About Us
We must reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We must step up as women and girls and take the lead.
Our story officially began on
2 December 2020.
The Amazon Leadership Initiative (TheALI) is a women and youth led non-profit organization that empowers women and girls, fosters inclusivity in leadership roles, provides mentorship, education and capacity development to alleviate gender inequality and address gender gaps in line with aspiration 6 of the African Union Agenda 2063 and goal 5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
The Board of Directors

Crystal Ikanih-Musa
Board chairperson
Crystal Ikanih-Musa is currently the Regional Advocacy Manager Africa region for Malala Fund, and previously served as the Nigeria Country Representative. Crystal began her professional career with a focus on human rights because of her desire to see the most marginalized groups actualize and enjoy their rights.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Crystal was raised by her parents in the inner city. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Art in Social Welfare and a Bachelor of Art in Legal Studies. She also received minor certificates in Women Studies and African Studies. On campus she was known as a local activist and leader amongst students as the president of the Black Student Union.
Setting her sights on having an international career and combining her passion for activism, law school was her next step. She attended the University of the District of Columbia- David A. Clarke School of Law in Washington DC. While pursuing her Juris Doctor she held the post of Director of International Relations for the National Black Law Students Association and was the President of the Black Law Students Association at her law school. She worked for multiple United States Congressional members while in Washington, DC mainly focusing on US immigration and black immigrant bottlenecks to residency and citizenship.
Crystal moved to Nigeria in 2013 and entered the international development sector, where she focused on human rights. She has been coined a human rights expert and has spoken on various global panels speaking about her work.
Crystal is married and has three lovely children.

Achieng Akena
Board member
Achieng Akena is currently the Executive Director for International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) based in Kampala, Uganda. Achieng is a Kenyan lawyer and human rights and democracy practitioner with 22 years of experience in varied regions and contexts, from Botswana to Afghanistan.

Nonhlanhla Mokwena
Board member
Nonhlanhla Mokwena is the former Executive Director of People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) and served in this position for 10 years. Nonhlanhla Mokwena has a BA (Social Work) HONS and a Development and Training Practitioner Certificate with UNISA. In 2015 completed her Master’s in Philosophy focusing on Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa at the University of Pretoria.
Nonhlanhla started and developed her career life at POWA. She started as an intern in in 1995 and was employed as a shelter social worker and provided services to women and their children who survived violence at home. She was promoted to shelter manager, front line service coordinator and ultimately executive director. POWA remain close to her heart as an organisation that made her the phenomenal women she is today.
In 2004 she was appointed HIV and AIDS coordinator with the Department of Social Development in the Johannesburg Region. In 2006 she continued her career with the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund (Now called National Lotteries Commission) in the charities sector as a Grant Officer.
She left POWA in December 2018 and joint the Centre for Communication Impact as the Deputy Chief of Party: Gender Based Violence. She continues to contribute to a South Africa that respects the life and dignity of women and girls irrespective of their sexual orientation. As well the rights of persons living with disabilities and the LGBITQ+ persons.
Nonhlanhla Mokwena was doing her 3rd year social work training when UNISA provided a list of NGOs’ that train social workers for their 3rd and 4th year internship. She saw the organisation People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA)on the list and was immediately drawn to it. At this point in the social work curriculum there is nothing about the abuse of women and Nonhlanhla has no clue what is abuse. She approaches the organisation and requests to do her internship. It is during this time in 1995 that she is educated on what is domestic violence , why it happens, the myths and misconceptions and why do women stay. During this period Nonhlanhla is educated on terms like feminism, patriarchy, misogyny, gender equality and sexuality. It is during this time that she able to label the screams of women she grew up hearing in the township of Meadowlands of women being physically assaulted by their partners as domestic violence. She remembers how her grandparents would wake up and watch through the window but never went out to assist when these women used to scream. She remembers how no one ever came out but would talk about it but never to anything.
Nonhlanhla has dedicated her whole career towards advocating for the rights of women and girls and ensuring that services provided for survivors of based violence are provided with dignity and respect. She continues to work in the sector by providing mentoring and support to local organisations that provide services and prevent GBV. She has worked both as a social worker at the shelter for abused women and their children, a shelter manager, a coordinator of services for survivors to reduce secondary victimisation. She is now working with local GBV organisations in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga to mitigate GBV and to ensure local stakeholder collaborate and work together to reduce and ultimately end GBV. Women’s rights remain a course that is very close to her heart.

Mary Izobo
Board member
Mary Izobo is the Founder and Executive Director of the Amazon Leadership Initiative (TheALI). Ms Izobo is an international human rights lawyer, gender equality advocate, and governance specialist. Prior to that, Ms Izobo was the Legal Advisor of the African Peer Review Mechanism, an organ of the African Union, and has worked for the United Nations, Pan-African Parliament,Institute for Strategic Litigation in Africa, and Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa.
She is the recipient of several awards notably ‘Africa’s Top Legal Millennial – The Amazon of Women’s Rights,’Certificate of Excellence as ‘Futurist Activist,’ an Award of Recognition as ‘SPE Top Pathfinders’ for her honourable achievements as one of the 60 Pathfinders being celebrated as thriving women in the spirit of Nigeria’s 60th independence and a ‘State Honours Award for Public Service’ for her outstanding contributions to the development of Kaduna State, Nigeria.
She believes that education lies at the heart of gender equality and as an ardent advocate for self and academic improvement, Ms Izobo is currently studying for a Doctor of Laws (LLD) with a focus on international governance. Before that, she obtained a Master of Laws (LLM) in Rule of Law for Development from Loyola University Chicago, United States of America, and another Master of Laws (LLM) in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons) in French Language from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria; a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom; and a Barrister at Law (BL) from the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, Nigeria.

Karen Ann Widess
Board member
Karen Ann Widess is a Lecturer at UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) School of Law and teaches in the LL.M. and MLS Legal Analysis, Writing and Research Programs and supervises research for Masters students.
Her own research focuses on Rule of Law and Development and in Haitian and post-Soviet Studies. She has been a lecturer at Kent Law School at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, teaching courses on property law, legal and critical thinking, equity and trusts, and international administrative law. She also worked as an Adjunct Professor for the first decade of Loyola University Chicago Law School’s Rule of Law for Development LLM and MJ program (PROLAW) in Rome, Italy. At Loyola she designed and taught courses in Program Design and Proposal Writing, and Rule of Law Project Management while supervising theses and capstone projects for students from Africa, the former Soviet Union and the USA.
Prior to moving into academia, Karen spent 25 years in a variety of capacities in the fields of international rule of law and legal reform, democracy promotion, civil society strengthening, economic development, and post-conflict stabilisation and reconstruction, in several regions including Central Asia, Haiti, the South Caucasus, Russia and Ukraine, among others.
Ms Widess received her B.A. at the University of California at Berkeley, her J.D. at the University of Southern California, a Post-graduate Diploma in International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and worked on a Ph.D at the University of Kent in the UK.

Yase Godlo
Board member
Yase Godlo currently holds the position of CEO at The Beast Foundation and is also a Board Member of Amazon Leadership Initiative an African Young Women organisation. Yase has worked in different areas of social change and social justice and is driven by sustainable development approaches and strategic engagements.
How he appreciates the value strategic relationship is evident in his work as Mandela Day and other outreach programmes Manager at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. His Project Management skills and experience has contributed to a national community engagement programmes successful process of community dialogues on different social justice issues (HIV/AIDS and Xenophobia). Yase has successfully lead work in international events and campaigns that included Mandela Day Campaigns and Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture from 2006 to Current with over 146 Countries with different stakeholders.
Team Members

Mary Izobo
Founder & Executive Director
Ms Izobo is an International Human Rights Lawyer, Gender Equality Advocate and Governance Expert. Driven by her passion to achieve democratic equal rights for all within her lifetime, she established and pioneered the legal unit and was the Legal Advisor of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an organ of the African Union (AU), and has worked for the United Nations (UN), the African Union Commission (AUC), the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the Institute for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA).

Nurat Wamaya
Social Media and
Engagement Associate
Ms Wamaya is a Gender and Human Rights Activist who is passionate about girl empowerment. She has a degree in Gender and Development Studies and over the years she has been engaged in several activities that are geared towards empowering and voicing the plight of the African girls.

Exildah Bwalya Mubanga
Programs Associate
Ms Mubanga holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics with Demography from the University of Zambia. She is passionate about working with young people and helping them realise their full potential. She is passionate about issues to do with gender and human rights, persons with disabilities particularly children, civic participation, climate change, socio-economic issues relating to young people and financial literacy.

Leena Shidhika
Funding & Partnerships Associate
Ms Shidhika is a fearless Namibian and confident youth leader, banker, motivational speaker and Law student. She is a champion for girl empowerment, girl leadership and a mental health advocate. She has been involved in a number of charities and community building projects. Ms Shidhika also holds a honours degree in Marketing and Communication.

Prisca Mwamba Mambwe
Finance Associate
Ms Mambwe is a second year Public Administration student at the Information and Communications University, Zambia. Ms Mambwe’s goal is to grow SMEs and do community work to help vulnerable women and girls in her country achieve their goals by empowering them with skills that will help them become financially independent

Aminat Lawal
Research Associate
Ms Lawal is a law graduate from the University of Ibadan (UI). While at the university, she was the Founding Campus President of Girl Up UI, a registered chapter of the United Nations Organisation, Girl Up. She is passionate about advancing gender equality and human rights and has volunteered for several organisations including: Stand to End Rape, Global Youth Leadership and Girl-Child Foundation and Give Girls a Chance.
Young Female Leaders Regional Caucuses

Nanjerah Peace Brenda
(Age - 22)
Uganda
Nanjerah Peace Brenda

Miriam Anguista Kupeka
(Age - 24)
Kenya
Ms Miriam Anguista Kupeka

Rebecca Rosette Nanfuka
(Age - 22)
Uganda
Rebecca Rosette Nanfuka

Lebohang Nchabeleng
(Age - 24)
South Africa
Lebohang Nchabeleng

Andile Magunje
(Age - 18)
Zimbabwe
Andile Magunje

Kadijatu Barrie
(Age - 24)
Sierra Leone
Kadijatu Barrie

Jacinta Dzagli
(Age - 24)
Ghana
Jacinta Dzagli

Damilola Ayeni
(Age - 21)
Nigeria
Damilola Ayeni
Young Female Leaders (YFLs)

Aminat Lawal
(Age - 22)
Nigeria
Aminat Lawal

Divine Keren Yamulamba (Age - 25)
D.R Congo
Divine Keren Yamulamba

Elma Akob (Age - 23)
Cameroon
Elma Akob

Dimah Nader (Age - 19)
Egypt
Dimah Nader

Nurat Wamaya (Age - 25)
Kenya
Nurat Wamaya

Claude-Christelle Igueri
(Age - 25)
Gabon
Claude-Christelle Igueri

Itumeleng Motaung
(Age - 20)
South Africa
Itumeleng Motaung

Chidinma Esther Kalu
(Age - 25)
Nigeria
Chidinma Esther Kalu

Exildah Bwalya Mubanga
(Age - 24)
Zambia
Exildah Bwalya Mubanga

Lesedi Maroga
(Age - 19)
South Africa
Lesedi Maroga

Prisca Mwamba Mambwe
(Age - 25)
Zambia
Prisca Mwamba Mambwe

Funbi Akinsanya
(Age - 24)
Nigeria
Funbi Akinsanya

Faridat Opeyemi Adewuyi
(Age - 21)
Nigeria
Faridat Opeyemi Adewuyi

Puseletso Lefakane
(Age - 19)
South Africa
Puseletso Lefakane

Esihle Buthelezi
(Age - 16)
South Africa
Esihle Buthelezi

Ukamaka Nnenna Ugwu
(Age - 23)
Nigeria
Ukamaka Nnenna Ugwu

Oreoluwa Balogun
(Age - 25)
Nigeria
Oreoluwa Balogun

Rebecca Rosette Nanfuka
(Age - 21)
Uganda
Rebecca Rosette Nanfuka

Tsaone Tryphinah Mosweu
(Age - 25)
Botswana
Tsaone Tryphinah Mosweu

Elizabeth Juma
(Age - 22)
Zambia
Elizabeth Juma

Yara Dahab
(Age - 25)
Sudan
Yara Dahab

Andile Magunje
(Age - 18)
Zimbabwe
Andile Magunje

Lesedi Moloke
(Age - 17)
South Africa
Lesedi Moloke

Oamogetswe Chikwado
(Age - 20)
South Africa
Oamogetswe Chikwado
