperson of the Board of the Namibian NGO umbrella body, NANGOF in 2005 and 2006, trustee of the Namibia Red Cross Society in 2003 and 2004, founding trustee of trustee of The Big Issue magazine (Namibian edition) until 2005, trustee of the Namibia Nature Foundation, Chairperson of the Namibia Development Trust, and chairperson of the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia, and the founding Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa.

Mr. Gilberto Ribeiro
Mr. Gilberto Ribeiro (Angola) is currently contracted to Oxford Policy management.

He holds a post graduate certificate in ‘Public Policy with an Applied Component in Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Poverty' from the African Foundation of Education for Public Policy and market Processes in USA. He also holds a post graduate certificate in ‘Macroeconomic Management' from the University of Eastern republic of Uruguay and Bachelor of Science in ‘Mathematics with an Applied Component in Computer Science from the Goa University in India. His current and previous employment appointments include among others being the Advisor to the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs in Angola and also being a resident Advisor to Oxford Policy management in the United Kingdom. He has been an economist with the UNDP in Angola and has done consultancy work for some departments in the Angola government and for several organizations including the UNDP.

Ms Immaculée Birhaheka
Ms Immaculée Birhaheka (DRC) is the founder and director of a grassroots Goma-based women's organisation, Promotion et Appui aux Initiatives Feminines (PAIF).

She holds a Masters degree in rural and social development.

Ms Mathasi Aminata Kurubally
Ms Mathasi Aminata Kurubally (Lesotho) is the Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator for World Vision, Lesotho on their relief efforts.

She holds a Masters Degree in Economics (Economic Development and Planning) from the United Nations Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in the same field. She previously worked as a National Economist for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is a former Senior Economic Planner in the Ministry of Employment, in the Government of Lesotho.

Dr Fidelis Edge Kanyongolo
Dr Fidelis Edge Kanyongolo (Malawi) is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Malawi.

He also consults for national and international institutions on governance and the rule of law. He has served on the Boards of national and international organisations, including the Malawi Civil Liberties Committee and the Media Institute of Southern Africa.

Ms Terezinha da Silva
Ms. Terezinha da Silva (Mozambique) is currently the national coordinator of WLSA (Women and Law in Southern Africa) Mozambique, a regional NGO working on women rights and has been a gender consultant since 1985.

She holds a Masters degree in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences in the UK. She is also on the boards of various NGOs working on community development, social studies, children, gender and women issues and ageing. She has extensive experience in management, institutional development, working in and advising the Ministry of Health and Social Action, teaching, planning and management, including curriculum development of national courses, seminars and short term courses. A social researcher since 1978 in areas related to public policy, gender and development, integrity of the judiciary, unpaid care work, gender audit and ageing, she retired as a civil servant after 35 years.

Ms Elinor Sisulu
Ms Elinor Sisulu (South Africa) is a writer, human rights activist and political analyst.

She combines training in history, English literature, development studies and feminist theory. She has published several books, including The Day Gogo Went to Vote (an award winning children's book about the first democratic elections in South Africa), Women in Zimbabwe, and Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime. Since 2003, Elinor has been advising on projects on democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe. She is currently the Media and Advocacy Manager of the Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe's Johannesburg office, which she was instrumental in establishing in 2004.

Ms Thuli Brilliance Makama
Ms. Thuli Brilliance Makama (Swaziland), a lawyer by profession, is the Executive Director of the Yonge Nawe Environment Action Group- Friends of the Earth Swaziland.

She holds a Masters Degree in Science (Environmental Assessment and Evaluation) from the London School of Economics. Her previous employment appointments include being the Director at the LKM Legal Consultants (Pty) Ltd, the Director at the Douglas Consulting (Pty) Ltd, Country Program Officer for Skillshare International - Swaziland, and the deputy Master of the High Court at the High Court of Swaziland. She is also the Board Member of the Swaziland's Coordinating Assembly of Non Governmental Organizations (CANGO) and a Trustee of GroundWork - Friends of the Earth - South Africa. She is a committed activist for social justice, human rights, environmental and natural resources issues.

Ms Betty Sombe
Ms Betty Sombe (Zambia) is a civil society activist. She holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Zambia and is a Fellow of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants, having qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

She was Director of Finance at ZESCO and has served on the Boards of the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO), the Local Authority Superannuation Fund (LASF) and the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA), during her tenure at ZESCO. She left her position with ZESCO in 2003 to start her own business and currently owns and manages her own service station which is rated among the top three in the country.

Dr Godfrey Kanyenze
Dr Godfrey Kanyenze (Zimbabwe) is currently the Founding Director of the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ) in Harare.

He has served for a long time as the chief economist of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). He was the lead person in the development of the ZCTU's alternative framework to Zimbabwe's Structural Adjustment Programme in the late 1990s. He has also served on the Boards of a number of initiatives, including the Zimbabwe Non-State Actors Forum. He has published extensively in the areas of labour market economics, trade policy, macroeconomic analysis, among others.

Ms Alice Mogwe
Ms Alice Mogwe, Deputy Chairperson (Botswana) is a lawyer by profession and is presently the Director of DITSHWANELO - the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, which she founded in 1993.

The organization aims to raise the profile of minority groups and human rights issues, giving a voice and security to persons and groups who could otherwise become victims of circumstance. Ms Mogwe was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Merite from The Government of the Republic of France, in December 2005, while in March 2005 she received a US State Department award in recognition of her contribution as a Vanguard Women's Leader of Botswana which commemorates her work as one of the first Batswana activists in the field of gender, a founding member of Women and Law in Southern Africa and a pioneer of Botswana's human rights movement.