A seasoned feminist leader with two decades of experience in advocacy, movement building, and a proven track record as a litigator and strategist, Laila Alodaat joined the feminist peace movement through the International Women’s League for Peace and Freedom, where she held different positions and was appointed Deputy Secretary General in 2021.
Laila is from Syria, and has extensive experience that spans across women’s rights, resource distribution, and effective governance. She has served in various advisory and governance roles, including as a Trustee of the Feminist Review Trust since 2019.
Laila holds a law degree from Damascus University and an LLM in Human Rights, Conflict, and Justice from the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Laila is a mother of two, a qualified Forest School and Natural Reservation leader, and an active community organizer.
Amany Alhadka brings over 20 years of experience in finance, operations, and organizational management, managing and advising many organizations and field operations in Africa, Asia, Latin and Central America. She is specialized in building and strengthening the operational capacity of start-ups and organizations that are growing and scaling.
Before joining Prospera as Senior Advisor for Operations Excellence, Amany was the Vice President for Business Transformation of the Equality Fund and the Vice President for Finance and Operations of the MATCH International Women’s Fund. She also worked at CARE International in Egypt, USA, and Canada, and MEK Foundation in Egypt.
Amany holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Accounting and Auditing from Cairo University. She also earned a Public Accountant Certification from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and has certificates in training of trainers and meeting facilitation.
Shannon Kowalski has more than 25 years of experience advising civil society organizations, governments, philanthropies, and multilateral organizations on gender equality, health, and human rights.
Before joining Prospera, Shannon worked as a consultant supporting feminist and South-led initiatives and advising international organizations on gender equality strategies. She previously directed the Policy and Advocacy Program at the International Women’s Health Coalition and led the Global Health Financing Initiative at the Open Society Foundations. Earlier in her career, she worked with Family Care International and the Center for Reproductive Rights, and was a member of the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights.
Shannon holds a Master of Public Administration, specializing in international health policy and management, from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Hunter College, City University of New York.
divya iyer is a seasoned feminist leader and strategist with over 20 years of experience across human rights campaigning, crisis response, policy advocacy, and media. She has led global organizations, coalitions, and campaigns across South Asia, Africa, SWANA, Europe, and the United States, working to protect civilians, influence policy, and drive systemic change in complex political environments
Prior to joining Prospera, divya served on the Senior Management Team at Crisis Action, first as the organization’s inaugural Director of Emergency Response, Learning, and Innovation, and later as Director of Campaigns and Impact. Previously, she spent nine years at Amnesty International in senior leadership roles, including Senior Adviser for Asia Pacific and Global Director of Research. She began her career as an award-winning, bilingual broadcast journalist in India, reporting on politics, governance, conflict, and human rights.
divya holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and degrees in Mass Communication and English Literature from India. She is a certified First Aider, Fire Marshall, and trained in hostile environment and emergency services.
Denise Hirao brings over 20 years of experience as a lawyer, policymaker, and program leader advancing gender equality and human rights.
Before joining Prospera, Denise advised international civil society organizations and multilateral institutions on gender equality strategies. In Brazil, her home country, she contributed to pioneering initiatives including Baobá – Fund for Racial Equity, Brasil Diverso, and UNFPA’s national alliance on sexual and reproductive rights. She also served as an advisor to the Secretary of Justice of the State of São Paulo and previously led the Latin America Program at the International Women’s Health Coalition.As a lawyer, she was a law firm partner, a fellow at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and a member of CLADEM.
Denise holds a Master of Laws in International Human Rights Law from the University of Notre Dame as a Fulbright Scholar and a Law degree from the University of São Paulo. She is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English.
With more than 10 years of experience in accounting, Juana Diaz-Montejo brings a wealth of expertise to her role.
Prior to joining Prospera, she worked in the automotive industry, where she took on a wide range of responsibilities.
Working for a feminist organization is something that resonates deeply with her personal values. Her family story is what gives her the joy she carries into her work with Prospera, fueling her sense of purpose each day.
Juana genuinely enjoys processing payments and handling other accounting tasks, finding meaning in knowing that her work supports the mission of Prospera and its members, even from her little corner in Ottawa, Canada.
Outside of work, Juana is the proud mother of three kids who keep her busy and on her toes. In the spare time she does manage to find, she enjoys crafting and tending to her garden during the few precious summer months Ottawa has to offer.
Yasmine Hassan is a communications specialist with experience across strategic communications, feminist knowledge production, multimedia journalism, and humanitarian storytelling.
Prior to joining Prospera, Yasmine led communications and knowledge production for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)’s MENA work, developing communication strategies, managing multimedia campaigns, and producing feminist knowledge resources in English and Arabic. Her freelance experience spans both research and multimedia storytelling, including research with RNW Media on misinformation related to sexual and reproductive health and rights; development storytelling with Plan International Egypt; and communications and research support for AUC-led initiatives on COVID-19 disinformation. Earlier in her career, she worked as a multimedia journalist and editor at Egypt Today magazine before serving as Deputy Managing Editor at Business Today magazine.
Yasmine holds a BA in Multimedia Journalism and Political Science from AUC, and an MA in Journalism, Media and Globalisation from Aarhus University and the University of Amsterdam.
Yara Tarabulsi is a committed feminist with a passion for issues related to gender, economic justice and migration.
Prior to joining Prospera, she worked with the Global Alliance for Care and the National Women’s Institute of Mexico, where she led care-centered advocacy strategies, membership engagement processes, and gender-responsive policymaking. She has also led research initiatives on promoting economic justice, resourcing feminist movements, and financing sexual and reproductive health rights in the Middle East and North Africa.
Yara holds a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford and a bachelor’s degree from the American University of Beirut.
She grew up in Lebanon and is currently based in Mexico City. In her free time, she enjoys reading, visiting museums, and staying active.
Zulaikha Shihab is a gender justice advocate from the Maldives, with a background in International Relations and Foreign Policy, and over 10 years of experience in intersectional knowledge building, collective organizing, and supporting community-led movements across Asia, SWANA, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Prior to joining Prospera, she worked with Musawah, a South-led women’s rights movement in Muslim contexts, supporting capacity building and later leading resourcing efforts. Her experience also includes roles with UNFPA Maldives and the UN Global Compact Cities Programme, lecturing at the Maldives National University, and serving on the Global Advisory of FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund.
Zulaikha holds a Master’s degree in International Development from RMIT University. She grew up across Malé, Riyadh, Colombo, and New York, and now lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In her free time, she enjoys kickboxing, reading, and snorkelling.
Elda Hernández has more than 15 years of experience in administration, human resources, and organizational support.
Before joining Prospera in 2011, Elda worked as a parliamentary administrative assistant at the Mexican Congress and collaborated with women’s funds in Mexico, including Semillas and Remisoc. She has also contributed to research initiatives on social policy in partnership with the Metropolitan Autonomous University and CONACYT.
Elda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and Social Management from the Metropolitan Autonomous University of Xochimilco and a Master’s degree in Gender and Public Policy from FLACSO–Mexico.
