Sabrina Lustgarten is Executive Vice President at HIAS. In this role, she promotes organizational growth and the alignment of international operations to HIAS' global goals. Prior to assuming this position, Sabrina worked for over 18 years as Country Director in Ecuador where she led a team of over 400 staff to serve thousands of refugees annually. Within the Latin America & Caribbean region, she also supported the opening of HIAS operations in Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Panama. Sabrina is a strong advocate for human and refugee rights. She helped to pioneer the implementation of Psychosocial Support and Economic Inclusion Programs for refugees in Ecuador. Additionally, Sabrina has participated in activities to promote the inclusion of refugee populations in host countries in Latin America, such as the Brazil Plan of Action and the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela. To respond to the Venezuela refugee crisis, Sabrina coordinated HIAS' interventions with the Ecuadorian Government, other civil society organizations, and international partners, providing humanitarian assistance to the families who needed it most. Sabrina holds an undergraduate degree from Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, and a master's degree in Management for Social Development from the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Quito, Ecuador. She is married, with two daughters and two granddaughters, and is very close to her family.

H.E. Amb. Minata Samaté/ Cessouma is the Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union Commission (AUC) since 2017. A native of Burkina Faso,Amb. Samaté is a career diplomat with a legal background, with over thirty (30) years of experience in Law, Diplomacy, mediation, preventive diplomacy, Governance and International relations. At the national level, Amb. Samaté was the diplomatic adviser of the President of Burkina Faso and Minister in charge of Regional Cooperation of Burkina Faso. In these capacities, she participated in mediation processes in West African countries. As Minister, she chaired the Council of Ministers, Mediation and Security of the Economic Community of West African States, and co-chaired the ECOWAS - European Union Troika Meetings. At the continental level, she was appointed Ambassador of Burkina Faso to Ethiopia, Permanent Representative to the African Union and to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA). At the international level, she has served as Director of the United Nations and African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur, where she contributed to strengthening humanitarian affairs, peacekeeping operations, and preventive diplomacy. Amb. Samate is a fervent diplomat who is passionate about public service and the fight against the scourges of the African continent. Her ardent will for a better continent and her strong commitment for good governance, promotion and protection of human rights, justice and the rule of law, as well as her fight for a better humanitarian situation and her strong advocacy for women and youth participation in governance processes in Africa, are some of her core values. Commissioner Samate is a mother and a devoted wife who stunningly reconciled family life and noteworthy diplomatic career. She inspires more than few young African, especially young women and girls to aspire to better in life and to leadership positions.