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Board Biographies
Allen Mukhwana
Allen Mukhwana is a distinguished leader in research management and international development, with over 20 years of experience across academia, industry, funding agencies, and the NGO sector. She is a Senior Research Management Professional accredited by the International Professional Recognition Council and currently serves as Head of Portfolio –
Strengthening Science Ecosystems at the Science for Africa Foundation.
Allen is deeply committed to advancing open research practices and fostering inclusive, equitable research ecosystems. Her work champions transparency, accessibility, and collaboration in knowledge production, particularly within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). She has led strategic initiatives such as the Research Management Programme in Africa, which strengthens institutional capacity and governance for sustainable research environments.
Her passion for transformative higher education drives her efforts to reimagine universities as engines of innovation, equity, and societal impact. Allen works closely with global stakeholders to design and implement impactful programs, mobilize resources, and build institutional capabilities that empower researchers and institutions to lead on the global stage.
Primah Kwagala
Primah Kwagala is a human rights lawyer, Chairperson emeritus of Female Lawyers in the Uganda Law Society (2019-2022), the Founding and Serving Executive Director of Women's Probono Initiative (WPI)- an organisation whose vision is a Uganda free of violence and discrimination against women and girls. WPI works to achieve their vision through legal representation of vulnerable women and girls suffering discrimination, legal empowerment, research and knowledge sharing. In June 2022, she was awarded the EU human rights defenders award and in January, 2020 Primah was named Peace and Reconciliation Laureatte by the French and German Embassies to Uganda in honour of her work defending women against violence and discrimination in Uganda. This October, 2023 she was awarde the Probono excellence and human rights lawyer of the year award by Uganda’s bar association. Primah wishes to grow her networking and fundraising skills in women’s reproductive rights.
Dr. Moses Obimbo
Obimbo Moses Madadi, a Science Leadership fellow, is a clinician-scientist and associate professor who is passionate about promoting learning, research, teaching, and clinical practice.
He is the Chairman of the Department of Human Anatomy and Medical Physiology at the University of Nairobi and the Hon. Secretary of the Kenya Gynecological and Obstetrical Society
(KOGS). He is a practicing Obstetrician and Gynecologist with a Postdoctoral and Ph.D. in Reproductive Sciences. He has studied and supervised students in reproductive system sciences.
He is also using modern molecular tools in placenta biology, microbiome and Obstetrics and Gynecology research, such as laser capture microdissection, RNA sequencing, proteomics,
immunomics, metabolomics, sophisticated bioinformatics, and Artificial intelligence. He has over 90 journal articles to his credit, as well as various grants. His expertise is suitable for strengthening local and regional institutions. He is now supervising a number of master's and doctoral students who have demonstrated a keen interest in working with him in his areas of competence.
Sally Maroa
Sally Maroa is a student at Duke University in North Carolina, double majoring in Global Health and International Comparative Studies. Having lived in Kenya, South Africa, and the United States, Sally has gained a deep understanding of global inequality. These experiences, along with her strong values, drive her commitment to community work, public service, and collective action.
At Duke, Sally has been involved in various activities, including managing the campus radio station, serving on the executive board of the Black Student Alliance, conducting interdisciplinary research, and working as a Teaching Assistant for a class on labor and social inequality in the United States. Outside of Duke, she continues her journey as an organizer with Rhizome, a national youth mentorship and civic engagement organization.
After graduation, Sally plans to work as a reproductive justice advocate before attending law school. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching video essays, shopping for and styling clothes, and catching up with friends.
Amel Ghoulia
Amel Ghouila, PhD, Senior Program officer, Integrated Development, Global Health at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
A data scientist and Bioinformatician by background, Amel leads a portfolio of programs focusing on enabling data-driven interventions and strengthening data science ecosystems from discovery to product delivery.
She worked on a variety of projects supporting data linkages and coordination to enable early stage discovery, facilitate regulatory pathways, informing policy and interventions in different domains including maternal, neonatal, child health and nutrition programs, Primary health Care systems, infectious diseases, etc.
Amel previously worked for the pan-African bioinformatics network H3ABioNet supporting H3Africa genomics research programs while developing bioinformatics and Data Science capacity throughout Africa.
Amel is the Vice President for the African Society of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (ASBCB) and holds a PhD in Bioinformatics from the University of Montpellier II, France. Amel was awarded a Science Fellowship from the Mozilla Foundation in 2017 and has been involved in several international efforts addressing AI, data gaps and digital technologies in public health in LMICs
Lucy Loch
A Career Credit Risk Analyst with extensive experience in financial services and an
expert in acclimating new techniques according to financial trends across the
banking and hospitality industries in Kenya. Currently in Credit Risk Underwriting
at Equity Bank (K) Limited with specialty in SME. Highly skilled, result oriented
Relationship manager with strong numerical skills, able to communicate to deliver
covenants, proactive, hardworking with the ability to think systematically. The
over 20 years’ experience in providing cost-effective estimations by applying
insightful approaches, effectively supervising projects in extremely severe and
volatile environments are what will carry on into the foundation.
Mabuka Foundation
The work we do at Mabuka Foundation is embedded within the communities we serve. We provide a link and a platform to the volunteers and philanthropists from around the world to access and serve these communities. We do this through co-creation of solutions which are then turned into projects that volunteers can work on and by receiving donations to support existing or novel projects from philanthropists.