Policy Advisory Board

K.Y. Amoako

K.Y.Amoako is the President of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), a non-profit institution based in Accra, Ghana to promote high-quality policy analysis and advisory services, driving sustained growth and development in Africa. He led the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) from 1995-2005 at the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Under his leadership the ECA was transformed to more effectively serve African policy makers, to amplify the African voice internationally, and to influence African partners.

Dr.Amoako has served alongside leading development experts and political leaders and on high-level international commissions and task forces, including the Commission for HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa, convened by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the Commission for Africa established and chaired by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, chaired by Professor Jeffrey Sachs. Prior to ECA, he was Director of Education and Social Policy at the World Bank.

Dr. Amoako was a Distinguished African Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in 2006. He obtained his Ph.D in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, by the Addis Ababa University in 2003, and a Doctor of Letters degree, honoris causa, by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, in 2005, in recognition of his contribution to Africa's development.

Paul Collier

Paul Collier is author of the award-winning book The Bottom Billion. Mr. Collier is a professor of Economics at Oxford University. He is also director of the Centre for the Study of African Economics, a professorial fellow at St. Anthony's College, a professor associate at CERDI (Centre for Studies and Research in International Development) at l'Université d'Auvergne; and a Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London, England.

Mr. Collier's research focuses on a wide range of macroeconomic, microeconomic and political economy topics concerned with Africa. Specifically, he researches the causes and consequences of civil war; the effects of aid; and the problems of democracy in low income and natural resource-rich societies.

Mr. Collier has also served as senior advisor to Tony Blair's Commission for Africa. He also completed the first-ever external review of International Monetary Fund (IMF) operations for the Board of the IMF. From 1998 to 2003 he was director of the development research group at the World Bank.

He holds a distinction award from Oxford University, and is a past winner of the Edgar Graham Book Prize, which is awarded every two years for published work of original scholarship concerning agriculture or industrial development in Africa or Asia.

John Githongo

John Githongo is the CEO of Inuka Kenya Trust fka Zinduko Trust and head of Twaweza in Kenya. He holds an Honours degree in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Wales and an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University. In the past he has served as Vice President Policy and Advocacy, World Vision International and Senior Associate Member, St Antony’s College Oxford, with whom he is still associated as a Senior Common Room Member. He served as Permanent Secretary, Office of the President of Kenya between 2003 and 2005. Prior to that he was a director of Transparency International-Berlin and Executive Director of Transparency International-Kenya. He has served as an columnist for The EastAfrican between 1995 and 2003 and at various times Correspondent for The Economist among other publications.

His other appointments and distinctions include being a member of the boards of the following organisations among others: Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG), Africa Institute for Governing with Integrity and Freedom House. He is a member of the Advisory Council of Transparency International, Berlin and an Advisor to the Mathare Community Resource Centre.

Ned Jannotta

Ned Jannotta began his career as an associate with GTCR in 1985. After spending three years with GTCR, he left to join William Blair Capital Partners, where he was a managing director for over nine years. He rejoined GTCR in 1998 and became managing principal in 2002. Mr. Jannotta holds an AB in Politics, cum laude, from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Mr. Jannotta is a director of Chester Valley Pharmaceuticals, ForeFront Education, GeneraMedix Pharmaceuticals, Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals, Ovation Pharmaceuticals, and Trans Healthcare. In addition, Mr. Jannotta was a director and played a key role in GTCR's highly successful past investments in CuraScript and LifeCare Management Services.

Richard P. Kiphart

Richard P. Kiphart is head of William Blair & Company's Corporate Finance Department, where he has served in several positions since 1965. A junior officer in the U.S. Navy, Kiphart received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1963 and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1965.

Kiphart serves on the board of directors of First Data Corporation and is chairman of the board of Lime Energy Company. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chairman of The Erikson Institute.

Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour is one of the most celebrated African musicians in history. A renowned singer, songwriter, and composer, N'Dour's mix of traditional Senegalese mbalax with eclectic influences ranging from Cuban samba to hip hop, jazz, and soul has won him an international fan base of millions. In the West, Youssou has collaborated with musicians Peter Gabriel, Sting, Bran Van 3000, Neneh Cherry, Wyclef Jean, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, Branford Marsalis, and others. In his home country of Senegal, Youssou is a powerful cultural icon actively involved in social issues.

In July 1993, an African opera composed by N'Dour premiered at the Opéra Bastille. He wrote and performed the official anthem of the 1998 FIFA World Cup with Axelle Red "La Cour des Grands". The New York Times most recently described his voice as an "arresting tenor, a supple weapon deployed with prophetic authority". N'Dour absorbs the entire Senegalese musical spectrum in his work, often filtering this through the lens of genre-defying rock or pop music from outside Senegalese culture.

For many years, N'Dour has been committed to social justice and the fight against poverty. In 1985, he organized a concert for the release of Nelson Mandela. He was a featured performer in the 1988 worldwide Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour. He started Project Joko to open internet cafés in Africa and to connect Senegalese communities around the world. He performed at three of the Live 8 concerts on July 2, 2005.

Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane

Njongonkulu Ndungane is the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town. A political prisoner on Robben Island in his early 20's, Archbishop Ndungane later studied ethics at King's College, London and is leading the global Anglican Communion's response to poverty, trade, debt and HIV-AIDS.

Trevor Neilson

Trevor Neilson is President of the Global Philanthropy Group, a firm that designs and implements highly-leveraged strategies for the world's leading philanthropists. Trevor has advised a number of the world's leading philanthropists, including Bill Gates, President Bill Clinton, and Sir Richard Branson, and has been involved in the creation and implementation of many of the world's most respected philanthropic initiatives. He has extensive experience in addressing global and domestic problems including disease, poverty, education, child welfare, refugees, emergency relief and the environment. Trevor served on the national steering committee for Cleantech and Green Business Leaders for Obama, a constituency group of President-Elect Obama's campaign.

He served as Executive Director of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC), which was created with investments from Bill Gates, George Soros and Ted Turner and represented more than 220 multinational companies with philanthropic interests related to the AIDS pandemic. At GBC, Trevor reported to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and currently President Obama's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Prior to his work with the GBC, Trevor served as the Director of Public Affairs and Director of Special Projects for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest foundation. Trevor also served in the White House during the Clinton administration. Trevor is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the advisory boards of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, the Wikimedia Foundation, the Genocide Intervention Network and Global Action for Children.

He is also a senior advisor to global communications company APCO Worldwide, was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and served as a Visiting Practitioner at the Georgetown University Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership.

Amre Youness

Amre Youness is the CEO of TMC Financial, a private investment company.

A long-time advocate for education and human rights, Mr. Youness has served on the Board of Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California, participated in the World Economic Forum and with his wife, Caroline, worked to bring positive changes to villages in Tanzania.

He received his Bachelor of Science from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.