A native of Njombe, Tanzania, Mbede established strong credentials for research in basin tectonics and earthquake risks, and for connecting the work to communities in those zones. She served as the director of science and technology in the Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology from 2007 to January 2017. She is a member of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) and a fellow of the Tanzania Academy of Sciences. She earned her PhD in 1993 from the Technical University Berlin. Later she served as the dean of the current College of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Dar es Salaam and was chairperson for of the International Commission of Earth Scientists in Africa (ICESA). "I decided to dedicate my life to science during my childhood," she recalls. "My father was a primary school teacher. We used to listen to BBC programmes and read scientific and geographical magazines. It was then that I started thinking that I should be able to go to a scientific university."

Kelly Askew is Director of the African Studies Center and Professor of Anthropology and DAAS. She has worked for over two decades in Tanzania and Kenya. Her current research focuses on African post socialism/post communism, poetic and performing arts, land tenure and property rights, pastoralism, and Indigenous political movement. She earned her PhD in 1997 from Harvard University. Later joined Indiana University Bloomington as assistant professor. Currently, Kelly is a professor at Michigan University. Recent film projects include; Poetry in Motion: 100 Years of Zanzibar’s Nadi Ikhwan Safaa (Buda Mosque) on Zanzibar’s oldest taarab orchestra and The Chairman and the Lions (Documentary Educational Resources, 2013), which won 1st place at the ETNO Film Festival (Croatia, 2013) and a Special Jury Award at the Zanzibar International Film Festival (Tanzania, 2013). She teaches undergraduate-level courses on Introduction to Africa and Its Diasporas, The Comparative Study of Culture, Anthropological Perspectives on the Arts, Rap and Radicalism, and African Cinema. At the graduate level, she offers seminars on Media Anthropology, Anthropology of Performance and Problems in African Ethnology.

Jestina Japhet Kimbesa (Kim) is a seasoned development professional with over a decade of experience in leading leadership development, strengthening organizations, and managing donor programs. She consistently drives organizations to boost effectiveness, sharpen strategic clarity, and achieve sustainable impact across diverse sectors, including conservation, health, education, and natural resource management

Jestina has worked extensively with international donors like USAID and FCDO, managing multi-million-dollar portfolios. With USAID, she oversaw conservation investments over $50 million, co-led the Mission’s Climate Change Working Group, and advanced gender integration across programs. These experiences deepened her understanding of governance, accountability, and strategic oversight needed for long-term organizational success.

Currently, Jestina leads Maliasili’s Tanzania portfolio, overseeing strategy implementation and partner engagement nationwide. She works closely with local NGOs and community-based organizations, providing strategic guidance and hands-on support in governance, leadership, fundraising, and institutional development. Her work focuses on strengthening resilient, high-performing organizations that can drive lasting impact at scale. Jestina contributes to the board by offering strategic insight, governance expertise, and a steadfast commitment to organizational excellence. She passionately supports institutions as they grow, adapt, and lead with effectiveness, focusing on preparing mission-driven organizations to deliver meaningful, sustainable change for the communities they serve..

Damasco Peter has vast experience in finance and accounting in Tanzania. Damasco has over 13 years of working experience in finance management and has worked with Deloitte and currently working with Management and Development for Health (MDH) as director of finance. He works with both the public and private sectors in the areas of strategy development, operations improvement, project management and financial management. Throughout his over 12 years of experience, Damasco has managed a number of key projects in various areas including HIV AIDS. Damasco is a member of National Board of Accountant and Auditors (NBAA).

Godwin Msigwa is a renewable energy enthusiast and consultant who served as the chairman of Tanzania Renewable Energy Association (TAREA) advisory board since 2017 and has served as a member of TAREA. In his career in the renewable energy sector, Godwin developed the first solar PV manual for solar technicians in Tanzania, available in Kiswahili. Twenty thousand copies (20,000) have been printed with support from SIDA, GCF and UNDP. Godwin is also a national trainer for upcoming solar technicians, solar dealers and training of trainers in Tanzania. So far he has trained more than 970 young solar technicians nationwide, including youth under the OYE project funded by MasterCard Foundation in Tanzania, World Bank through IFC, SIDA, GIZ, Maxx Solar Academy, Commission for Science and Technology, and BFZ. Godwin is an advocate for environment and renewable energy locally and internationally and, through radio and TV programmes, he has advocated successfully for tax waiver of renewable energy main components in Tanzania.

Rogness Swai is working as energy project specialist at USAID Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

John Maxwell is the senior operations consultant for Recon Corporation, a solar engineering, procurement and construction company headquartered in Swartz Creek, Michigan. Founded in 2014, Recon constructs community and utility-scale solar fields throughout the United States and currently contracts approximately $85 million in projects per year. Maxwell, the first employee of Recon, started as a project manager and worked his way through the ranks as field operations manager, senior project manager and operations director, and has been the senior operations consultant since January 2026. Prior to joining Recon, Maxwell had over 35 years of experience in various construction industries, including residential and commercial construction and remodeling, water well drilling, HVAC and general contracting. He managed several multimillion-dollar commercial renovations and oversaw the conversion of a former General Motors manufacturing facility in Flint, Michigan, into a technology center and automotive world headquarters facility. Maxwell’s volunteerism includes nearly 30 years of coaching high school swimming and diving, several years of coaching youth soccer and baseball, and working with his local church youth group. Through his local church, he volunteered as a leader of several short-term youth mission trips, helping teams with remodeling and repair projects in low-income and Native communities throughout the United States and in Haiti.

Kristin D. Phillips is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Emory University. Her current research centers on the intersections of energy, housing, home-making, poverty, and inequality in both the southern United States and in East Africa. She is the author of An Ethnography of Hunger: Politics, Subsistence, and the Unpredictable Grace of the Sun (Indiana University Press: 2018) as well as numerous articles about her research on energy, politics, and food security in Tanzania in publications such as African Affairs, African Studies Review, Cambridge Journal of Anthropology, Economic Anthropology, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology, and Political and Legal Anthropology Review (PoLAR).

Sisty Basil is the Executive Director at ELICO Foundation, a Tanzanian NGO dedicated to addressing energy challenges in remote areas. With over fourteen years of experience, he has worked extensively with environmental and renewable energy institutions and companies. His expertise includes renewable energy, climate change programs, and providing advisory services on clean cooking, electric mobility, and other renewable energy issues. Sisty is passionate about environmental stewardship and community development, and through his leadership, ELICO Foundation continues to make significant progress in alleviating energy poverty and promoting sustainable solutions for a cleaner future. He is a recipient of Sandra Smithey Fellowship, Acumen Fellow, and University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS).