Urmat (CELA 14) has been the press secretary of the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic since 2017. She is the youngest woman to hold this office. Urmat has worked in a succession of jobs with increasing responsibility in the areas of internal and external communications, public outreach and community engagement. Her employers were large international development organizations such as USAID, EU and the UN. She worked for the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2011, 2013 & 2015.

In addition, she has been a teaching assistant for Communications Theory and Practice, Public Relations at the American University of Central Asia Urmat graduated from Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University in 2011 with a B.A. in International Journalism and Public Relations.

Diana Gaziyan has extensive experience of working with USAID funded projects in Armenia in the area of decentralization and achieving stronger local governance. For around eight years she was the Chief Executive Officer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (AmCham). She also has professional experience in the area of corporate communications and children’s rights protection. She currently occupies the position of Chief Executive Officer of British-Armenian Business Chamber (ABBC).

In 2017, she graduated from Harvard Kennedy School of Government with a Master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA). In 2003, Ms. Gaziyan received her Master of Science (MS) degree in Management from Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. She has been a participant of a number of renowned international programs on negotiation, leadership, and good governance.

Mr. Emil Gasimli is the Chief of Marketing and Business Development at the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). Prior to his current position, he spent 5 years working in different IT consulting companies as well as for BP, coordinating their IT projects and activities in Azerbaijan.

Mr. Gasimli holds a BA in Finance and Accounting from the State Oil Academy in Baku and Georgia State University, USA, an MBA degrees from the University of Louisiana and the State Economics University in Baku. He has also completed Leadership: Organization and Action program of Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education.

Sherzod Kattakhodjaev is the first Deputy Director of Tashkent city Waste Management Company. He is an owner of different private business companies in construction, energy distribution and automobile services. Sherzod is currently is a Chairman of housing, utilities, communal and innovations commission of the Public Council’s office for Tashkent city municipality. Sherzod actively advocates for Solar, Wind, Hydro, Biogas and Biomass Energy resources with his colleagues from Alternative Energy Club and Green Business Platform. Sherzod has over 15 years of experience in Mechanical and Chemical Engineering with MSc for the Robert Gordon University, Scotland and Engineer Diploma from Tashkent State Technical University.

Natia Zedginidze has 20 years of extensive working experience in business, governmental and non-governmental sector. She has been a Deputy Minister at Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia and Chief of Staff of Committee on Environment at Parliament of Georgia.

Currently she is a CEO at LTD Institute of Quality, Consultant/Trainer in Quality Management Systems and organizational capacity development specialist and manages donor funded projects. 

Since 2006 Natia is an Associate Professor, PhD in Economics at different leading universities in Georgia on MBA and PhD degree studies: University of Georgia, Caucasus University, Ilia State University, Black Sea International University, American University for Humanities.

Chingiz Kanapyanov is Non-executive co-chairman of KMGold, one of the largest gold mining companies in Kazakhstan, a board member of Kazakh-British Technical University and a board member of the Economic Research Institute of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, a partner of Kazakhstan office of GEC Corporation and Advisor to the CEO of ETS Commodities Exchange. During his carrier in the financial sector, Mr. Kanapyanov was Advisor to the Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, Deputy Chairman of the Financial Services Authority, Chairman of the Board of RFCA Rating Agency (National Rating Agency of Kazakhstan).

He holds BA and MA from Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

Gulnora Mukhamadieva leads gender equality integration in programmes, and provides strategic direction for Aga Khan Foundation’s civil society portfolio in South and Central Asia.

She has been with the AKF for over two years. Gulnora has worked with development agencies such as (former) UK’s Department for International Development, Swiss Development Cooperation, and GIZ in Central Asia, as well as UN Women, UN Relief and Works Agency, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation in Jordan Her experience and expertise focus on governance and social development: public administration reforms, public finance management, migration management, gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, strategic planning. She is passionate about social justice, gender equality and girl’s empowerment. Gulnora holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the University of Leeds. Gulnora speaks English, Russian and Tajik.

Enkhtuya is Head of Business Services Department at Transwest Mongolia LLC, a Mongolian leading mining and construction equipment distributor with exclusive KOMATSU dealership rights. Previously, Enkhtuya was one of the management members of leading mining companies in Mongolia, such as Peabody Winsway Resources (USA, China), Polo Resources, LLC (UK) and the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia. Enkhtuya holds a bachelor degree of Engineer in Information Technology from MUST (2000), an MBA from IFE, Mongolia (2010). She also graduated from the advanced management programs at KHRD 2011 (Korea), the SHRM 2012 (USA) 2017 Canada and Sumitomo Management Development Center in Japan 2018.

Muzaffar Atamirzaev is a Partner/CEO of the International Lending Center, based in Moscow. Mr. Atamirzaev was a core CELA staff member from 2008 to 2013. For the previous years, he worked in the microfinance field of Uzbekistan. Earlier, Mr. Atamirzaev worked at the Social Complex division of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan for several years.

Mr. Atamirzaev holds MA in Economics from Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics in Moscow and BA in Economics & Management from the Tashkent Transport Engineering Institute, coupled with research at the WBI in Washington DC. In 2005, he studied lending to SMEs in Arizona State University on a Cochran Fellowship.

Meade Sutterfield is an angel investor in tech enabled services with 32 investments over three decades.  After graduation from Georgia Tech (BEE) and Harvard (MBA) he began a career in technology companies.  In 1985 and 1991 he founded two regional wireless carriers which merged into the rollup creating Nextel Communications.  

He is active in volunteer leadership at Georgia Tech and is a past Chair of the SIBF and the Global Network Foundation (GNF).  In 2002, he was one of the founders of CELA and has participated in the MELA and SEALA programs as well.

He is married to Susan and they have four married children and nine grandchildren.

Steven Raab is the Chairman of The InSource Group which provides a variety of Information Technology services and highly qualified Information Technology professionals to its commercial clients on a contract basis. The Insource Group was a three-time qualifier in the SMU Cox Business School of Business Dallas 100, has received numerous other awards, and previously was recognized as one Texas’ fastest growing Women Owned Businesses.

Mr. Raab began his technical career at IBM, where he held various line and staff management positions in sales and vertical industry markets over a period of 17 years. He also has been the founder and President of his own custom home building company, Executive Vice President of Real Estate and Real Estate Lending for Champion Savings & Loan, and EVP of Real Time Financial Systems, Inc.

He is the past President and member of the board of The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, past Board Chair and Board member of Social Venture Partners Dallas, board member of Social Venture Partners International. Steven served as a facilitator at MELA, CELA and SEALA programs.

Steven is keenly interested in geopolitics, international security, and foreign affairs and in that pursuit, he is a member of The Tower Center Forum at SMU, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Ft. Worth and Dallas Council on Foreign Relations.  Mr. Raab is a Fox Hunter and is also interested in social innovation, travel, hand and shot gun sports (particularly skeet/sporting clays) and reading.

Steven is currently pursuing a Bachelors in International Relations and Political Science at Southern Methodist University.