Tian Johnson
Co-Principal Investigator (Community Engagement & Advocacy): BRILLIANT HIV Vaccine Discovery Consortium
International Civil Society Observer: The Robert Carr Fund
Member: South African Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Vaccines
Member: Inter-Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) Technical Working Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
Senior Fellow: Aspen New Voices 2021
Gender-Based Violence Expert Advisor: Hands Off II – AidsFonds
Member & Convener: Vaccine Advocacy Resource Group
An Aspen Institute 2021 New Voices Fellow, African queer advocate and founder of the African Alliance, Tian has, for nearly two decades, worked on a vast range of development areas with a track record of navigating and influencing policy and community spaces from “grassroots” to “grasstops”. Historically, Tian’s work centred around strengthening community-based and national networks of AIDS service organizations, access to education for girls, the prevention of gender-based violence, creating and sustaining networks of people with HIV and documenting South Africa’s integrated strategy for the prevention of, response to and support for survivors of sexual assault, billed by former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon as a best practice model. While directing a national programme that sought to end rape in all forms of detention, Tian has also focused on inner condom programming and contraceptive access, vaginal microbicide…
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…programming models, the intersections of faith and sexual rights, and a review of comprehensive sexuality education models in 12 African countries.
Tian managed the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights portfolio of a regional gender justice organization as well as consulted on work that analyses the monitoring and mitigation of the impact of gender violence and HIV amongst sex workers in addition to co-authoring an analysis of women’s access to paralegal services in the context of HIV and gender-based violence in Sub Saharan Africa. Tian’s work includes setting up inner condom distribution, marketing and training centres in all nine provinces of South Africa, and working with U.S. diplomatic missions in the region to move partnerships, resourcing and programming priorities further along the road towards gender transformative implementation. An independent consultant, Tian currently sits on the Strategic Advisory Group for the Coalition to Accelerate and Support Prevention Research (CASPR) a five year USAID supported project that seeks to build and sustain an Africa-centred network for advancing advocacy, policy, regulatory, community engagement and communications efforts to accelerate biomedical HIV prevention research. Tian represents a global group of independent HIV Vaccine advocates, the Vaccine Advocacy Resource Group (VARG) on the African AIDS Vaccine Virtual Network Steering Committee, and globally convenes the VARG. The VARG is an independent, advocate led, global team of AIDS prevention research advocates that play a critical liaison role in the highly complex field of HIV vaccine research. Tian advises on a range of innovative network building and civil society strengthening and accountability interventions in the region and is particularly keen on exploring ways in which civil society is held accountable for ensuring effective awareness, prevention and justice-based responses to sexual harassment within the sector.
Today Tian serves as the International Observer for Civil Society on the Robert Carr Fund, the world’s leading international fund focused on funding regional and global networks led by and involving and serving inadequately served populations (ISPs). The fund is a cooperative effort of donors and civil society, structured to maximize participation, empowerment, equity, transparency and accountability in fundraising and grant-making. In addition, Tian is a member of the South African Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Vaccines, The African CDC’s COVID-19 African Vaccine Delivery Alliance (AVDA) and Gender-Based Violence Expert Advisor for the Hands Off II – housed at Dutch NGO AidsFonds – which aims to reduce violence against sex workers in South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Tanya Charles
Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (2018-2019)
Gender and Human Rights Consultant: Research, Policy Analysis &Training
Tanya is an African feminist who has years of experience working to advance women’s rights, gender equality and social justice across Africa and globally. She has expertise in research, policy development, curriculum design and relationship management. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences and Inequality from the London School of Economics and a Master of Philosophy in Justice and Transformation (Human Rights Law), and undergraduate degrees in Social Anthropology and Media Studies all from the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
She is currently based in the United Kingdom at the Atlantic Institute where she develops bespoke programming (webinars, skills training and place-based) for Atlantic Fellows and staff to support their efforts to end inequality. She is interested in and prioritises programming that is focused on centering indigenous voices and perspectives and highlighting new perspectives that often go unheard or are sidelined. Tanya likes to paint and read poetry when time allows.
Allan Moolman
Allan Moolman has extensive experience managing, monitoring and coordinating grant portfolios in team-based settings continentally and globally since 2007. In addition to grant-making, all the portfolios he has managed included a significant capacity development component that he delivered directly (through dala!) and through contracted service providers.
Most of his experience is in the design delivery, monitoring, management, and evaluation of complex programmes, spanning global settings, and East and Southern Africa on the continent. Allan has broad experience across various thematic areas, ranging from gender and HIV, to economic livelihoods. He has also worked across several organisational forms, from community-based organisations and the labour movement, to learning networks at local, regional and global levels, to work with and in formal NGOs and international NGOs.
Malerato Angelina Ramotsabi
Malerato Angelina Ramotsabi is a lifelong community health activist. Ramotsabi has led some of the most impactful door-to-door health justice campaigns in South Africa.
Having been at the forefront of award-winning interventions, such as total control of the epidemic, which sees communities of over 100 000 people being mobilised over a three-year period on HIV and STIs and knowing their status.
Ramotsabi continues this critical work and has expanded her advocacy to early childhood development. Having served for over a decade, the African Alliance is certain she will ensure that our history is carried out in various interactions.