Welcoming Our New Board Members

The results of the rigorous and transparent selection process mark a significant step toward recruiting board leadership that reflects the rich diversity of our expanded ecosystem.

Fòs Feminista is delighted to welcome a diverse and exceptionally talented new group of members to its board of directors, who will serve on the Fòs Feminista board through 2024:

Kobe Smith has been a Fòs Feminista Board Director since 2017 and was reelected as Youth Director in recognition of his outstanding contributions to our ecosystem. Kobe previously served as the President of the Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM) of our partner organization in Guyana (GRPA) and was a member of its Board of Directors from 2016 to 2020. Kobe is also a member of the Youth Advisory Group for the United Nations Population Fund and was Co-Founder of the Sustainable Youth Network–Guyana (SYN-G), a youth-led and youth-serving organization that builds awareness about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He is currently a Legal and Policy Development Consultant at Merundoi, a partnership initiative to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

Lusungu Kalanga is an unapologetic Malawian feminist, activist, and gender specialist, with 11 years of experience in the NGO sector, particularly in programming and advocacy around girls’ education, women’s rights, school-related gender-based violence, and violence against women and girls. Lusungu is the Co-Founder of Growing Ambitions, an organization focused on creating safe spaces for girls and young women to thrive through mentorship and peer learning. She is also the Co-Founder of Feministing While African, an online community of over 260 African feminists. Currently, she works as an Associate – Capacity Development at The Prevention Collaborative.

Rewan Youssif is a medical doctor from Egypt with an MSc in Public Health for Development who has extensive experience in and is passionate about women’s empowerment, the advancement of women’s rights, gender equality, and ending sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). For over eight years, she has provided technical support and contributed to strategy development and high-level advocacy on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), SGBV, gender equality, HIV/AIDS, adolescent health, and youth development. Currently, Rewan leads SRHR, SGBV, and Mental Health programs for young people in Africa, at the Youth Division of the African Union Commission.

Learn more about Fòs Feminista’s Board of Directors and leadership team. »

Consistent with the organization’s by-laws, Fòs Feminista’s Governance Committee oversaw the open recruitment and election process of these three Board members working with an international search firm with a strong global outreach. More than 200 highly qualified and committed people were considered for this opportunity, and the Governance Committee shortlisted and interviewed the most outstanding candidates. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who either applied or referred candidates, and are particularly grateful to Fòs Feminista’s Governance committee for its extensive work.

Between December 2021 and February 2022, a robust due diligence process was successfully carried out prior to their formal integration on the Board.

In addition, the Governance Committee identified and appointed an outstanding candidate—Megan Smith—to join the Advocacy Committee as Co-Chair, alongside Kobe Smith. Megan is from the Centre for Disability Studies, University of Iceland, and has more than 13 years of professional experience working with Disabled Peoples Organizations (DPOs), human rights organizations, and UN agencies globally. Her recent experiences include working with landmine survivors and women with disabilities Australia, Afghanistan, Cambodia, and the United States.

Through this democratic and transparent process, our governance structure is starting to reflect the rich diversity of our expanded ecosystem.