Our founders are women who, with our collaborators and advisers, wish to promote unity in a world susceptible to confusion, division and intolerance.  

A dream for a better future is part of the human condition. For this to happen, we need to recognize that we are interconnected and that we must shape our future together.

 

 The Team

Kelly Macatangay, Co-founder and Managing Director (Scotland)

Kelly has lived and worked professionally in three continents. Her recent academic research is on the interaction of diverse actors and entities enabling the conceptualisation and actualisation of value for social order. One of her early scholarly works, Engineering education: designing for the future of the field co-authored with her Carnegie Foundation colleagues, examines the preparation of engineers for practice in the U.S. She has provided leadership on change and improvement initiatives supporting a U.S. federal program at a local government agency in Nevada. Kelly has a PhD from the University of St Andrews (School of Management) in Scotland, an MPhil from the University of Manchester (Faculty of Education) in England, and an MA from the University of Asia and the Pacific (School of Education) in the Philippines. An avid singer, she has been a member of choral groups participating in international festivals and competitions. She is a U.S. citizen and was born and raised in the Philippines. 

 

Rachel Sherman Philips, Co-founder and

Director of Communications (USA)

Rachel is a thinker, educator, musician and enthusiast. She has a BA in music and an MA in philosophy. She has over 20 years of experience in non-profit management and program development. She has designed and given workshops and seminars to students in a non-academic setting in work-life balance, media literacy and leadership skills. Recent presentations include philosophical considerations of the 1868 Navajo and Laramie treaties, friendship, and racial justice.  Her research areas of interest include music, philosophy, indigenous thought and youth concerns, culture and value. She's an organist and teaches piano. She’s inspired by beauty, never ceasing to be delighted by the hills, trees, water and skies of northern California USA. She is a U.S. citizen and was born in Massachusetts.

Ana Ferrer-Bonsoms, Head of Technology (England)

Ana has over 25 years of IT experience in a variety of roles and industries. Most recently Ana has entered the mobile application world, designing and developing mobile apps for organisations as well as her own mobile apps. Most recently she developed the mobile App eScrivaLite that has been downloaded over 80,000 times from both AppStore and Google Play Store. She is currently working as a Senior Sales Engineer for a large MMP. Ana is also in the process of completing a Diploma in Integrative Counselling. Ana was born in Madrid and lives in London, where she has spent most of her young life!

Donna Laurezo,

Digital Outreach Partner (Scotland)

Donna has several years of experience in the hospitality industry. She is passionate about events serving as platforms for people with common interests to be brought together, make things happen, and create shared memories. She has provided administrative and logistical support for national events in the U.K., such as the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the RSPB Big Nature Festival. She is keen on community service, organising events in Dundee, delivering talks on personal and professional development for young men and women, and monitoring the debates in social media on contemporary issues. She has a BA in Events Management, is a U.K. citizen, and is originally from the Philippines.


José Luis Reyes, Website Designer (Canada)

 

Collaborators and Advisors

Gloria Pasadilla, Collaborator (Singapore)

Gloria is currently a Partner and Director at the Singapore-based Leadership Design Studio, doing consultancies in international trade policy and digital economy research. She worked and lived in Tokyo, Japan with the Asian Development Bank Institute, and in Singapore with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Policy Support Unit. Prior to the stints in Tokyo and Singapore, she worked as economic professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific and as a policy wonk at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. She advised government departments on trade issues and helped negotiate trade agreements. She has travelled extensively, making presentations in professional conferences. She was one of the founding expert advisors of UNESCAP-ARTNeT (Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network). Gloria has a PhD in economics from New York University and has interned at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. and Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong.

Judith Sheehan,

Collaborator (Scotland)

Judith is a lover of organization, minimalism and pragmatism. She has worked in a number of organizations, in the Commercial sector, the Health Service and also Education within the Charity Sector. She holds a post graduate diploma in Human Resources which gave her the tools to create a culture which was more people-focused. She speaks several languages, probably owing to her passion for communication and is currently involved in the non-hearing sector of the community in Glasgow. She continues to build her portfolio of lectures and courses on ‘soft skills’ (e.g. Better public speaking, the Art of Conversation, Communication, Networking, Self-confidence, Modern Manners, Leadership, Empathy), aimed primarily at professional women and students. Judith was born and bred in Lancashire, England.

Ethel Tolansky,

Adviser (England)

Ethel is an avid researcher and author, specializing in the workings of the British and Foreign Intelligence, and in particular the French Resistance. She studied French and Arabic then worked in the University of Westminster, becoming Head of French there. She co-founded two research groups, 'War and Culture' and ‘Francophone Studies’. Her current research interests are World War II, French Resistance, and Francophone Literature. As a convert to Roman Catholicism from Judaism via Anglicanism, Ethel has a broad religious culture and has co-authored several booklets on leading contemporary Catholic figures. Ethel is of Jewish heritage and brought up in London, Dorset, and Egypt.