My name is Adebunmi Adeola AKINBO. I’m CEO of DNS Africa, a nonprofit organization in the media sector. I run online radio stations and work from a rural area, empowering and engaging the citizen community for free. I am the Secretary of the the Internet Society Nigeria Chapter. I look forward to serving the Chapters in utmost good faith.

I was a pioneer member of the board of trustees, served as NiRA Acting Chief Operations Officer, and…

… was a former NiRA Director. I’m a local content ambassador, sportsman, research expert, and poet.

I’m the Secretary to the governing board of the Association for Information and Communication Technology Local Content (ICTLOCA). I also run KOBOKINGs Limited, an innovation channel for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to promote the Poverty Reduction Strategic Papers (PRSP).

I have received many awards, including the NiRA Presidential Award for Youth Development.

Jacques Bakaev

I’m engaged in digital transformation and innovation consultancy, focusing on governance, information security, and privacy, providing transformation services to enable digital ecosystems based on a public-private community partnership (PPCP).

I have been a Board member of the Internet Society Lebanon Chapter since 2012 and Chapter Secretary, assuming the admin function of the .LB Domain Name Registry (LBDR) ccTLD…

…managed by the Internet Society Lebanon Chapter.

I hold a law enforcement degree, a BS in computer science, and an MBA. In my previous life, I worked on building an anti-cybercrime unit, and participated in drafting the Lebanese e-transactions law and implementing many IT systems.

I promote systems thinking, design thinking, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and innovation.

Elaine Ford

I promote digital democracy in Peru and Latin America. I’m a Magister in International Studies from the University of Chile and a postgraduate in International Law and Human Rights from the University of Nottingham, England. I am a journalist from the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC). I have a specialization in Innovation in Government and Collaborative Solutions at Harvard Kennedy School, United States. I am the director and founder of Democracia Digital based in Lima, Peru.…

…I was the President of the Internet Society Peru Chapter for two consecutive periods (2016-2021). I was a Member of the Steering Committee of the Internet Society Chapters Advisory Council in 2019, 2020, and 2023.

I’m the author of the books: “The challenge of digital democracy. Towards an interconnected citizenship” (2019), “Internet and the pandemic” (2020) and “Digital technologies and elections in Peru” (2021). Additionally, I’m a co-author of several books, an international lecturer, and a TEDx presenter.

Katarina Gevorgyan

I find the fields of Internet development and governance to be the most significant and interesting. In 2015, the domain name industry brought me into the IT sector. Engaging in many initiatives, I became a member of the Internet Society NGO in 2016, which also serves as the registrant for the .am ccTLD. I currently work for the NGO as a manager of external relations. The the Internet Society Armenia Chapter was established in 2018, and I have been on the board since 2020…

…I was also selected to serve on the Chapters Advisory Council this year.

I attended training sessions hosted by the Internet Society and was twice elected as an ICANN fellow during these years. In addition, I actively participate in organizing teams for regional events like the Girls in ICT, the Armenian School of Internet Governance, and the Armenian IGF, among others.

I believe the Internet is a big opportunity for everyone on the planet, and we need to work hard to make it safer and available to everyone while spreading to every corner of the globe.

Cheryl Langdon-Orr

I’m a long-serving member of my local chapter, Internet Australia, having joined 26 years ago. I also serve on our governing board, having held executive roles as company secretary, honorary treasurer, and vice-chair (International). I have had the pleasure of being an active and engaged representative in the Chapter Advisory Council (ChAC) since the end of 2018 and have served as Chair of the ChAC Steering Committee in 2023 and 2024.…

…I’m retired but still active in the Domain Name System (DNS) via activities in ICANN and our county code administrator auDA), Internet governance (including in the leadership teams of both our national initiative ‘NetThing’ and our Asia Pacific Regional initiative APrIGF), as well as other I* fora.

I am well versed and experienced in team building, policy development, corporate governance, and best practice governance of not-for-profit entities. I’m passionate about the importance of an affordable, effective, secure, open, and easily accessible Internet being available globally. Supporting effective local Internet Society chapter activities, capacity building, and programs are essential mechanisms to work towards the aim of the “Internet for Everyone.”

For more about me please see my LinkedIn profile, my ICANN Wiki space, my About Me page, and my Internet Australia Board listing.

Hank Nussbacher

A networking expert involved in both industry and academia for 40 years, I’m one of the founding fathers of the Internet in Israel. I have worked for many companies, including industry leaders like Cisco, IBM, AT&T, Checkpoint, and others, and have actively contributed to various collaborative Internet committees. I’ve written several RFCs and patents in the Internet realm and represented the IAB on the International Ad Hoc Committee…

…to determine the future structure of the generic Top Level Domain system. This committee later became the Interim Policy Oversight Committee (iPOC), after which it finally became ICANN.

Heba Sayed

I possess more than 20 years of international executive experience in the arena of business development, consultancy management, and commercial strategy of ICT and digital transformation. I led major restructuring accomplished by adopting a multi-tier thematic approach encompassing innovation, leadership, and responsible cost-effectiveness perception. In 2019, I joined the American University in Cairo as a Director of Strategic Planning, Assessment, and Business Innovation for Learning Technologies….

…I established digital transformation planning and alliances management.

I’ve been the Vice Chairman of the Internet Masr–Egypt Chapter for the past six years, where I managed the rejuvenation of the chapter’s activities among Egyptian IT professionals. I’m an active member of the Internet Society, ChapAC, and EITESAL.

I hold a Ph.D. in information technology under the thesis name “Digital Transformation of Societies in MENA” from the School of Science and Technology at Middlesex University, United Kingdom. My interests include reading, listening to music, travel, and sports.

Gregory Shatan

I’m the Chair of the Internet Society New York Chapter. I’ve been active in ICANN since 2007, where I’m Chair of NARALO, home of North American At-Large structures and individual members. Before that, I was on ALAC. In 2015-17, I was President of IPC, part of ICANN’s GNSO. I’ve attended 30+ ICANN meetings and participated in many Working Groups

I’m a technology, Internet and intellectual property lawyer in New York City….

…I work on technology transactions (e.g., software, cloud, and services), trademark/copyright matters, privacy, data protection, cybersecurity concerns, and web accessibility/disability issues.

I have a B.A. in Sociology/Psychology and Music from Wesleyan University, where I was President of WESU-FM, a pioneering college radio station, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where I was Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia-VLA Journal of Law and the Arts and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

I’m a native New Yorker (and closet Canadian) living in Greenwich Village. I play bari sax and bass sax in Columbia Summer Winds, Manhattan Wind Ensemble and GEMS, known for red-hot performances at ICANN and IGF meetings.

Flávio Rech Wagner

I hold a BSc in Electrical Engineering from UFRGS, Brazil, 1975, and a PhD in Computer Engineering from Kaiserslautern, Germany, 1983. I’m an Emeritus Professor in Computer Science and Engineering at UFRGS, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. I have been the President of the Brazil Chapter of the Internet Society since 2018, and a Chair of the Programme Committee of the Brazilian IGF since 2017. I was also a Board member of CGI.br – Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, for three terms, from 2008 to 2017…

…and a member of the MAG, Multistakeholder Advisory Group, from 2015 to 2017. I was also the President of SBC—Brazilian Computer Society, from 1999 to 2003.

I serve as a Technical consultant at CGI.br and NIC.br.