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.

Beata Jaczewska

Managing Director, Visegrad Fund

Ashoka Fellow, Founder & Vice President NEVER GIVE UP Onlus

Markéta Pěchoučková

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

Human Rights Lawyer

Susanne Gahleitner

Co-founder Parola, Austria

CEO GTS - Technologies Ltd (Israel)

Project Manager of Center Noordung

National Director, SOS Children's Villages Jordan

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

Gabriele Hampson

Managing Director at W*ORT

Orsolya Ifi-Valde

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

Ethiopia Program Manager at African Disability Forum

Director of Department National Pedagogical Institute, Czechia

Stefan Lilischkis

Senior consultant, empirica Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Technologieforschung mbH

Peter Herreiner

Financial Advisor & Supervisory Board Member

Katharina van Zeller

Founder & CEO DreiKreis

Violeta Philippitsch

Leitung Kundenbereich EU & International, Umweltbundesamt - Environment Agency Austria

Co-founder of Venezia Autentica

Franziska Wizany

Cultural advisor

Heidemarie Messnitzer

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

Account Director at ketchum Publico

Project Lead Developing Neighborhood Institute

Ahmad Abdelgalil

Changemaker from Egypt, Staff Ashoka Arab World

Social Entrepreneurship Development Officer Athens Development and Destination Management Agency

Kirsten Tangemann

Managing Director of Social Business Hub Styria

Radoslav Pittner

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

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

Sozialwirtschaft Steiermark

Karsten Ottenberg

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

Heidrun Gruber-Größwang

Marketing expert; Founder, Gruber-Größwang Consulting

Managing Partner, Culen Mayrhofer Partner

Elisabeth Pipic

Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF)

Margarita Rebetskaya

Choreographier, Ballet dancer & Performance Director

Ondřej Zapletal

Executive Director, Depositum Bonum Foundation Prag

Clemens Mulokozi

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

Christophe Cuny

Individual Giving Department Lead, SOS Children's Villages International

Andrea Kretschmer

Manager Accenture

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

Flavian Majenga

Senior Project Manager CARE Tanzania

Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Public Sector Group

Alicia Rodriguez

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

Christina Purrer

Project Manager at Hil-Foundation gGmbH

Business Development Manager, TRACE Eastern Africa

Karin Haselböck

European Integrator, Ashoka

Cornelia Faisst

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

Project assistant & communication manager, Ashoka Italy

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

CEO of Tec-Innovation GmbH

Head of Finance & Service, Österreichische Caritaszentrale

Assistant to VIP & Exhibitor Relations

Ferdinand Pelzlmayer

Human Rights Lawyer, Switzerland/Austria

President of LEADER Network Croatia

Social Business Consultant, Alumna of the Visionary Program

Claudia Lingner

Managing Director Ludwing Boltzmann Gesellschaft

Gregor Ruttner-Vicht

CEO of Lower Austrian entity of Sindbad

Director of Programmes European Journalism Center (EJC)

Samya El Mousti

National Director SOS Children’s Villages Morocco

Raphaela Toncic-Sorinj

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

TV host The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation

Katarina Banicevic

Teamleader South East Europe, Austrian Red Cross

Humanitarian and human rights specialist

Tangaza University

Head of Operations at Bethnal Green Ventures

Changemaker from Greece, Consultant Costas M. Lemos Foundation

CEO Midot, promoting impact (Israel)

Maurizio Bergia

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

Klára Rundová

Project Managar Česká spořitelna foundation

Initiator, "Steady Steps";Organisational Consultant, Coach

Eduard Trampusch

Head of International Programmes, Austrian Red Cross

Angelika Bartholomäi

Director of the coordination office, StartNet Italy

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

Educator and project manager, AG Di Donato

Benjamin Dragolj

Founder of Igramo Zajedno Inicijativa – IZI

Stefanie Kotrba

OPEC Fund for International Development

Communications and Marketing Expert

Head Of Department Development at SWISSAID

Matthias Weichhart

Austrian Research Promotion Agency

Alexandra Nitzlader

Senior Project Manager HYPO NOE Gruppe Bank

Father Charles Chilufya

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

Petra Wűnschová

Founder Centrum LOCIKA, Czech Republik

Business Angel & Mentor

Managing Director, Griller Kabel

Clara Conrad-Billroth

Venture Creation Lead University of Vienna

Christina Kauer

CONCORDIA Sozialprojekte

Stefan van der Swaluw

Program Director at SOS Children's Villages The Netherlands

Andrea Babčanová

HR Manager, Visegrad Fund

Changemaker from Egypt, Member of the Egyptian Parliament

Stefanie Kirwald

Consultant Alumnae*I Network

Managing Director of the International Association of Lake Constance Universities

Co-Director of Ashoka Nordics

Agnes Schillhuber

Communications neunerhaus; formerly: Ashoka Austria

Cecilia Toncic-Sorinj

Finding sustainable solutions in gastronomy.

Jindra Marešová

Director, Albatros Foundation

Finance Manager Ashoka Austria, Visionary Program Manager & Communication

European Commission/Centre of Thematic Expertise on Civil Society Support

Project Management SOS Children’s Villages International

Eastern Africa Managing Director of Trace

Christof Gruber-Harrich

Consultant, Austria

Partnership Expert at Light for the World

Walter Odhiambo

National Director, SoS Children's Villages Kenya

Co-Director Ashoka Austria

Magdalena Dul-Komosinska

CEE Director, Climate KIC

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

Arianna Tripodi

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

Monika Hrochova

Program Manager, Educhange Foundation

Christoph Soukup

Senior Project Manager HYPO NOE Gruppe Bank

Katharina Jeschke

Austria Secretary General at IMZ International Music + Media Centre

Irit Zviely Efrat

Chief Operations Officer at Hillel

Abraham Gossaye

Head of Country Office, Austrian Red Cross in Ethiopia

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

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

Initiator & Head of aws Sustainable Food Systems Initiative

Partnership Manager Ashoka

Milica Aksentic

Head of Communications and CSR at Western Union International Bank

Sumita Kunashakaran

Project Manager at the Zero Project

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

Changemaker from Israel, VP Dualis social investment fund

Country Representative of Ashoka Hungary

Gabriela Vondrusova

Change Manager and Community Mobilizer at Ashoka Czech Republic

"i3" (I-Cube) Information Engineering Incubator

Jihad Shoja'eyeh

Founder of “Youth without Borders Network”

Jana Krajcovicova

Private Sector Development Specialist at the World Bank

Managing Director at Viva con Agua Österreich

Member of the board of directors, Eduzměna foundation fund

Urška Starc-Peceny

Chief Innovation Officer, lead Tourism 4.0 at Arctur

President Forum Apulum, Ashoka Fellow

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

Founder, Fairphone

former Operations Manager Ashoka CEE

Founder and CEO of Raw Culture

Grant Administrator, Porticus Nairobi

Co-Funder Feminist Fund, Ashoka Fellow, Poland

Blühendes Österreich

Zahra I. Lethome

Office Manager, Ashoka East Africa

Claire de Lafarge

Founder and CEO, Dialogue Social Enterprise; Ashoka Fellow

Maike Kauffmann

Founder at Purpose Foundation, Germany

Charlotte Steenbergen

COO of the European Forum Alpbach

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

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

Corinna Geissler

Head of Advocacy & Child Rights, UNICEF Austria

Charles Karimbu Kimathi

Head of Corporate Affairs & Partnerships The Standard Group PLC

Katharina Markovics

Professor of Musicology at New England Conservatory in Boston

Christiane Holzinger

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

Ahmed Abdelgalil

VP alumnus & Gender and Economic Empowerment Specialist

Br. Dr. Jonas Yawovi Dzinekou

Director, Institute for Social Transformation Tangaza University College

Head of Implementation Unit Ministry of Justice, Czech Republik

Abubaker Musuuza

Danijel Baturina

Assistant professor in University of Zagreb

Elisabeth Mayerhofer

Managing Director, Julius Raab Foundation

Linda Stucbartova

Partner ATAIRU company, Founder Diversio

Founder, Think Opal

Managing Director at EnableMe Foundation

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

Development Specialist fpr NGOs

Michael Hilbert

Head of Business Unit Banking

Elisabeth Campestrini

CEO of Progressive Health Consulting

Acting Manager Livelihoods, CARE Uganda

Founder Intergenerational Dancing Poland

Emergency Response Director SOS Children’s Villages International

Daniela Herneth

Leadership Coach / People & Business Developer

Goran Medakovic

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

Silvia Silvozzi

Manager Bottega Terzo Settore - Fondazione Carisap

Madeleine Pawlowicz

Project Lead Saving Angel, Germany

Ninon Ndayikengurkiye

CARE USA Impact and Innovation Team

Eghosa Erhumwunse

National Director SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria

Abdikadir Dakane

National Director SOS Children’s Villages Somalia

Birgit Radl-Wanko

Managing Director of younus Mentoring

Obayda Abo Asbeh

Founder Sanad Yoth Association (Israel)

Selene Orellana

Communications Lead at Planeterra Foundation

Elin Baranyai-Ulvestad

Project Manager, Austrian Red Cross

Josep Maria Miró Pascual

Social Innovation Consultant JovesLab (Spain)

Kristina Kroyer

Program Coordinator at HORIZONT3000

formerly: Communications for Ashoka Austria

Pascal Kayiranga MD

Rwanda Red Cross Society

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

Nicola Fraccaroli

Consultant for marketing strategies & business model changes

Masha Djordjevic

Program Manager Open Society Foundations

Co-Founder and CEO, DreiKreis Consulting GmbH

Krzsytof Rutkowski

Director Magovox

Torsten Engelage

Risk Management and Compliance for the PwC Advisory

Changemaker from Israel, Assistant General Director Municipality of Nazareth

Johannes Gärtner

CEO Respekt.Net GmbH, Austria

Elisabeth Siencnik

Startup Coach; Co-founder & CFO reha buddy

Senior business analyst for public health

Katerina Bursikova Jacques

Executive Director, Educational and business centre Sněmovní 7

Sabrina Stepanian

Founder, STEPANIAN CONSULTING e.U.

Sustainability Specialist Enel Romania

Barbara Mayrhofer

Regional Manager for the Institute for Inclusive Education

Monika Ségur-Cabanac

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

Lisa Binderberger

Founder of Boom Creative Lab

Agnieszka Franeczek

Head of Consumer Lending Processes at UniCredit Bank Austria

Katharina Okulski

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

Regional director of the social enterprise Sindbad

Eleonora Cadone

Community Integrator, Ashoka Italy

Account Director at Ketchum

Municipality Director, Kajiado County Kenya

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

Andreja Rosandic

Lecturer at Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences University of Zagreb

Ernest Namanya Rwendeire

Executive Director, Latek Stay Alliance Uganda

Director at Kino Zona, Croatia

Account Manager at RxWare