Alumniadmin2023-07-26T11:25:45+02:00

Our alumni

The Ashoka Visionary Alumnae*i Network provides alumni with the opportunity to stay connected, to contribute to the program and to deepen their experience in follow-up events and projects. Ultimately, our alumni expand their network within the social entrepreneurship scene and keep finding solutions. Read more at “Our network“. Also, here you can view all Ashoka Fellows (speakers & participants) at one glance.

Meet our 300 visionaries from three continents, in the regions: Central and Eastern Europe, Mediterranean and East Africa. Click on the photos to learn about their stories
👋 PLEASE NOTE: This page is currently being updated.

Corinna Geissler

Head of Advocacy & Child Rights, UNICEF Austria

Co-Director of Ashoka Nordics

Heidemarie Messnitzer

Senior Expert Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport

Eleonora Cadone

Community Integrator, Ashoka Italy

Co-founder of Venezia Autentica

Franziska Wizany

Cultural advisor

Founder, Think Opal

Selene Orellana

Communications Lead at Planeterra Foundation

Communications and Marketing Expert

Johannes Gärtner

CEO Respekt.Net GmbH, Austria

Krzsytof Rutkowski

Director Magovox

Co-Team Leader of the Youth&ICT4D department in SOS Children´s Villages International

Br. Dr. Jonas Yawovi Dzinekou

Director, Institute for Social Transformation Tangaza University College

Blühendes Österreich

Co-Founder and CEO, DreiKreis Consulting GmbH

Initiator, "Steady Steps";Organisational Consultant, Coach

TV host The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation

Project Management SOS Children’s Villages International

Ethiopia Program Manager at African Disability Forum

Beata Jaczewska

Managing Director, Visegrad Fund

Changemaker from Greece, Consultant Costas M. Lemos Foundation

Katharina Okulski

Head of scholarship program, NOW: International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD)

Barbara Mayrhofer

Regional Manager for the Institute for Inclusive Education

Head of the department of social affairs and volunteering at the Red Cross

Managing Director at Viva con Agua Österreich

Stefanie Kirwald

Consultant Alumnae*I Network

Claudia Lingner

Managing Director Ludwing Boltzmann Gesellschaft

Karsten Ottenberg

Former CEO of BSH Home Appliances Group and Innovater and Purpose-driven leader by heart

Municipality Director, Kajiado County Kenya

Founder Intergenerational Dancing Poland

Changemaker from Israel, VP Dualis social investment fund

Elisabeth Mayerhofer

Managing Director, Julius Raab Foundation

Linda Stucbartova

Partner ATAIRU company, Founder Diversio

Partnership Manager Ashoka

Member of Ashoka's Global Leadership Group, Leading Ashoka's work in Europe

Christina Purrer

Project Manager at Hil-Foundation gGmbH

Gregor Ruttner-Vicht

CEO of Lower Austrian entity of Sindbad

President Forum Apulum, Ashoka Fellow

Initiator & Head of aws Sustainable Food Systems Initiative

Head of Information & Reporting in SOS Children's Villages International

Head of Finance & Service, Österreichische Caritaszentrale

Charlotte Steenbergen

COO of the European Forum Alpbach

President of LEADER Network Croatia

Changemaker from Egypt, Member of the Egyptian Parliament

Clemens Mulokozi

Ashoka Fellow, Founder & CEO of the NGO NGO Jambo Bukoba

Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Public Sector Group

Eghosa Erhumwunse

National Director SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria

Raphaela Toncic-Sorinj

Co-Director Ashoka Austria and Nordics; Director Ashoka Visionary Program

Susanne Gahleitner

Co-founder Parola, Austria

Urška Starc-Peceny

Chief Innovation Officer, lead Tourism 4.0 at Arctur

Lisa Binderberger

Founder of Boom Creative Lab

Grant Administrator, Porticus Nairobi

Managing Director at EnableMe Foundation

Peter Herreiner

Financial Advisor & Supervisory Board Member

CEO Midot, promoting impact (Israel)

Goran Medakovic

Senior advisor at the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, Croatia

Walter Odhiambo

National Director, SoS Children's Villages Kenya

Elisabeth Siencnik

Startup Coach; Co-founder & CFO reha buddy

CEO GTS - Technologies Ltd (Israel)

Stefan van der Swaluw

Program Director at SOS Children's Villages The Netherlands

Account Director at Ketchum

Global Lead Funding Advisor at Joining Forces Initiative by World Vision

Veronica Pistyur

Co-Founder and CEO of Bridges Budapest Ⅰ General Partner at Oktogon Ventures

Abubaker Musuuza

Social Entrepreneurship Development Officer Athens Development and Destination Management Agency

Andrea Babčanová

HR Manager, Visegrad Fund

Obayda Abo Asbeh

Founder Sanad Yoth Association (Israel)

Acting Manager Livelihoods, CARE Uganda

Alexandra Nitzlader

Senior Project Manager HYPO NOE Gruppe Bank

Katharina Jeschke

Austria Secretary General at IMZ International Music + Media Centre

Head of Operations at Bethnal Green Ventures

Jana Krajcovicova

Private Sector Development Specialist at the World Bank

Heidrun Gruber-Größwang

Marketing expert; Founder, Gruber-Größwang Consulting

Social Business Consultant, Alumna of the Visionary Program

Christophe Cuny

Individual Giving Department Lead, SOS Children's Villages International

Milica Aksentic

Head of Communications and CSR at Western Union International Bank

Account Manager at RxWare

Project assistant & communication manager, Ashoka Italy

Christina Kauer

CONCORDIA Sozialprojekte

former Operations Manager Ashoka CEE

Head of Implementation Unit Ministry of Justice, Czech Republik

Orsolya Ifi-Valde

Anti-corruption and human rights lawyer, Founder Jazzpiknik, Hungary

Irit Zviely Efrat

Chief Operations Officer at Hillel

Finance Manager Ashoka Austria, Visionary Program Manager & Communication

Christoph Soukup

Senior Project Manager HYPO NOE Gruppe Bank

Special Assistant & Regional Director, Ford Foundation office, Eastern Africa

Christof Gruber-Harrich

Consultant, Austria

Project Coordinator at Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation - 'fairplay initiatve'

Karin Haselböck

European Integrator, Ashoka

Cecilia Toncic-Sorinj

Finding sustainable solutions in gastronomy.

Maurizio Bergia

President of the social & agricultural cooperative I TESORI della TERRA in Cervasca

Project Lead Developing Neighborhood Institute

Sabrina Stepanian

Founder, STEPANIAN CONSULTING e.U.

Zahra I. Lethome

Office Manager, Ashoka East Africa

Gabriela Vondrusova

Change Manager and Community Mobilizer at Ashoka Czech Republic

Alicia Rodriguez

Youth and ICT4D Project Coordinator at SOS Children’s Villages International

Andreja Rosandic

Lecturer at Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences University of Zagreb

Founder and CEO of Raw Culture

Emergency Response Director SOS Children’s Villages International

Daniela Herneth

Leadership Coach / People & Business Developer

Country Representative of Ashoka Hungary

Eduard Trampusch

Head of International Programmes, Austrian Red Cross

Ernest Namanya Rwendeire

Executive Director, Latek Stay Alliance Uganda

Ondřej Zapletal

Executive Director, Depositum Bonum Foundation Prag

Andrea Kretschmer

Manager Accenture

Michael Hilbert

Head of Business Unit Banking

Kirsten Tangemann

Managing Director of Social Business Hub Styria

Elisabeth Campestrini

CEO of Progressive Health Consulting

Ahmed Abdelgalil

VP alumnus & Gender and Economic Empowerment Specialist

Regional Fund Development Director, SOS Children's Villages International, Eastern & Southern Africa Region

Ahmad Abdelgalil

Changemaker from Egypt, Staff Ashoka Arab World

Business Development Manager, TRACE Eastern Africa

Managing Director, Griller Kabel

Regional director of the social enterprise Sindbad

Sumita Kunashakaran

Project Manager at the Zero Project

Father Charles Chilufya

Director of the Justice and Ecology Office of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM)

Head Of Department Development at SWISSAID

Ferdinand Pelzlmayer

Human Rights Lawyer, Switzerland/Austria

Flavian Majenga

Senior Project Manager CARE Tanzania

Sozialwirtschaft Steiermark

Radoslav Pittner

Co-Country Representative Czech and Slovakia, Facilitator & coach for social impact

Katerina Bursikova Jacques

Executive Director, Educational and business centre Sněmovní 7

Danijel Baturina

Assistant professor in University of Zagreb

Jindra Marešová

Director, Albatros Foundation

Agnes Schillhuber

Communications neunerhaus; formerly: Ashoka Austria

Madeleine Pawlowicz

Project Lead Saving Angel, Germany

Masha Djordjevic

Program Manager Open Society Foundations

Charles Karimbu Kimathi

Head of Corporate Affairs & Partnerships The Standard Group PLC

Christiane Holzinger

Managing Partner, 360° Business Planner GmbH, Start-Up Stars GmbH

Katharina Markovics

Professor of Musicology at New England Conservatory in Boston

European Commission/Centre of Thematic Expertise on Civil Society Support

Katharina van Zeller

Founder & CEO DreiKreis

Co-Director Ashoka Austria

Pascal Kayiranga MD

Rwanda Red Cross Society

Innovation and Sustainability Coordinator, S.C.S. Armonia Work Onlus

formerly: Communications for Ashoka Austria

Managing Partner / Chairman EOOS Design, IDRV - Institute of Design Research Vienna

Angelika Bartholomäi

Director of the coordination office, StartNet Italy

Agnieszka Franeczek

Head of Consumer Lending Processes at UniCredit Bank Austria

Margarita Rebetskaya

Choreographier, Ballet dancer & Performance Director

Partnership Expert at Light for the World

Klára Rundová

Project Managar Česká spořitelna foundation

Samya El Mousti

National Director SOS Children’s Villages Morocco

Kristina Kroyer

Program Coordinator at HORIZONT3000

Monika Hrochova

Program Manager, Educhange Foundation

Ashoka Fellow, Founder & Vice President NEVER GIVE UP Onlus

Head of Knowledge Transfer & Dissemination, Complexity Science Hub Vienna (on educational leave)

Stefanie Kotrba

OPEC Fund for International Development

Markéta Pěchoučková

Head of Social Innovation Unit at Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Czechia

Account Director at ketchum Publico

Maike Kauffmann

Founder at Purpose Foundation, Germany

Co-founder and Board Member, Klaiton; Strategic Advisor, CoachHub

Member of the board of directors, Eduzměna foundation fund

Director at Kino Zona, Croatia

Nicola Fraccaroli

Consultant for marketing strategies & business model changes

Magdalena Dul-Komosinska

CEE Director, Climate KIC

Abdikadir Dakane

National Director SOS Children’s Villages Somalia

Elisabeth Pipic

Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF)

Elin Baranyai-Ulvestad

Project Manager, Austrian Red Cross

Cornelia Faisst

Senior lecturer and co-academic Director at the University of Liechtenstein

Director of Programmes European Journalism Center (EJC)

Educator and project manager, AG Di Donato

Stefan Lilischkis

Senior consultant, empirica Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Technologieforschung mbH

Project Manager of Center Noordung

Development Specialist fpr NGOs

Changemaker from Israel, Assistant General Director Municipality of Nazareth

Consultant on Project Design & Project Evaluation, also: Ashoka Italy

Ashoka Fellow, Founder of the Institute for Debt Prevention and Resolution in Prague

CEO of Tec-Innovation GmbH

Business Angel & Mentor

Torsten Engelage

Risk Management and Compliance for the PwC Advisory

Gabriele Hampson

Managing Director at W*ORT

Arianna Tripodi

Child and Youth Participation Advisor, SOS Children’s Villages International

Matthias Weichhart

Austrian Research Promotion Agency

Monika Ségur-Cabanac

Regional Manager Central & West Africa and Latin America at Missio Austria

Director of Department National Pedagogical Institute, Czechia

Benjamin Dragolj

Founder of Igramo Zajedno Inicijativa – IZI

Katarina Banicevic

Teamleader South East Europe, Austrian Red Cross

Coordinator – Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), CARE International in Tanzania

Managing Partner, Culen Mayrhofer Partner

Claire de Lafarge

Founder and CEO, Dialogue Social Enterprise; Ashoka Fellow

National Director, SOS Children's Villages Jordan

Silvia Silvozzi

Manager Bottega Terzo Settore - Fondazione Carisap

Co-Funder Feminist Fund, Ashoka Fellow, Poland

Assistant to VIP & Exhibitor Relations

Clara Conrad-Billroth

Venture Creation Lead University of Vienna

Managing Director of the International Association of Lake Constance Universities

Birgit Radl-Wanko

Managing Director of younus Mentoring

Petra Wűnschová

Founder Centrum LOCIKA, Czech Republik

Human Rights Lawyer

Tangaza University

Violeta Philippitsch

Leitung Kundenbereich EU & International, Umweltbundesamt - Environment Agency Austria

Humanitarian and human rights specialist

Founder, Fairphone

Eastern Africa Managing Director of Trace

Jihad Shoja'eyeh

Founder of “Youth without Borders Network”

Josep Maria Miró Pascual

Social Innovation Consultant JovesLab (Spain)

"i3" (I-Cube) Information Engineering Incubator

Senior business analyst for public health

Sustainability Specialist Enel Romania

Abraham Gossaye

Head of Country Office, Austrian Red Cross in Ethiopia

Ninon Ndayikengurkiye

CARE USA Impact and Innovation Team