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.

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.

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.

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.

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.