WOMEN AND YOUTH FOR CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE AND PEACE BUILDING

Joy Nyamvumba is a development and strategic management professional with more than 25 years of experience spanning sustainable development, climate action, gender equality, women’s empowerment, peacebuilding, programme management, finance, organizational strengthening, partnerships, and resource mobilization. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Women and Youth for Climate Change Resilience and Peacebuilding (WYCRP), a women-led Rwandan organization dedicated to empowering women and youth to build resilience to climate change while promoting sustainable land management, food security, nutrition, peacebuilding, and inclusive community development.

Joy began her professional career with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) as a Finance Assistant, gaining an early foundation in financial management, accountability, and the management of resources within an international development and humanitarian environment. Since then, she has built extensive experience working with Civil Society Organizations, government institutions, international development organizations, donors, and other partners, progressively taking on leadership responsibilities in programme management, partnerships, organizational development, strategic planning, and resource mobilization.

Her professional experience includes serving as Strategic Management Advisor to the Rwanda Climate Change and Development Network (RCCDN) under the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), with support from Global Affairs Canada, and previously as Deputy Program Manager – Partnerships with Norwegian People’s Aid in Rwanda. Through these roles, she has provided strategic and technical support in organizational development, programme design and implementation, partnership management, resource mobilization, performance management, stakeholder engagement, policy and advocacy, and institutional capacity strengthening. She has worked with government institutions, donors, implementing partners, and communities to advance sustainable and inclusive development.

Joy has also maintained a longstanding commitment to women’s empowerment and peacebuilding. For more than 15 years, she has been involved with the Pan African Women Organization in the Diaspora, contributing to initiatives that support women, leadership, advocacy, and peacebuilding. This experience has strengthened her understanding of the importance of women's participation, leadership, and collective action in addressing social, economic, and development challenges.

Joy holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Economics from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. She has also undertaken professional training in leadership and management, conflict resolution, performance management, alternative dispute resolution, women's leadership, decision-making, advocacy, and community engagement.

Through WYCRP, Joy brings together more than two decades of experience in development, finance, strategic management, partnerships, gender equality, climate action, and community development. She is committed to building strategic partnerships and mobilizing resources that enable women and youth to develop practical solutions, strengthen their resilience to climate change, improve food and nutrition security, sustainably manage natural resources, and contribute to peaceful and sustainable communities in Rwanda.

Betty Gahima is a senior Gender and Development Specialist with over 20 years of experience in leadership, programme and project management, organizational development, gender analysis and mainstreaming, advocacy, partnership development, and engagement with Civil Society Organizations and Government institutions. She brings extensive experience in designing, coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development programmes, as well as conducting gender analyses, organizational capacity assessments, project evaluations, policy analysis and capacity-building across multiple development sectors.

Betty is a Co-founder of Benishyaka, where she served as Executive Secretary for more than 20 years, providing strategic and operational leadership in the design, coordination and implementation of programmes in climate change and environmental protection, education, agriculture, health and peacebuilding. She has also held senior leadership and governance positions within several Civil Society Organizations, including serving as Vice Chair of Profemmes Twese Hamwe and Vice Chair of the East African Sub-Regional Support Initiative (EASSI). She has been re-elected to serve on the EASSI Board, served with LandNet Rwanda Chapter, and was a member of the Advisory Committee of Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda.

Her extensive experience in gender equality, women's and children's rights, climate resilience, organizational strengthening, programme development, advocacy and strategic partnerships provides strong technical and leadership capacity for WYCRP. As Senior Programmes and Partnerships Director, Betty will provide strategic technical oversight to programme development and implementation, strengthen institutional and strategic partnerships, support resource mobilization and proposal development, and contribute to programme quality, learning, monitoring and evaluation.

Betty holds a Master of Social Sciences (MScs) in Gender and Development from the University of Rwanda and a Bachelor of Arts in Human and Social Sciences (Development Studies) from the University of South Africa (UNISA).

Silas is a Communications Advisor with over a decade of experience across media, peacebuilding, and sustainable development in Africa, Asia, and North America. He holds a Master's in Communications and in Peace and Development Studies and is a member of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice, with published research on media, environmental sustainability and justice, and peacebuilding.

Silas specializes in donor engagement, proposal development, and storytelling that amplifies the voices of women and youth leading climate and peacebuilding work. He brings expertise in gender-sensitive communication and digital advocacy to help organizations build stronger narratives around resilience, inclusion, and lasting community impact.