Efosa Ojomo

Efosa Ojomo leads the Global Prosperity research group at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a think tank based in Boston and Silicon Valley. In January, 2019, Ojomo and late Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen published The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty. In a Wall Street Journal review of The Prosperity Paradox, Rupert Darwall writes: “The authors return the entrepreneur and innovation to the center stage of economic development and prosperity.”

Ojomo’s work has been published and covered by the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, the Guardian, Quartz, Forbes, Fortune, The World Bank, NPR and several other media outlets. He speaks regularly on innovation and has presented his work at TED, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Bank, Harvard, Yale, Oxford and at several other conferences and institutions.

Ojomo graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in computer engineering and got his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Sean Davis

Gerald Chertavian

Gerald Chertavian is dedicated to closing the Opportunity Divide that exists in our nation. Determined to make this vision a reality, Gerald combined his entrepreneurial skills and his passion for working with young adults to found Year Up in 2000. With its annual operating budget in excess of $170M, Year Up is one of the fastest growing non-profits in the nation. It has been recognized by Fast Company and The Monitor Group as one of the top 25 organizations using business excellence to engineer social change. Year Up has also been recognized consistently as one of the nation’s top 50 non-profits to work for by the Non-Profit Times.

Gerald has been committed to working with under-served young adults for more than three decades. He has actively participated in the Big Brother mentoring program since 1985 and was recognized as one of New York’s outstanding Big Brothers in 1989. In 2006, Gerald was elected as a Fellow with the Ashoka Global Fellowship of social entrepreneurs, and in 2008, he was appointed by then-Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick to serve on the Massachusetts State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. In 2013, he was appointed by Governor Patrick to serve as Chairman of the Roxbury Community College Board of Trustees and reappointed to that role by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in 2016.

Gerald began his career on Wall Street as an officer of the Chemical Banking Corporation. Following graduate school, he co-founded Conduit Communications and fostered its growth to more than $20M in annual revenues. From 1993 to 1998, Conduit ranked as one of the United Kingdom’s fastest growing companies. Following the sale of Conduit to i-Cube in 1999, Gerald turned his full attention to creating opportunities for others.

Gerald earned a B.A. in Economics, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, from Bowdoin College and in 2017 he was awarded the Bowdoin Common Good Award. He received his M.B.A., with honors, from Harvard Business School and in 2014 received the Distinguished Alumni Award. He has received honorary doctorates from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and Mount Ida College. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Harvard Business School’s Social Enterprise Initiative and is a former member of the World Economic Forum’s Youth Unemployment Council. Gerald is also an Emeritus Trustee of Bowdoin College and the Boston Foundation. His 2012 book, A Year Up, is a New York Times best seller.

Gerald is an avid writer and often shares his personal reflections on current events on his website. Read his latest pieces and get in contact at GeraldChertavian.com.

Abi Daré

Abi is the author of The Girl with the Louding Voice, which was a New York Times bestseller, a #ReadWithJenna Today Show book club pick, a BBC Radio 4 Bookclub Pick,and an Indie Next Pick.

Translated into 16 languages( till date) and studied on curriculums across the world, the Girl With The Louding Voice tells the story of Adunni, a 14 year old girl who is desperate for an education.

The novel has received critical acclaim and has been shortlisted for several awards including The British Book Awards Best Book of The Year , The Nigeria Prize for Literature ( Africa’s largest literary Prize), and in 2020 was named as The legendary Dolly Parton’s favourite of 2020 as well as selected as an Amazon Best Book of The Year for July 2020.

Abi grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and went on to study law at the University of Wolverhampton, graduating as Best Performing Student on her MSc in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University, as well as an MA ( with distinction) in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London.

Abi has had over 15 years experience in corporate project management, working with several multinationals to deliver multimillion pound programmes and investments and is passionate about education, particularly for the girl child.

A well- sought after speaker, Abi has supported and attended various events advocating for, and highlighting areas of need including NGOs and Charities across the world such as The Malala Foundation, BookAid International, Women’s Global Education Project, FAWCO, The International Rescue Committee and many more. In 2022, Abi was appointed as External Board Member, the BIC Corporate Foundation, and the first ever goodwill ambassador for Women’s Global Education Project.

Kate Robertson

Founded in 2010 by Kate and David Jones, the founder and CEO of the Brand Tech Group, One Young World today has 15,000+ ambassadors in 196 countries forming a unique and demonstrably valuable network. The idea that this most informed, most connected generation in human history could be brought together and supported into positions of increased influence and better leadership in all sectors has proved to be not only sustainable but genuinely effective – its ambassadors have thus far impacted the lives of 35 million people

Kate served as Chairman of the Havas group from 2006 to 2015 and as Global President from 2013. Working mainly in global roles, Kate became convinced of the importance of the roles of global institutions and global businesses in the certainty that what unites people is greater than geographical distance and national distinctions. Having grown up in apartheid South Africa, Kate’s world view is defined by having witnessed the creation of its new way of life. Awed by the leadership of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Kate believes in the limitless possibilities a sense of shared humanity can create. Inspired by her love for the Olympic movement and its values, One Young World should, in Kate’s vision, give young leaders a chance to meet their counterparts from every country in the world and resolve to make the world a better place.