Tanzania Board

Deus is a senior leader, researcher and analyst with over 20 years’ experience in international development. He is trained in Political Science and Public Administration, with an international relations major. In addition to his bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, he is also a holder of a Postgraduate Diploma in Democratisation, Governance and Public Policy Analysis from the International Institute of Social Studies, the Hague; and a Postgraduate Certificate in Constitution Making in Africa from Central European University (CEU), Budapest in Hungary. In his day Job, Deus lectures International Relations and Diplomacy at the Tanzania – Mozambique Centre for Foreign Relations, Kurasini, Dar es Salaam. Beyond chairing at Restless Development he is also a Board Member for other organisations, including Jukwaa la Katiba Tanzania; Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Foundation and Action Aid Tanzania.

With an education Background in Public Relations & Advertising from the University of Dar es Salaam, Jessica Kimosso is an enthusiast of Entrepreneurship, Technology and Innovation who has been working in the innovation ecosystem in Africa for over four years. She currently serves as a Business Developer at MTI Investment, and has been serving as a young Board Member for the Restless Development Tanzania since 2019 to present. She is an ICF (International Coaching Federation) certified Coach, a YALI Alumni, a member of the Dar es Salaam Global Shapers community and an aspiring young leader committed to contribute her skills and knowledge to bring positive change in her community.

Ronard Lubaga is a Program Design thinker passionate in youth-led advocacy and leadership, working with organisations that provide services, information and design programs on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). He has 9 years’ experience of strategic leadership, HCD +SRH and uses skills of program design thinking to support system-based approach to channel youth participation and accountability plus coordinating stakeholders to facilitate knowledge-sharing, advance learning, collaboration and acting as a force for expanding and supporting youth-led and youth-centred initiatives in ways that allow them to have broader impact through Identifying and engaging young people, in all their diversity, as key target stakeholders in health efforts. Ronard is a proud Africa’s Youth SDGs ambassador and Restless Development Alumni. Working with International Organizations in Africa helped him initiate and enhance creating a supportive environment that allows young people to exercise their experiences and become active contributors to lifetime achievement efforts.

John is an alumni of the 1997 Joint Action for Environmental Action (JIFEA) program by Student’s Partnership Worldwide (SPW), the predecessor organisation to Restless Development. He currently is an entrepreneur, involved in small ventures in information technology, real estate and forestry. Prior to entrepreneurship, John worked for Serengeti Advisers, a boutique consulting house in Tanzania specialising in corporate finance, public policy and media advisory. Before that he worked in telecoms, education and banking sectors. John holds a Master of Commerce degree in Development Finance (with Distinction in the Dissertation) from the University of Cape Town (South Africa) and a Master of Arts degree in Legal Studies from Carleton University (Canada). He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance with a Minor in International Business (with Honors) from St. Thomas Aquinas College in the United States.

Rahma Seleman, a Tanzanian development practitioner with a background in International Relations and Diplomacy, is a passionate advocate for adolescent girls’ and young women’s leadership, SRHR, HIV/AIDS, and gender equality in Eastern, Western, and Southern Africa. She specializes in youth-led accountability in sustainable development, emphasizing transformative changes for inclusive outcomes. As the founder of Enter Africa, she applies game thinking design and gamification to enhance living conditions in Africa by representing its culture and envisioning African futures. Rahma encourages sub-Saharan African youth to utilize these tools for addressing everyday challenges. In her role as Partnership and Training Coordinator, she trained over 2974 young women in social entrepreneurship, supporting 94 in developing sustainable social ventures. She also facilitated 20 social enterprises in accessing funding for lasting sustainability. For over 5 years, Rahma led initiatives in the SADC Region, strengthening the knowledge and skills of young people in advocacy for SRHR, life skills, HIV, and gender equality. She successfully developed a resolution at the 2019 Youth Indaba Platform, adopted by the SADC-Parliamentary Forum Committee. Having worked for Restless Development for 6 years, Rahma served as chairperson and lead for the Restless Development Youth Advisory Board for 5 years. She played a key role in innovating youth and alumni engagement activities, contributing to strategic processes like planning the Annual Alumni & Partnerships Event and reviewing the Volunteer Management Guide from a youth perspective.

Victoria Marijani is a highly experienced communication and behaviour change specialist with 18 years of leadership in various areas, including communication, social marketing, behaviour change, gender, and project management. She holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and has received extensive international training in social behaviour change and communication. As an alumna of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), Victoria has actively participated in international conferences on communication, leadership, and maternal and reproductive health across Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Currently serving as a board member for Restless Development in Tanzania for the past 5 years, she also chairs the fundraising and business development committee. Her career includes roles as Social Behavior Change and Gender Advisor at Save the Children International, Communication Manager at Thamini Uhai, and program manager and Communication specialist with Population Services International (PSI) in Nigeria. Victoria’s major accomplishments involve providing international technical assistance, contributing to communication strategy design, and actively participating in the development of national guidelines and strategies for nutrition. She has also designed and executed robust mass media campaigns for family planning, maternal health, and nutrition. Additionally, she has written abstracts and presentations for national and international conferences, serving as a board member for Restless Development Tanzania since 2019.

Marero is a management consultant working with Kepler Consultants as a Partner /Director responsible for business development and currently serving as a Treasurer of the Tanzania Evaluation Association (TanEA). He is an experienced financial management expert and an auditor for over seventeen years with experience in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) spanning from 2009 when he was involved in M&E and Data Quality Assessments (DQA) consultancies with Measure Evaluation /Palladium Group for USAID PEPFAR funded programmes in Tanzania and Zambia. Marero commands an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), and International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). He has undertaken various consultancy assignments in the areas of Risk Management, Business Process Review, Monitoring and Evaluation, Data Quality Assessments and Auditing in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and South Sudan. He has a multidisciplinary educational background. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance and is a certified public accountant. He also holds master’s degrees in Monitoring and Evaluation (MA-M&E), Public Health (MPH), Business Administration (MBA) and Management (MPhil-Management). He is currently serving as a Board Member of Restless Development Tanzania since March 2019 and Chairs the Board Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, he was a member of the Audit Committee of the Board of Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture, (TCCIA), from February 2020 to May 2023.

Prof. Fortunata Songora Makene is the Executive Director of the Economic and Social Research Foundation. She is an expert in development sociology, gender, and social protection. She has extensive experience in academic and policy research. Her work is rooted primarily in sociology, but it incorporates elements of law and anthropology. She worked on research and policy work on social protection and human rights, development, sociology of law, transnational institutions, and urbanisation mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and the United States of America (USA). Women and Girls Empowerment. She has more than 30 publications focusing on socio-economic reforms, advancing gender equity, women and girls’ economic empowerment, children’s rights to education and health, urbanisation, and women leadership. Makene has taught at Worcester State University and Clark University in the USA and was the Head of the Department of Research and Policy at UONGOZI Institute (where she also designed a Women in Leadership Programme) and at ESRF. Prof. Makene is a member of the National/Presidential Advisory Committee on Generation Equality Forum to promote Economic Justice Rights, in Tanzania.  She is 2022 awardee of the Phenomenal Woman of Worth Award from the African Women Leadership Organization. Prof Makene obtained a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Minnesota (USA) where is also a MacArthur scholar and Compton Peace Fellow. She also holds a Master of Science in Social Responsibility from St. Cloud State University (USA); and, B.A. Sociology from the University of Dar Es Salaam

 Neema Mwangamba

A Skilled Strategist positioned as a Business Partner who translates business vision into HR Initiatives that improve performance, profitability, growth, and employee engagement. Empowering leader who supports companies and top executives with a unique perspective and appreciation that ‘human capital’ is every organization’s greatest asset. Genuine influencer who thrives on tough challenges and translates visions and strategies into actionable, value-added goals to increase companies’ relevance and viability.Neema is bringing the ideal mix of business management, legal, sociopsychological and HR management skills to tackle the complexities of employee-employer relationships in the modern world. Neema is a highly accomplished and seasoned professional with over two decades of a experience, a Registered Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Dar Es Salaam (UDSM) – Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management (HRM) from the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) – Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Neema has been with Restless for the past one year and is looking forward to impacting the youth of this generation.