10 Billion Strong Team
Abby Hills
Community and Launchpad Summit Lead
Abby’s passion for environmental sustainability issues began as a simple curiosity during her undergraduate studies at University of Colorado Boulder. She didn’t know much about the environment, but was educated by her friends and her different communities throughout her studies. Most of these interests lay dormant until she was working in Vietnam for a year, observing the overwhelming amount of single use plastics and recognizing similar issues in the U.S. Returning to the U.S., Abby now works as an ICU nurse and is focused on understanding how to decrease the healthcare system’s environmental impact while maintaining standards of care and cleanliness. Abby has experience in project management, community development, international education, leadership, and healthcare. When she’s not working you’ll find her spending every free moment in the mountains- enjoying and appreciating the Rocky Mountain air!
Anannay Zaman
Bangladesh Fellow
Anannay is a business professional who has completed Bachelor's degree from University of Cardiff, Wales and Master’s degree from University of Wales Trinity Saint David. He started his environmental leadership journey by participating in tree plantation campaigns. He has experiences in the organic business development sector and has been part of many environmental development programs, such as watershed cleanups, waste management development, and plastic bag reduction campaigns.
Currently, he is an international member of Amnesty International and actively works with them on social development programs. He is also an established musician and award-winning traditional drummer. He hopes to create a sustainable impact in the environment by utilizing his leadership skills to make changes to policies and structures.
Emadul Islam
Bangladesh Hub Lead
Emadul is a social research and development expert and researcher. He graduated with high honors from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh with a concentration in Social Sciences. He has work experience in climate change and disaster risk reduction, sustainable disaster recovery, governance, community development in the research field. Emadul began his career as a young researcher in an International non-government organization called Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB). He has also worked for the UK based international NGO Islamic Relief Worldwide, Bangladesh chapter, as a monitoring and research officer from 2014 until 2017. Currently, he is Yayasan Khazanah scholar and PhD student at the University of Malaya and a full-time Senior Analyst at at BRAC.
Ngolle Aquila Kingsman
Cameroon Hub Lead
Kingsman is a Geography student at the University of Buea-Cameroon. He is passionate about environmental conservation and agricultural sustainability. From childhood, he has spent most of his time in the natural world, which fostered a strong love for nature. After observing how the natural environment was gradually being destroyed by the numerous environmental hazards caused by fellow humans, he realized there was no better time to stand for the environment he so loved. This ignited a fiery passion in him to take personal action towards saving the environment.
The environment has been his main focus and passion ever since. He has been able to educate many young people in his community through educational sessions, workshops, school visits, and other mediums and has taken part in several projects, campaigns and events that were aimed at contributing to lasting solutions for the environmental challenges plaguing his community.
He is currently involved in several community-based organizations and international platforms where he is gaining experience, skills and knowledge to become a better leader and eco-hero. Beyond his love and passion for the environmental, Kingsman also loves graphic design, photography, music, documentaries and drawing and intends to use theses to amplify his efforts for the environment.
Patrick Arnold
Founder and CEO
Patrick has been working at the intersection of international development and education for the last decade and finds the most inspiration when he's collaborating with emerging leaders who are trying to protect our planet. He has BA and MA degrees from American University's School of International Service in Washington, DC and has worked at a number of organizations ranging from the Peace Corps and Department of State to the International Crisis Group and the Corporate Council on Africa.
Prior to founding 10 Billion Strong, Patrick was the Director of Programs at a Stanford-founded social impact nonprofit with over 50 years of experience running experiential education programs in the U.S. and Asia. In this role he led an international team and managed programs for the Department of State, USAID, the Ford Foundation, the Luce Foundation, Stanford, Duke, and the University of California.
Patrick has spent much of his career working in Asia, but has also studied or worked in Africa, Europe, and South America.
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Rudi Skowronski
Program Developer
Rudi Skowronski is a Senior at UC Berkeley, studying Architecture and City Planning. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Rudi has had a lifelong passion for environmental justice which has fueled his interest in sustainable development that is community-based, beautiful, and environmentally, and socially conscious. In his free time, Rudi enjoys backpacking, fishing, making art, and rowing.
sylvia murray
Strategy and Partnerships Lead
sylvia is a facilitator of, advocate for, and believer in peace leadership. For fifteen years, sylvia has participated in and facilitated talking circles in various communities across the United States, Latin America, and Asia. From these talking circles emerged sylvia’s commitment to and practices of nonviolent communication, community building, and conflict transformation. This commitment brought sylvia to obtain a BA in Peace Studies from Goucher College, and continue to Southeast Asia working with nonprofits across the region focused on youth-led peacebuilding. She is a Co-Founder and Board Member of Sarus, a peacebuilding nonprofit that inspires, equips, and accompanies peace leaders in Asia.
sylvia then deepened her studies by obtaining an MA in Coexistence and Conflict and MBA in Social Impact at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, where she focused on peace leadership and organizational capacity building. Afterwards, she expanded to philanthropy as a Program Officer at the Island Foundation funding organizations supporting womxn and girls, youth, immigrants, and domestic and international communities. She currently serves as the Head of Programs and Strategy at the Euphrates Institute. sylvia holds a deep passion for building and nurturing communities that collectively transform conflict and systems with curiosity, connection, and courage.
Wyne Wyne Pyne
Myanmar Coordinator
Wyne Wyne is a development professional with over 15 years of multicultural and diverse experience, specializing in learning and development as well as in environmental management. Currently, she is working as a National Technical Expert for Building Climate Resilience of Urban Systems through Ecosystems-based Adaptation (EbA) in the Asia-Pacific Region - Myanmar together with UNEP and Myanmar's Environmental Conservation Department. She is also an ILO certified Master Trainer, and assists in the the tourism sector's Micro SMEs development.
She actively engages in impact activities for both local and regional youth in ASEAN and South Asian countries on awareness raising campaigns. Wyne holds a Master of Business Administration and Master of Political Management from Aldersgate University, Philippine and Post Graduate Diploma in International Development and Communication Management, from City University, UK.
She also co-founded the “Beat the Plastics Pollution” grassroots movement and Thant Myanmar, which focuses on advocacy and education of the diverse key actors for environmentally sustainable solutions.