ISAAA Associates

Julius Nyangaga is a consultant with Right Track Africa, a Nairobi-based consortium
of professionals that supports clients in strategy development, system
characterizations (baseline studies), facilitating forums for innovative decision-
making, and monitoring and evaluation. He is especially trained and experienced in
integrating and learning from outcome-oriented thinking and evidence-based
approaches (Outcome Mapping and Outcome Harvesting) in all aspects of project
management.

Since 2005, Julius has trained and guided numerous organizations and project
teams in learning how to apply outcome mapping and harvesting. He has developed
knowledge and skills in utilization-focused evaluation, applying the approach to
several IDRC’s Information and Networks (I&N) projects in Africa. He has applied
the same expertise to several project assessments in East Africa, the most notable
being MasterCard Foundation-funded CAP YEI youth development program in
Kenya.

Paloma Fernandes is the Chief Executive Officer of the Cereal Millers Association for the past sixteen years. The Cereal Millers is an Association that represents the large-scale grain milling industry comprising of varied wheat, maize, and other cereals millers in Kenya with a reach over 40 million consumers in Kenya. Its membership comprises of 50 of the largest millers in the country and 7 International traders representing more than 40% of total industry production capacity for maize and over 90% for wheat. 

She is a qualified Economist, Administrative Manager and Systems Analyst with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. She successfully completed the Corporate Governance Course administered by the Centre for Corporate Governance Kenya attaining 1st position out of 68 fellow directors and CEOs from the region. She has attended various training food safety training courses and is currently seeking to pursue her Master of Arts (MA) in Development Studies dealing with various aspects and challenges of development and public policy. 

Paloma was recently awarded the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) of Kenya bestowed by the President of Kenya due to her work in food safety, raising awareness of food safety initiatives as well as coming up with solutions both in Kenya and the East African Region.

Dr. Barbara Mugwanya Zawedde has over 20 years’ experience in East Africa agriculture, crop biotechnology regulation, environmental policy and science communication. 

Barbara is currently the Director of Research in the Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) based in the Mukono Research Institute that serves the Central region with over 10 million people. She is also the Chairperson for NARO’s Institutional Biosafety Committee, and the Committee responsible for developing and implementing biodiversity conservation and sustainable use at NARO. 

Her PhD major was Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology with a doctoral specialization in Environmental Science and Policy from Michigan State University, USA. For seven (7) years, Barbara coordinated activities of Uganda Biosciences Information Center (UBIC) where she inspired and captured the interest of youth to join the biosciences community through innovative approaches such as drawing and writing contests. Uganda’s youth has been encouraged to join the discourse on how modern biosciences can be effectively applied for national development.

Dr. Mugwanya’s areas of interest include biosafety, biopolicy, bioethics, science communication, knowledge management, and other social and policy pathways to support adoption and sustainable use of biosciences for agricultural transformation.

Mrs.  Gassama Yaye Kene is Professor in Plant biotechnology and biosafety at University Cheikh Anta Diop Dakar. She is acting as Chair of African Union High level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET). Prof. Gassama was previously appointed as Minister in charge of Science and Technology of Senegal, as such served as Chair of the African Ministerial Council in Science and Technology (AMCOST II). She served as CEO of the National Agency for Scientific and Applied Research in Senegal. 

As national coordinator for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in biosafety, she provided support and advice for development of legislative framework on biosafety of living modified organisms for Senegal and the West Africa region. She was appointed in the bureau of Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE) FEMSA for advancement of girl’s enrollment in science and mathematics.