Mamadou Samba is the Founder and Executive Director of the Pan-African Institute for Municipal Development (PIMD). He has over 15 years of experience with the City of Atlanta, District of Columbia Government as a senior executive. Between 2015 and 2019, Mamadou served as the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of African Affairs, where he led significant achievements that directly impacted the African community and linked to the Mayor’s key policy priorities. In 2016, Mamadou was named one of 20 Young African Influencers in the Diaspora by Shoppe Black Magazine and is recipient of a Congressional Recognition from Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton of District of Columbia. Mamadou received the 2017 Nelson Mandela Award for Social Justice from the UNESCO Center for Peace and the Visionary Leadership Award from the African Studies Association.
Sheyi Ipaye is a Certified Public Manager (CPM) and a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Recruited by the City Council to transform the city and improve the community’s public infrastructure, He has reorganized departments, streamlined business systems, improved customer service, and elevated the professionalism of his staff through the city’s core values of “Teamwork, Integrity, Innovation, and Professionalism through Excellence.” Previously, Ipaye served as City Manager in Palestine, Glen Heights, and Forest Hill, Texas. Ipaye has been city manager for over 25 years. In Forest Hill, he lowered the city’s property tax rate, increased financial reserves, and reduced waste. Under his fiscal leadership, the City of Forest Hill’s Insurance Services Office ISO rating improved from a 5 to 3, helping reduce homeowners’ insurance costs. Standard and Poor’s Rating Service upgraded Forest Hill’s General Obligation Bond Rating from an “A” to “A+,” a first for the city. Throughout his career, he has consistently given back to the community. He is a member of the Lions Club, has served on the Texas City Managers Association’s Nominating Committee, Texas Municipal League Small Cities Advisory Committee and volunteered with the International City & County Manager Association (ICMA), Committee on International Affairs
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Habbach is a global legal and business expert with extensive experience dealing with cross border transactions. Working for Axiom Law as Commercial Counsel, Ms. Habbach, is engaged with the company’s technology focused clients and the Fortune companies it services. Before joining Axiom in 2021, Ms. Habbach served as Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa for Transparent Business, a Software as a Service (SaaS) company offering remote work technology and subsidiary platforms focused on bringing women into the workforce. Previously Hind served as Vice President and Director of Investor Relations at Sentinel Real Estate Corporation where she established networks with institutional partners throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) region to grow the company’s US real estate portfolios. Ms. Habbach holds a BA in Government with a concentration in International Relations, a BA in English from Suffolk University, and a Juris Doctorate from New England Law. Ms. Habbach currently serves as Co-Chair of Suffolk University’s Black Alumni Network and on the Governance Committee of the National Arab American Bar Association.