Professor Terrence Lyons is Professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. He is a leading scholar of conflict, post-war politics and democratisation, with particular expertise in the Horn of Africa.

His research examines civil wars, peace implementation, elections in post-conflict settings and the role of diasporas in transnational politics. He is the author of The Puzzle of Ethiopian Politics and numerous influential works on conflict resolution and governance in Africa. He has also served as a senior adviser to organisations including The Carter Center, USAID, the United States Institute of Peace and the World Bank.

Terrence is a Fellow of the Rift Valley Institute and has contributed extensively to policy debates on peacebuilding and political transitions in the region.

Professor Laura has led major international research programmes funded by UKRI and the EU and has advised organisations including UNDP, UNHCR and the World Bank. She has lived and worked extensively in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somaliland and has served as an expert witness in asylum and immigration cases in the UK and US.

She has been a Fellow of RVI since 2015.

Professor Laura Hammond Fellow Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) is Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Knowledge Exchange and Professor of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. She is a leading scholar on migration, displacement and conflict in the Horn of Africa, with more than three decades of research, advisory and field experience.

Professor Laura has led major international research programmes funded by UKRI and the EU and has advised organisations including UNDP, UNHCR and the World Bank. She has lived and worked extensively in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somaliland and has served as an expert witness in asylum and immigration cases in the UK and US.

She has been a Fellow of RVI since 2015.

Paul Murphy has worked in international development cooperation for over thirty-five years, taking on a range of roles in response to humanitarian crises and supporting long-term recovery and stability. He spent over fifteen years in the Horn of Africa, working with national and international civil society organisations, the United Nations and as a freelance specialist focused on people-led approaches to food security, social cohesion and conflict transformation. This included an extended period in Sudan and South Sudan during a time of significant change and instability.

His long-term engagement in the region led to a deeper focus on the root causes of insecurity, conflict and the disruption of people’s lives. In 2008, Paul joined Saferworld, an organisation specialising in international conflict prevention and human security policy and practice across Africa and Asia, serving as its Director from 2012 to 2024. He continues to engage in conflict-related issues in the Horn of Africa, Sudan and South Sudan. Paul lives in the UK.

Lilian Githuka is a senior Human Resources professional with extensive experience in people management within the INGO sector across Africa and Asia. She has a strong background in strategic HR planning and overseeing HR operations at a regional level, managing multiple countries simultaneously.

Lilian excels at integrating organizational development perspectives with HR initiatives to drive meaningful impact on people and culture development. As a certified coach and skilled facilitator, she employs a coaching approach to support leadership, team, and personal development, fostering a culture of self-reflection, growth mindset, and accountability.

Joanna Oyediran is a seasoned leader with over twenty years of experience in global human rights advocacy, policy development, and organisational leadership. Joanna has led human rights monitoring teams in conflict zones, managed multimillion-dollar grant programs and spearheaded strategic initiatives for organisations like the Open Society Foundation, the UN and Amnesty International. She has led diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, investigative research and strategic programme development across Eastern Africa and the Middle East. A barrister by training, she combines a deep commitment to human rights, governance, and social justice with detail orientation to create workable solutions. She joined the RVI board in September 2024.

Ken Menkhaus is the C. Louise Nelson Professor of Political Science at Davidson College. He specialises in Somalia and the Horn of Africa, focusing on development, conflict analysis, humanitarian response and state building. His work spans academic research and policy advising with organisations such as the US government, the United Nations, the World Bank and international NGOs. Ken has been a regular director of the RVI Horn of Africa course since 2008 and serves on the RVI Board of Trustees.

Margie Buchanan-Smith is a freelance consultant with over thirty-years working experience in Sudan, particularly in Darfur, South Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia undertaking policy research on livelihoods, food security and humanitarian aid. She has been a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies in Sussex, Head of Emergencies at ActionAid, Coordinator of the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). She has authored numerous scholarly and policy publications on humanitarian action, Darfur and migration. Margie is currently a Senior Research Associate with ODI and a Visiting Fellow with the Feinstein International Center of Tufts University. She became a Trustee of the Rift Valley Institute in September 2019.