Ms. Elsie Ngowo Effange-Mbella is a connsumate Diplomat and expert in peacebuilding stabilisation and coordination from Cameroon.

As Cameroon’s Delegate to the Committee on Humanitarian and Social Affairs of the United Nations General Assembly, she also represented Africa as Vice-Chairperson and ultimately Chairperson of the Commission for Social Development of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (1986-1992). During her tenure she led the high-level negotiations resulting in the United Nations Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities adopted by the General Assembly at its Forty-Eighth Session.

She has also served the United Nations Secretariat in senior positions in Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), and Mali. She has played a frontline role in preventive diplomacy and peacebuilding in these countries, impacting also on the Sub-Saharan region.

 As Senior Gender Adviser, United Nations Stabilization Mission for the DRC, MONUSCO, Ms. Effange-Mbella coordinated Women from the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi to adopt in Goma in November 2011, a "Declaration on the Prevention of Electoral Violence in the DRC and the Great Lakes Region.   She also provided technical support for the development and adoption in December 2011 by the Summit of Heads of State of the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) of a Regional Strategy to Combat Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Conflict and Post Conflict Zones.   Further, she promoted   research  on the impact of small scale war-time mining on the socioeconomic development of women and girls in the DRC . The results mobilized partnerships with UNDP, UNWOMEN and USAID to promote: improved security in the mining areas, accelerate programs in livelihood skills for communities living around mining sites and a gender sensitive review of the DRC mining code in 2012. 

As Gender Adviser and Assistance to Victims, Immediate Office of the Registrar, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, ICTR (2003-2008), she coordinated the establishment of  an ICTR Health Clinic for Witnesses in Kigali, Rwanda for the physical and psychological rehabilitation of about 1420 witnesses of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda summoned to testify before the Tribunal.

As Director of Civil Affairs Division, United Nations Stabilization Integrated Mission for Mali (MINUSMA), 2014-2017,  she managed over 59 quick impact projects providing basic social services to volatile zones. She also coordinated efforts of the Mission and partners to establish interim Administrations in 179 non-functional zones in northern and central Mali.   

Ms.Effange-Mbella  currently serves as Adviser of the non-profit  EFFANGE SOLIDARITY  organization to support women’s participation in community development and peacebuilding  efforts. She is also Member  of the WIM 22 Conference Executive Committee. 

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Dr. Hill is a broadly prepared cognitive developmentalist who studies lifespan changes in cognition. She’s an internationally recognized scholar on teaching and learning in higher education and an award-winning educator who incorporates culturally relevant and learner-centered teaching across delivery modalities. A prolific grant writer and published author, she teaches general psychology, cognitive psychology, research methods, as well as graduate and undergraduate seminars in the teaching of psychology. As a strong advocate for women leaders, she co-created the Utah Women's Leadership Exchange. Dr. Hill won UVU’s Presidential Award of Excellence for leadership in 2022 for her work developing women leaders at UVU and throughout the state of Utah. She has been appointed as UVU’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fellow for Student Success, and focuses on how to provide equitable access to education for marginalized groups. She is currently the Director of Project-Based Learning within the Innovation Academy.

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