Isaiah Zimba Chabala - Moderator
Isaiah Zimba Chabala, a distinguished former Zambian career foreign service officer with 31 years of service, has held various significant roles, including Under-Secretary for Budget and Economic Affairs, Director of Economic and Technical Cooperation, and Deputy Permanent Secretary. He has extensive diplomatic experience, having served as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, and Ambassador and Permanent Representative to United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva and the European Union. Additionally, Chabala is the Founder and President of Visionary Consulting Associates and Visionary Empowerment, Inc, dedicated to women’s empowerment and humanitarian projects. He is a recipient of the 2017 “Spirit of the United Nations” Award and serves on the boards of several non-governmental organizations. Chabala is also a committed member of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan, actively participating in various roles and community engagement initiatives.
Dr. Remi Alapo
Dr. Remi Alapo is a Professor at the City University of New York [CUNY]. At CUNY, York College, she is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Black Studies and Cultural Diversity. She was on the department’s Social Justice committee in the Spring of 2021. Since the Fall of 2023, Dr. Alapo has been on the Faculty Council as the History Department’s delegate. At CUNY BMCC, she is an Adjunct lecturer in Africana Studies. Her research interests are Post-Colonial Studies, Gender, and Cross-cultural studies. Outside of academia, Dr. Remi is the Director of the Institute for Peace and Leadership, Inc. An organization in Brooklyn with a focus on SDG 16 on peacebuilding; justice, and strong institutions; and 17 on partnership building. She is an Ambassador for Peace with the Universal Peace Federation [UPF], and a Civil Society Representative at the United Nations representing organizations such as the Women’s Federation for World Peace International [WFWPI], African Views Organization, and Women’s Consortium of Nigeria [WOCON]. She is a board member of the New York African Studies Association [NYASA]. She is a member of the Women in Ministry section of the American Clergy Leadership Conference [ACLC].
Fainos Mangena, PhD
Fainos Mangena is a full professor of Philosophy and Ethics at the University of Zimbabwe’s Department of Philosophy, Religion and Ethics. He is currently the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the same institution. His areas of research interest are African Philosophy and ethics, African Jurisprudence and Environmental Ethics and Law. He has just completed his Bachelor of Laws Degree with the University of South Africa. His latest publications are: “Race, Colonialism, Ubuntu and Africa’s Development.” In: E Chitando and E Kamaara (eds.). Values, Identity and Sustainable Development in Africa, Springer (2022), and “African Ethics.” In: E Imafidon (ed.). Handbook of African Philosophy: Central and Emerging Subject Areas, Springer, (2023).
Arline Woodbury, M.D.
My choice of medicine as a profession, and psychiatry as a specialty, actually reflects the fact that I am the first child of a mother who became a social worker in New York City, and a father who became a medical doctor specializing in internal medicine and nuclear medicine. Working as a psychiatrist, both as a clinician, a researcher, and as an administrator, in mostly urban settings, exposed me to the social and political aspects of health care. Immediately upon completing my medical training, I went to six community clinics in Newark, NJ. They were assigned to me as part of my paying back the scholarship I was awarded for medical school through the United States Public Health Service. I brought my mother to my clinic and was part of the team of doctors that diagnosed her to have Alzheimer’s.
Having nothing at that time to offer my mother was very frustrating. Thus began a 16 years journey of being the caregiver for my mother, as well as a doctor for hundreds of patients. I am still involved in a lifetime search for elusive answers to some of our most challenging health issues. I have attended domestic and international medical conferences, and natural / alternative health conferences. I also frequently review medical journals. My work in neurology increased my interest in stem cell research and brain mapping studies.