2027 Design for Freedom Summit

Sharon Prince is the CEO and Founder of Grace Farms, a new kind of boundary-defying public space that advances good locally and globally. Prince commissioned Pritzker Prize-winning SANAA architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa to design Grace Farms, which has become widely known as a global humanitarian and cultural center located in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Grace Farms is the platform for the Foundation and its interdisciplinary humanitarian mission to pursue peace through nature, arts, justice, community, faith, and Design for Freedom, a global new movement to eliminate forced labor from the building materials supply chain. The open, porous architecture of the River building at Grace Farms is embedded into 80 acres of natural biodiverse landscapes. The building, designed to break down barriers between people and sectors, invites all to pause and reflect, while also encouraging engagement with Grace Farms’ work, including advancing gender and racial equity, all of which leads to creating new outcomes.

Since opening, Grace Farms has garnered numerous prestigious awards for contributions to architecture, environmental sustainability, and social good, including the AIA National 2017 Architecture Honor Award and the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize.

Grace Farms is pioneering a new form of philanthropic capitalism with a non-profit owned certified B Corp. Prince is the Co-Founder of Grace Farms Tea & Coffee, which offers coffees and teas that demonstrate what the Foundation advocates for: ethical and sustainable supply chains. Through our robust corporate-sponsorship program we’ve expanded the reach into global corporations including JPMorganChase, UBS, Sciame Construction, and Bloomberg. In addition, Grace Farms Tea & Coffee has also introduced its Wellness Teas into 26 Whole Foods Markets in 2024 alone, initializing public demand for ethical sourcing.

100% of the profits from Grace Farms Tea & Coffee supports the Design for Freedom movement to eliminate forced labor from the building materials supply chain.

After recognizing a void in addressing exploitation in the building materials supply chain in late 2017, Prince launched Design for Freedom in 2020 with a first-of-its-kind publication, a nearly 100-page Report that provides analysis and data on how forced labor is embedded into the very foundations of our buildings. At the inaugural Design for Freedom Summit in 2022, Grace Farms also released the Design for Freedom Toolkit, a
practical resource professionals use to implement ethical sourcing strategies into their practices. Prince also initiated the next iteration of the Design for Freedom Toolkit to further advance the international expansion of Design for Freedom. The Design for Freedom International Guidance & Toolkit, which includes contributions from more than a dozen leading international experts across the ecosystem of the built environment.

In addition, Prince has also expanded Design for Freedom internationally through accelerators in the UK, India, and Vietnam equipping public and private sector partners with the tools to address forced and child labor.

She has guest lectured about Design for Freedom andGrace Farms to universities and industry associations around the world. In recognition of this impactful work, Fast Company named her to its list of the Most Creative People in Business 2022: For Cleaning up Construction and the AIA NY and Center for Architecture recognized her with the NYC Visionary Award.

At the start of the COVID 19 pandemic, when countries around the world shut down, Prince convertedGrace Farms into a humanitarian hub to address two emerging crises:the lack of PPE for frontline health care workers and soaring food insecurity. Under her leadership, Grace Farms became the largest supplier of PPE in the state, securing, donating, and delivering more than 2 million pieces of PPE within weeks to close the acute state-wide PPE gap. She also initiated a critical food emergency program that provided more than 150,000 wholesome meals to neighbors in need. For this humanitarian work, Prince received the CEO Forum’s Transformative CEO Award | Leading through Crisis.

Brigid Abraham is Grace Farms’ Director of Materials Research and Sustainable Practice, focused on Design for Freedom, the Foundation’s work to eliminate forced labor from the building materials supply chain. She brings a rare duality of expertise in architecture and information science, translating ethical sourcing into practice through more than a dozen Design for Freedom Pilot Projects worldwide and a 100-organization Working Group spanning architecture, construction, real estate, and manufacturing. Brigid contributed to the Design for Freedom International Guidance & Toolkit (2024), the AEC industry’s first Human Rights Due Diligence resource, evaluating and developing tools for practice.

Before joining Grace Farms, Brigid was Director of Research at Pickard Chilton, a global design architecture firm in New Haven, Connecticut, where she fostered a culture of research, education, and thought leadership. Earlier in her career, she worked in the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation Division of the New York Public Library and in interior design at Eve Robinson Associates in Manhattan.

Brigid is a licensed architect in New York State and holds credentials as a LEED Green Associate, WELL Accredited Professional, and Fitwel Ambassador. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Barnard College and a Master of Library and Information Science from Rutgers University. She has lectured at the Center for Architecture, ASLA National, and to students and professionals across the country, extending the educational reach of the movement.

Lisa Adams is an interior designer and Principal at HKS, a global design firm. Lisa is Director of Citizen HKS, a public interest design studio where HKS dedicates company time and resources to help communities in need. From Net Zero maternity hospitals in Uganda to research driven sensory spaces supporting neurodivergent populations, Citizen HKS projects apply innovative design thinking to create positive social change. Lisa comes from a background in healthcare, corporate interiors, and sustainable interior design. She has been named “design leader for the greater good” by Interior Design magazine.

Sarah Billington is UPS Foundation Professor at Stanford University in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering where she served as Department Chair from 2021-2026. She is currently a Visiting Senior Scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School in the Bloomberg Center for Cities. At Stanford, she leads the Building for Wellbeing Lab, driven by two questions: how do built environments impact human wellbeing, and how can human-centered engineering design improve and amplify these impacts? Her group examines how built features shape wellbeing across diverse populations and settings. These features range from access to nature and material choices to the use of ambient intelligence systems. With this knowledge, they develop tools, methods, and design interventions to improve wellbeing. They pursue this work through direct collaboration with those most affected, from older adults and caregivers to residents, communities, and the workers and practitioners who shape the built environment itself. Earlier in her career, her group focused on sustainable, resilient construction materials, including bio-based and ductile cement-based composites, expertise that now informs their work on material choices, infrastructure design, and supply chains. Billington is also a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability, and from 1998-2002 she was Assistant Professor at Cornell University in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She holds a B.S.E. from Princeton University and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Gordon Boggis is the CEO of Carnegie, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance, sustainable wallcoverings, textiles and acoustic solutions for the commercial built environment and the only Certified B Corp in its industry segment.

He joined Carnegie in April 2021.

Over the last 20 years, Gordon has led companies across a range of industries, with a strong focus on material innovation to drive improved performance and purpose-driven and environmentally sustainable businesses.

Prior to joining Carnegie, Gordon was CEO and Board member of a number of companies, including Mission (textile-based personal cooling products), Redco Foods (better-for-you beverages), Unreal Brands (better-for-you snacks) and Dunlop Sports (active lifestyle). He’s passionate about harnessing the talents of companies to be a force for good.

He began his career in marketing management with GlaxoSmithKline in the UK. He then held senior management roles for companies based in the UK and Germany. Gordon grew up in the UK and gained his B. Sc. in chemistry from Loughborough University. Despite living in the USA for more the 25 years, he still refers to “soccer” as “football”.

Tim Conway is the President of mindful MATERIALS, where he leads a movement to simplify and accelerate sustainability in the built environment. For more than two decades, Tim has been a trusted connector across owners, architects, designers, contractors, and manufacturers—helping the industry come together to tackle its most urgent challenges, from human and climate health to circularity and the social responsibility of building materials. He is widely recognized for his collaborative leadership and his gift for translating complex systems into clear, compelling stories that inspire action. Tim’s work empowers people across the value chain to see their role in driving change, build confidence in shared solutions, and move the industry toward a healthier, more sustainable future.

Katie Durham is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Supra Elemental Recovery (Supra). Prior to Supra, Katie spent over a decade working in the energy sector in marketing and investing roles. As Vice President at Antenna Group, Katie managed a seven-figure book of business, led teams of more than twenty, and supported the agency’s growth from 60 to nearly 200 employees. As Partner at Climate Capital, she led investments in early-stage critical minerals and circular economy startups. Katie received her B.A. in American Studies (magna cum laude) from Vanderbilt University, where she was an Ingram Scholar and two-time Udall Scholar, and her MBA from Columbia Business School as a Feldberg Fellow.

Dr. Louise Gallagher is a co-founder of the Coalition for Responsible Sand and Silicates, the first international body dedicated to responsible sourcing and production of these materials. The Coalition was incubated at the University of Queensland over the past three years and launched last month with Founder Members including Inter IKEA, Roca Group, Gilbane Building Company, WWF and Design for Freedom by Grace Farms, among others.

She co-authored the 2019 UNEP Sand and Sustainability report, which helped put sand governance on the global agenda, and the 2026 OECD report Due Diligence for Responsible Sand and Silicate Supply Chains. Both established the case that sand and silicates, the world’s most used solid materials after water, belong on international responsible-minerals agendas.

Louise brings over fifteen years of experience in environmental governance, responsible sourcing and multistakeholder collaboration at the UN Environment Programme and WWF and advisory work for IKEA Foundation, WWF Netherlands and the Mastercard Foundation, among others. She has published over sixty peer-reviewed scientific and policy publications. She is based in Geneva.

As Managing Director, International Strategic Initiatives, Emma leads the global expansion of Design for Freedom, Grace Farms’ movement to eliminate forced and child labor from the building materials and critical minerals supply chains that underpin the built environment. She builds partnerships across government, industry, and civil society in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Gulf region, and Africa to advance ethical sourcing and a just transition in construction and mining.

Prior to advancing to the role of Managing Director, Emma provided critical and strategic support and assistance to the entire Grace Farms executive team, working closely with Grace Farms’ CEO and Founder. Emma supported leadership’s short- and long-term goals and vision by ensuring the information flow and decision-making processes are effective, efficient and impactful for the organization and our work.

She played a pivotal role in collecting, researching, synthesizing and analyzing information and outcomes to assess programming opportunities, strategic direction, and mission-aligned projects and advancements.  In addition, Emma also ensured the timely and effective completion of all projects originating from the CEO and Founder.

Emma began her career as a corporate lawyer before transitioning to banking, where she led a Business Banking team specializing in international trade services, commercial lending, and strategic business advisory. After leaving banking in pursuit of more social entrepreneurial opportunities, Emma created a pioneering wellness business in South Africa to empower previously disadvantaged women through employment opportunities, which was later acquired by one of the country’s leading department stores.

Emma is also a wellness expert, certified Master Pilates instructor and graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. This cross-section of experiences in corporate banking, and in the entrepreneurial and wellness industry, uniquely positions Emma to champion workplace wellbeing alongside operational excellence. Her global perspective, shaped by living in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, has instilled and informed her innovative approach and entrepreneurial mindset toward leadership, team development, and organizational strategic decision-making.

Emma obtained her law degree from the University of Cape Town.

Felix Heisel is Assistant Professor of Architecture and the Director of the Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design (M.S.AAD) Program, as well as the Director of the Circular Construction Lab at Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. He is a faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, and a graduate field member in architecture, systems engineering and design technology. Heisel is a licensed architect in Germany and partner of 2hs Architekten und Ingenieur PartGmbB, an office specialized in the development of circular prototypologies.

Heisel’s scholarship focuses on a systemic redesign of the built environment as a material depot of endless use and reconfiguration. He has received various awards for his work and published several books and articles on the topic, including Building Better- Less – Different: Circular Construction and Circular Economy (Birkhäuser, 2022); Urban Mining und kreislaufgerechtes Bauen (Urban Mining and Circular Construction, Fraunhofer IRB, 2021); Cultivated Building Materials (Birkhäuser, 2017), and Building from Waste (Birkhäuser, 2014).

Heisel graduated from the Berlin University of the Arts and has been teaching and researching at universities around the world, including the Berlage Institute; the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction, and City Developments; the Future Cities Laboratory Singapore; ETH Zürich; and Harvard GSD.

The Circular Construction Lab (CCL) at Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning houses a design research program that advances the paradigm shift from linear material consumption towards a circular economy within an industrialized construction industry. At the intersection of architecture, engineering, material and computer science, as well as economics, the lab investigates new concepts, methods, and processes to (1) design and construct buildings as the material depots for future construction, and (2) activate the potential of the built environment as an ‘urban mine’ for today’s construction. CCL understands architecture as part of a regenerative and restorative cycle and sees design as a vehicle that can advance this ambition with excellence in teaching and research. Through close collaborations with academic, industrial, and legislative/ political partners the lab ensures the relevance of its work and promotes the direct and full-scale implementation of research results towards a more sustainable, low/ no-carbon, circular construction industry.

Karen Karniol-Tambour is Co-Chief Investment Officer at Bridgewater Associates, responsible for managing the company’s investment process. She oversees the systemization of Bridgewater’s research into trading strategies, manages the development of proprietary investment management models, directs the design and implementation of client investment strategies, and publishes timely market understanding to clients and global policy makers via Bridgewater’s Daily Observations. Karen is the Managing CIO responsible for the firm’s Asia strategies, including its Bridgewater China Investment Management Co. (BCIM) subsidiary. She joined Bridgewater in 2006 after graduating from Princeton University. Outside of Bridgewater, Karen is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Council. She is also a member of the Robin Hood Foundation Investment Committee and serves on the Financial Services Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. As a committed advocate of enhancing women’s leadership, she is an active angel investor focused on technology startups led by women. Karen has been recognized across the industry for her achievements, including Fortune’s “40 Under 40” most influential leaders in business in 2019, and she has been named to Barron’s list of “Most Influential Women in US Finance” for seven years in a row.

Paul Lewis, FAIA, is a Principal at LTL Architects based in New York City and Professor at Princeton University School of Architecture, where he has taught since 2000. He received a BA from Wesleyan University and a M.Arch from Princeton University. His firm has completed academic, institutional, and residential projects throughout the United States. LTL has received a National Design Award, multiple AIA awards, NY State AIA Firm of the Year, and has been inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame. The firm’s recent work includes All Straw House, Poster House Museum, The Helen R. Walton Children’s Enrichment Center, a residence hall at Carnegie Mellon University, Ithaca Straw House and the First Place winner in the international design competition for University of Buffalo Resilient Campus. Their current research focus is on the architectural potential of plant-based materials which is explicated in their book Manual of Biogenic House Sections (2022). LTL Architects are also the authors of Intensities (2013), Opportunistic Architecture (2008) and Situation Normal….Pamphlet Architecture #21 (1998) and Manual of Section (2016) which has been translated into six languages. The firm’s designs and drawings been exhibited around the world, including the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and are part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Carnegie Museum of Art. Paul is a past President of the Architectural League of New York and a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome.

Jing Liu has been practicing for more than 15 years, working on a wide range of projects both in the US and abroad. Through building practice and interdisciplinary research projects, Liu has led SO–IL in the engagement with the socio-political issues of contemporary cities — in projects like the Artists Loft North Omaha and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in Cleveland. Her projects range from artistic collaborations with contemporary choreographers and visual artists to master plans and major public realm design in cities like Melbourne and Indianapolis.

Liu brings an intellectually open, globally aware, and locally sensitive perspective to architecture. Her curiosity and artistic imagination allow her to bring a nuanced cultural perspective to the table. Her keen skills in combining digital technology with traditional craft and firm belief in design’s ability to re-engage people with the physical world around them allow the buildings she designs to become places of exchange that welcome interpretation and transformation.

Liu leads all of her projects from concept to realization and considers carefully all aspects of design and construction — from the building’s presence in a community, down to the fasteners in a window. She believes strongly that design should and can be accessible to all, and that architecture offers us an open platform to nurture new forms of interaction. To that end, Liu sees community engagement and collaboration across disciplines as central to her role as the design lead.

Toshihiro Oki, an architect and active member of the Design for Freedom Working Group, develops and conducts programs and tours that offer unique insights into the architectural choices that informed the River building’s distinct look and award-winning design. As a member of the Working Group, he also provides an informed perspective to not only industry professionals but to the public at large on how buildings, homes, and landscapes can be designed and built with materials less at risk of forced labor.

He established his office in New York after working for several years at the Japanese architectural office of SANAA / Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa (Pritzker Prize 2010) to build the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City and the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion in Ohio. Since 2009, he has been working on his own independent projects. Oki is licensed to practice architecture in New York and has taught architecture studio at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and Princeton University Graduate School of Architecture.

Architecture should raise the human imagination beyond the conventional everyday. This requires an unconventional process. The experience of bridging the cultural gap of international teams, clients and locations has led to the focus of thinking globally and acting locally. Every project has a unique set of conditions that requires both an open perspective and a focused process. In order to expand the possibilities, each project team is assembled from a trusted group of associates, engineers and builders based on the project’s specific needs. This creates a dynamic team structure that can efficiently focus on the design and finding its subsequent reality. Such flexible partnerships and conditions help lead to unanticipated paths of new thinking and possibilities

Stephen Ross is co-founder and CEO of Created with Encore™, a materials innovation company working to turn discarded paint into valuable resources for the built environment. Building on the company’s roots in transforming recovered paint into Tomorrow’s Artist fine art materials, he is leading its expansion into architectural materials for the building envelope.

With more than 80 million gallons of paint left over in the United States each year, Ross sees an opportunity to connect material recovery with demand at architectural scale. He is developing a unified national platform of processors, bringing together high-quality processing methods and technology to support consistent quality, greater capacity, and new applications for recovered paint.

His focus extends beyond collection and recycling to building stronger domestic markets for recovered materials. Through product innovation and strategic partnerships, he aims to create scalable applications that can absorb substantial volumes of discarded paint while keeping high-quality recovered products—and their economic value—in the United States.

Ross brings an entrepreneurial perspective to circular materials, emphasizing practical solutions that connect recovery, manufacturing, and market demand to turn an underused resource into lasting domestic value.

Jung-Suk (JS) Ryu is the founding President and CEO of the National accessArts Centre presented by TD (NaAC), Canada’s first multidisciplinary disability arts organization, established in 2020 through the merger of Indefinite Arts, Momo Movement, and Artistic Expressions.

Under his leadership, the NaAC has quadrupled in size to become Canada’s largest disability arts organization, while establishing a growing national footprint that now extends from Calgary to Toronto. In Toronto, the NaAC is advancing the Toronto Arts and Accessibility Incubator and the Won Lee Community Gallery, creating a major new platform for disability arts in Canada’s largest city.

JS is also leading the development of the world’s first accessible arts learning campus in Calgary, anchored by the Trico Communities Accessible Arts Centre and the Joseph Chung Centre for Creativity. Upon completion, the campus will represent more than $30 million in capital investment—the largest investment ever directed toward disability arts infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere. By the end of 2027, with its Calgary and Toronto projects completed, the NaAC will oversee more than 50,000 square feet of dedicated creation and training spaces for artists with disabilities.

In 2024, JS helped secure the largest corporate investment in disability arts in Canadian history and led the evolution of the NaAC’s national brand through its partnership with TD Bank Group.

Prior to the NaAC, JS held senior roles with the Banff Centre, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and the Alberta Medical Association. He also served as Principal Speechwriter to the Ambassador of Japan to Canada.

A Salzburg Global Fellow, JS has been recognized as one of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 and is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal and the King Charles III Coronation Medal. He currently serves on several national and international nonprofit boards.

Tabitha Scott is Executive Sustainability Officer at Gilbane, a $10B builder with a 156-year legacy of shaping global communities. Grounded in a lifelong passion for nature advocacy, Tabitha embraces the company’s forward-looking vision—the future is bold, and we’re ready to shape it—as a heartfelt call to heal and protect our communities through regenerative practices.

With deep experience in innovation, investments, and technology, Tabitha led the development of the world’s largest solar-powered community at Fort Bliss, Texas. Her dedicated public service includes advising the Executive Office Roundtable on Climate Change during the Obama Administration and representing the built sector for the Presidential Climate Action Plan under the G.W. Bush Administration, in addition to serving on multiple academic advisory councils.

A former member of the Forbes Business Council, and executive in several other global organizations, Tabitha honors the intersection of technology and ecology. She holds advanced Blockchain credentials from MIT and is certified as an Energy Manager and Demand Side Manager by the Association of Energy Engineers. She is also the best-selling and award-winning author of Powering Change and Trust Your Animal Instincts.

Jamie currently serves as Group Sustainability Director with Karndean.

He is now approaching 25 years’ experience in the profession in various sustainability roles for a range of companies including: a guided weapons company; the Honda Racing Formula 1 team; design and engineering in the built environment; Jaguar Land Rover; and UK rail infrastructure. He previously served in roles within the flooring industry.

Additional professional experiences include researching and implementing unique and innovative solutions – waterless cleaning in F1, industry firsts for circular material solutions such as aluminium and carbon fibre, embedding sustainability in the design process, and generating new revenue streams through a purpose driven sustainability approach.

Jamie holds a degree in Environmental Management and Science.

Dave Stanger is Managing Director of Tectonix Natural Stone Ltd and Chair of the Stone Federation Great Britain Landscape Committee, specialising in the global sourcing and supply of high-quality natural stone.

With more than 25 years of experience working both within and outside the PLC environment, Dave has developed extensive knowledge and expertise across the complete natural stone supply chain, from source and extraction through to specification, procurement and installation.

Throughout his career, Dave has built strong, long-standing relationships with mineral owners, quarry operators, extractors and specialist suppliers across the world. These trusted partnerships provide access to high-quality materials, reliable supply chains and carefully selected natural stone from established and responsible sources.

Working closely with a trusted and established UK client base, Dave supports projects from initial concept and material selection through to procurement, supply and on-site installation, providing practical and commercially informed guidance throughout the process.

A fundamental part of Dave’s approach is a commitment to responsible and transparent sourcing. He embeds sustainability, ethical procurement and Human Rights Due Diligence into the sourcing process, ensuring clients are provided with clear and relevant information regarding material provenance and supply chains before making specification or purchasing decisions.

Known for his extensive industry knowledge, commercial insight and personal approach, Dave is committed to delivering tailored natural stone solutions that combine quality, reliability, responsible sourcing and exceptional service, underpinned by complete transparency throughout the supply chain.

Adam Thatcher is co-founder and CEO of Grace Farms Tea & Coffee. He envisioned the model of a nonprofit-owned business after learning about the innovative social enterprise structures possible under the IRS code while getting his MBA at NYU.

Prior to Grace Farms Tea & Coffee, Adam served as the Director of Operations and Sustainability for Grace Farms Foundation from 2015 – 2020. With a passion for ethical and environmental sustainability efforts, Adam led Grace Farms’ LEED Silver Certification for Operations + Maintenance. Before joining Grace Farms, Adam served as the Director of Food and Beverage at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts in Lake Tahoe, California.  In 2014 Adam was named of the 10 most impactful leaders in the ski industry under the age of 30.

Andrew is the co-founder of Vision Blue Resources, a private investment firm focused on strategic metal and mineral resource assets required for the clean energy transition and mineral supply chain security, while implementing best practise responsible and sustainable operating standards.

Andrew is responsible for developing the firm’s investment strategy, as well as sourcing, executing and managing its investments. In addition, Andrew has driven the firm’s global government engagement strategy, particularly working with the U.S. government on its mineral supply chain security strategy. He also takes an active role in working on the firm’s sustainability initiatives.

Andrew has significant experience in the mining private equity and investment banking sectors across transaction execution, IPO processes, project financing and stakeholder engagement.

Prior to Vision Blue, he founded a natural resources advisory business which resulted in him negotiating and leading a number of mining private equity transactions. In addition, he has spent significant time in corporate development roles in the mining sector, as well as taking active roles in numerous mining technology platforms.

Andrew has participated in more than US$30bn of transactions in the sector, in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.

Mr. Bukeni Waruzi, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), currently serves as Executive Director for Free the Slaves, a US global leading organization working to combat forced labor, trafficking in persons, modern slavery and child labor around the world. Free the Slaves is also a member of the Global Coordinating Group of Alliance 8.7.

Mr. Waruzi is co-president of the executive committee of the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), a membership of chocolate private sector and civil society organizations working to prevent and eradicate child labor and forced labor in cocoa growing communities.

Before joining Free the Slaves, he served as Executive Director for the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict in New York, working with the United Nations Security Council to advance the Children and Armed Conflict (CAC) agenda at the UN Security Council.

He worked for nearly a decade as director for Africa and the Middle East at WITNESS in New York and he is also known for his work with the International Criminal Court’s first case as he was instrumental in the conviction of a Congolese warlord for the recruitment and use of child soldiers in armed conflict in the DRC. His career started in war torn Eastern Congo where he founded and led AJEDI-Ka Child Soldiers Project, a local organization working to prevent and address the use of child soldiers in armed conflict in Uvira region where he was able to free more than 300 child soldiers from armed groups and forces.

Bukeni holds a MA human rights and conflict resolution from Chaire Unesco of the University of Burundi, and a BA in Economics from UEA in Bukavu, Eastern DRC.