Veronique is the Founder and Director of Misongi, where she recruits, trains and places Cameroon’s most exceptional, motivated youth in leading institutions of higher education and further opportunities. By working with these students, Misongi aims to increase the percentage of talented Cameroonian students attending the world’s best universities and to support them to achieve success in their careers and communities.
Before Misongi, Veronique was Regional Manager for Africa at Minerva, an elite American university that prepares students to solve the 21st century’s complex global challenges. In that capacity, she oversaw operations in West and Central Africa, including leading talent acquisitions initiatives and securing professional development partnerships with public and private organizations. Veronique also served as country director for Open Dreams in Cameroon, a college preparation non-profit that supports high achieving, low income students in their search of quality university education abroad and on the continent.
Formerly EducationUSA country coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Cameroon, she helped >100 students secure admissions into top universities across the world and over $20 millions USD in scholarships. Veronique is also the founding curator of the Global Shapers Yaoundé Hub of the World Economic Forum, which led to three selections and participations (of the Yaoundé Hub) to the Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos.
Gabriela Pereira is an author, speaker, and self-proclaimed word nerd who wants to challenge the status quo of higher education. Her mission is to empower writers to apply an entrepreneurial mindset to their professional growth. Gabriela earned her MFA from The New School, in New York. While undercover as a graduate student, she learned the inside scoop on MFA programs, invented a slew of writing tools all her own, and developed a new, more effective way for writers to learn their craft.
Her favorite thing to do is come up with dastardly plans for new writing courses, and create innovative resources to share with her word nerds. When she’s not building cool stuff, Gabriela loves to write middle grade and teen fiction, with some “nerdy fiction for grown-ups” thrown in for good measure. At Misongi, Gabriela is helping scholars improve their writing skills, find their writing voice and own their personal stories through storytelling.
Brandon Abasolo is the Sr. Director, Proposal Team at Distributed Solar Development in New York, Schenectady. Previously Senior proposal write at Tesla, where he received project awards from customers including Electrify America, Pacific Gas & Electric, the United Nations Development Programme, National Grid, and the Government of South Australia. Brandon is passionate about renewable energy, track and field, and mentoring teens. He is also an enthusiastic advocate for college access for first generation students. At Misongi, Brandon has worked with scholars to help them review their essays and ensure their applications are of the highest quality.
Elizabeth “Betsy” Andersen is Executive Director of the World Justice Project, leading its global efforts to advance the rule of law through research, strategic convenings, and support for a global stakeholder network.
Ms. Andersen has more than 20 years of experience in the international legal arena, having served previously as Director of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and its Europe and Eurasia Division (previously known as the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative or ABA CEELI), as Executive Director of the American Society of International Law, and as Executive Director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division.
Ms. Andersen is a member of the American Law Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations and serves as chair of the Board of Trustees of Williams College as well as on the governing and advisory boards of several international non-profit organizations, including Misongi, where she serves as an advisory board member. She is the recipient of a number of awards for her work in the international rule of law field, including a Williams College Bicentennial Medal and the American Society of International Law Prominent Woman in International Law Award.
