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.

Karsten Ottenberg

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

Ahmed Abdelgalil

VP alumnus & Gender and Economic Empowerment Specialist

Peter Herreiner

Financial Advisor & Supervisory Board Member

Raphaela Toncic-Sorinj

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

Arianna Tripodi

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

Elisabeth Siencnik

Startup Coach; Co-founder & CFO reha buddy

Communications and Marketing Expert

National Director, SOS Children's Villages Jordan

formerly: Communications for Ashoka Austria

Account Manager at RxWare

Member of the board of directors, Eduzměna foundation fund

President Forum Apulum, Ashoka Fellow

Head of Operations at Bethnal Green Ventures

Monika Hrochova

Program Manager, Educhange Foundation

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

Milica Aksentic

Head of Communications and CSR at Western Union International Bank

Magdalena Dul-Komosinska

CEE Director, Climate KIC

Cornelia Faisst

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

Clemens Mulokozi

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

former Operations Manager Ashoka CEE

Account Director at ketchum Publico

Director of Department National Pedagogical Institute, Czechia

Christina Purrer

Project Manager at Hil-Foundation gGmbH

Maurizio Bergia

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

Initiator, "Steady Steps";Organisational Consultant, Coach

Krzsytof Rutkowski

Director Magovox

Zahra I. Lethome

Office Manager, Ashoka East Africa

Sozialwirtschaft Steiermark

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

Beata Jaczewska

Managing Director, Visegrad Fund

Angelika Bartholomäi

Director of the coordination office, StartNet Italy

Founder, Fairphone

"i3" (I-Cube) Information Engineering Incubator

Charlotte Steenbergen

COO of the European Forum Alpbach

Finance Manager Ashoka Austria, Visionary Program Manager & Communication

Co-founder of Venezia Autentica

Clara Conrad-Billroth

Venture Creation Lead University of Vienna

Elisabeth Pipic

Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF)

Grant Administrator, Porticus Nairobi

Human Rights Lawyer

Charles Karimbu Kimathi

Head of Corporate Affairs & Partnerships The Standard Group PLC

Masha Djordjevic

Program Manager Open Society Foundations

Susanne Gahleitner

Co-founder Parola, Austria

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

Eleonora Cadone

Community Integrator, Ashoka Italy

Benjamin Dragolj

Founder of Igramo Zajedno Inicijativa – IZI

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

Goran Medakovic

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

CEO GTS - Technologies Ltd (Israel)

Assistant to VIP & Exhibitor Relations

Agnieszka Franeczek

Head of Consumer Lending Processes at UniCredit Bank Austria

Linda Stucbartova

Partner ATAIRU company, Founder Diversio

Abdikadir Dakane

National Director SOS Children’s Villages Somalia

Elisabeth Mayerhofer

Managing Director, Julius Raab Foundation

Petra Wűnschová

Founder Centrum LOCIKA, Czech Republik

TV host The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation

Daniela Herneth

Leadership Coach / People & Business Developer

Franziska Wizany

Cultural advisor

Christof Gruber-Harrich

Consultant, Austria

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

Markéta Pěchoučková

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

Katarina Banicevic

Teamleader South East Europe, Austrian Red Cross

Margarita Rebetskaya

Choreographier, Ballet dancer & Performance Director

Pascal Kayiranga MD

Rwanda Red Cross Society

Co-Founder and CEO, DreiKreis Consulting GmbH

Partnership Expert at Light for the World

Humanitarian and human rights specialist

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

Tangaza University

Head Of Department Development at SWISSAID

Katharina Okulski

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

Ernest Namanya Rwendeire

Executive Director, Latek Stay Alliance Uganda

Ninon Ndayikengurkiye

CARE USA Impact and Innovation Team

Municipality Director, Kajiado County Kenya

Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Public Sector Group

Nicola Fraccaroli

Consultant for marketing strategies & business model changes

Eastern Africa Managing Director of Trace

Social Entrepreneurship Development Officer Athens Development and Destination Management Agency

Managing Director at Viva con Agua Österreich

Director at Kino Zona, Croatia

Elin Baranyai-Ulvestad

Project Manager, Austrian Red Cross

Stefanie Kotrba

OPEC Fund for International Development

Managing Director at EnableMe Foundation

Ethiopia Program Manager at African Disability Forum

Project Management SOS Children’s Villages International

Managing Director of the International Association of Lake Constance Universities

Abraham Gossaye

Head of Country Office, Austrian Red Cross in Ethiopia

Br. Dr. Jonas Yawovi Dzinekou

Director, Institute for Social Transformation Tangaza University College

Matthias Weichhart

Austrian Research Promotion Agency

Corinna Geissler

Head of Advocacy & Child Rights, UNICEF Austria

Heidrun Gruber-Größwang

Marketing expert; Founder, Gruber-Größwang Consulting

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

Emergency Response Director SOS Children’s Villages International

Stefan van der Swaluw

Program Director at SOS Children's Villages The Netherlands

Head of Implementation Unit Ministry of Justice, Czech Republik

Andrea Kretschmer

Manager Accenture

Johannes Gärtner

CEO Respekt.Net GmbH, Austria

Acting Manager Livelihoods, CARE Uganda

Katharina Jeschke

Austria Secretary General at IMZ International Music + Media Centre

Initiator & Head of aws Sustainable Food Systems Initiative

Senior business analyst for public health

Christina Kauer

CONCORDIA Sozialprojekte

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

Co-Director Ashoka Austria

Jihad Shoja'eyeh

Founder of “Youth without Borders Network”

Agnes Schillhuber

Communications neunerhaus; formerly: Ashoka Austria

Project assistant & communication manager, Ashoka Italy

Christoph Soukup

Senior Project Manager HYPO NOE Gruppe Bank

CEO of Tec-Innovation GmbH

Head of Finance & Service, Österreichische Caritaszentrale

Ferdinand Pelzlmayer

Human Rights Lawyer, Switzerland/Austria

Claire de Lafarge

Founder and CEO, Dialogue Social Enterprise; Ashoka Fellow

Katharina Markovics

Professor of Musicology at New England Conservatory in Boston

Barbara Mayrhofer

Regional Manager for the Institute for Inclusive Education

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

Blühendes Österreich

Jindra Marešová

Director, Albatros Foundation

Violeta Philippitsch

Leitung Kundenbereich EU & International, Umweltbundesamt - Environment Agency Austria

Urška Starc-Peceny

Chief Innovation Officer, lead Tourism 4.0 at Arctur

Changemaker from Greece, Consultant Costas M. Lemos Foundation

Andrea Babčanová

HR Manager, Visegrad Fund

Sustainability Specialist Enel Romania

Christiane Holzinger

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

Maike Kauffmann

Founder at Purpose Foundation, Germany

Josep Maria Miró Pascual

Social Innovation Consultant JovesLab (Spain)

Danijel Baturina

Assistant professor in University of Zagreb

Christophe Cuny

Individual Giving Department Lead, SOS Children's Villages International

Stefan Lilischkis

Senior consultant, empirica Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Technologieforschung mbH

Birgit Radl-Wanko

Managing Director of younus Mentoring

Abubaker Musuuza

Sumita Kunashakaran

Project Manager at the Zero Project

Country Representative of Ashoka Hungary

Alicia Rodriguez

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

Development Specialist fpr NGOs

Flavian Majenga

Senior Project Manager CARE Tanzania

Silvia Silvozzi

Manager Bottega Terzo Settore - Fondazione Carisap

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

Katerina Bursikova Jacques

Executive Director, Educational and business centre Sněmovní 7

European Commission/Centre of Thematic Expertise on Civil Society Support

Klára Rundová

Project Managar Česká spořitelna foundation

Social Business Consultant, Alumna of the Visionary Program

Heidemarie Messnitzer

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

Business Angel & Mentor

Founder Intergenerational Dancing Poland

Founder and CEO of Raw Culture

Ondřej Zapletal

Executive Director, Depositum Bonum Foundation Prag

Co-Funder Feminist Fund, Ashoka Fellow, Poland

Katharina van Zeller

Founder & CEO DreiKreis

Karin Haselböck

European Integrator, Ashoka

Torsten Engelage

Risk Management and Compliance for the PwC Advisory

Eghosa Erhumwunse

National Director SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria

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

Director of Programmes European Journalism Center (EJC)

Jana Krajcovicova

Private Sector Development Specialist at the World Bank

Monika Ségur-Cabanac

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

Lisa Binderberger

Founder of Boom Creative Lab

Samya El Mousti

National Director SOS Children’s Villages Morocco

Cecilia Toncic-Sorinj

Finding sustainable solutions in gastronomy.

Sabrina Stepanian

Founder, STEPANIAN CONSULTING e.U.

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

Co-Director of Ashoka Nordics

Project Manager of Center Noordung

Ahmad Abdelgalil

Changemaker from Egypt, Staff Ashoka Arab World

Eduard Trampusch

Head of International Programmes, Austrian Red Cross

Father Charles Chilufya

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

Walter Odhiambo

National Director, SoS Children's Villages Kenya

Gabriele Hampson

Managing Director at W*ORT

Madeleine Pawlowicz

Project Lead Saving Angel, Germany

Gabriela Vondrusova

Change Manager and Community Mobilizer at Ashoka Czech Republic

Managing Partner, Culen Mayrhofer Partner

Business Development Manager, TRACE Eastern Africa

Selene Orellana

Communications Lead at Planeterra Foundation

Obayda Abo Asbeh

Founder Sanad Yoth Association (Israel)

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

Managing Director, Griller Kabel

CEO Midot, promoting impact (Israel)

Global Lead Funding Advisor at Joining Forces Initiative by World Vision

Michael Hilbert

Head of Business Unit Banking

Changemaker from Israel, VP Dualis social investment fund

Founder, Think Opal

Changemaker from Egypt, Member of the Egyptian Parliament

Radoslav Pittner

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

Gregor Ruttner-Vicht

CEO of Lower Austrian entity of Sindbad

Changemaker from Israel, Assistant General Director Municipality of Nazareth

Alexandra Nitzlader

Senior Project Manager HYPO NOE Gruppe Bank

Partnership Manager Ashoka

Kirsten Tangemann

Managing Director of Social Business Hub Styria

Elisabeth Campestrini

CEO of Progressive Health Consulting

Claudia Lingner

Managing Director Ludwing Boltzmann Gesellschaft

Orsolya Ifi-Valde

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

Ashoka Fellow, Founder & Vice President NEVER GIVE UP Onlus

Kristina Kroyer

Program Coordinator at HORIZONT3000

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

Account Director at Ketchum

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

Regional director of the social enterprise Sindbad

Educator and project manager, AG Di Donato

Irit Zviely Efrat

Chief Operations Officer at Hillel

Stefanie Kirwald

Consultant Alumnae*I Network

Project Lead Developing Neighborhood Institute

President of LEADER Network Croatia