Dr. Margo Thomas
Founder and CEO
Hana Alem Tekle
Program Director
Vonn Ricks
Information Technology
Dooter Malu
General Counsel
Joannes Paulus Yimbesalu
Strategic Adviser
Victor Gadabor
Website Manager
As Founder and CEO of the Women’s Economic Imperative (WEI), Dr. Margo Thomas serves as a catalyst for initiatives aimed at increasing opportunities for the economic empowerment of disadvantaged and under-represented groups around the globe.
Throughout her career spanning more than two decades as a senior official at the World Bank Group, Dr. Thomas has provided policy advice to over fifty national and sub-national governments.
Dr. Thomas successfully completed her appointment as the Chief of Secretariat for the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment in 2017. Under the Argentinian Presidency of the G20, she was appointed as Co-Chair of the 2018 Think 20 Task Force on Gender Economic Equity. Dr. Thomas was invited by the Japanese Presidency to continue her work and serve as Co-Chair of the 2019 Think 20 Task Force on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Under the 2020 Saudi Arabian Presidency of the G20, Dr. Thomas is a member of the COVID-19 Response Task Force and the Social Cohesion Task Force. Dr. Thomas has been appointed as an inaugural Global Solutions Fellow.
Vonn comes to the organization with 20+ years of IT experience working with and supporting small businesses, universities and multiple global organizations. His background is in systems design, configuration and support for networks environments of 20 to over 8 thousand users. His mission is to continuously use technology to enhance and support the collaborative work efforts in an ever-changing world.
Vonn’s superior qualities include his attention to detail, relentless troubleshooting and resolution planning skills, and excellent professionalism. Vonn studied and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Bowie State University and is a Microsoft Certified Professional. Vonn has a signature saying to describe his passion for the IT field, “I turned my hobby into a career and that has been the best decision of my life. I get to help people and play with technology all day. Work doesn’t get much better than that!”
Dooter Malu is an attorney with years of experience in law reform, financial institutions, human rights and international humanitarian and criminal law. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he previously worked with the office of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court.
Mr. Malu also worked as a Principal Legal Officer with the Human Rights Commission in Nigeria. He previously served as an in-house counsel for Keystone Bank in Lagos and is currently a Senior Manager with Kings & Goodman where he leads its strategic engagement in North America.
Joannes has led national and regional programs with UNICEF and Generation Unlimited (GenU) in Nigeria, Niger, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire. GenU is a global public-private youth partnership, a flagship program of the United Nations on a mission to skill the world’s 1.8 billion young people and connect them to opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and social impact, especially in the most vulnerable communities. Joannes spearheaded large-scale digital skilling and youth employability initiatives, including the rollout of Yoma, a blockchain and AI-powered platform that has reached over 4 million youth.
He currently serves as Technical Lead for the Youth Entrepreneurship and Future of Work subgroup under the Women’s Economic Imperative and contributes to the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP).
A published researcher, Joannes has co-authored “How AI is Bridging Gaps and Building Bridges in Development” and “From Ideas to Impact: Unlocking Youth-Centred Job Creation in Africa.” He holds a Mid-Career MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School and is committed to building inclusive, data-driven solutions that unlock the potential of Africa’s youth.
Victor Gadabor is an accomplished website developer and manager, graphic designer, and digital and brand communications expert. He has proven, professional experience over the past 10 years. He has worked on and led significant projects for leading organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Selective examples of the extensive range of his projects and clientele include: Wateraid Ghana social media branding project; EMY Africa website design and management; Huawei Ghana campaign design; UE Beverages visual identity design; Ghana Business Awards; Ghana CEO Awards; Ghana Shippers Awards; and The Education Collaborative at Ashesi.
Victor is a vibrant individual who values learning and thinks it is each person’s job to reach their potential. Victor is married with two lovely children and also plays the bass guitar.
Janiece Welcome has worked for several years in the fields of management, administration and education. She has developed her management and administration experience in a number of different large corporations, including Starbucks Coffee Company. In addition, she has worked with AmeriCorps Project Change and the Montgomery County Public Schools.
Her commitment to incorporating diversity into her project management work contributed to her successful completion of projects and increased the impact of her efforts in effecting progressive change within her community.
Janiece is a leader, whose outstanding customer service and drive shines through her work. She has extensive operational and technical skills.
Janiece attended Arizona State University, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree. She has completed a training program at the Project Management Institute and is currently pursuing her certification in Project Management.
