Obioma Chukwuike
Intersex Nigeria; Africa Intersex Movement; ILGA World
Founder and Executive Director of Intersex Nigeria and serves as Board Chair of the African Intersex Movement (AIM). Obioma is a member of the Board of Directors of ILGA World, contributing to global advocacy for the rights and inclusion of people with innate diverse sex characteristics. They are alumni of Human Rights Defenders Fellowship with International Service for Human Rights and UN Religious and Rights Fellowship with Outright International. Obioma is a scholar and researcher whose work focuses on intersex health, human rights, and decolonizing knowledge systems, grounded in both academic inquiry and community-led research. Their work bridges activism and research, with a strong emphasis on community-led approaches, policy reform, and challenging dominant narratives around intersex bodies.
Sonia Corrêa
ABIA; Sexuality Policy Watch
Sonia, a feminist activist and researcher from Brazil, was the recipient of the award for ‘Lifelong Pursuit of Equality’ at the inaugural International Pride Awards in 2024. Sonia works as an Associate Researcher at ABIA (the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association) and since 2002, she has co-chaired Sexuality Policy Watch, a global policy forum analyzing global trends in sexuality related policies and projects. Sonia’s long history of activism includes involvement in the United Nations negotiations on gender and sexuality related issues at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the 1995 World Conference on Women, and the International Conference that adopted the Yogyakarta Principles.
Mandeep Dhaliwal
Director, Prosperity and Wellbeing Hub, UNDP
Mandeep is a physician and a lawyer who leads the global Prosperity and Wellbeing Hub for UNDP. Mandeep initially joined UNDP in 2008 as the Cluster Leader for Human Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversities. She was the architect and lead for the Global Commission on HIV and the Law and the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Access to Medicines, which UNDP convened on behalf of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS. Prior to joining UNDP, her roles included work with the Lawyer’s Collective HIV/AIDS Unit in India; as a senior adviser to the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute’s Special Programme on HIV/AIDS; and as the lead on HIV care and treatment at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
Julia Ehrt
ILGA World
Julia joined ILGA World in 2018 and has served as the Executive Director since 2021. Before joining ILGA World, she was the Executive Director of Transgender Europe, where she contributed significantly to how trans issues are perceived and debated today in Europe and beyond. She served as a founding Steering Committee member of the International Trans Fund (ITF) until 2019 and as a board member of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) for six years. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, and a signatory to the Yogyakarta Principles plus 10.
Jeffrey O'Malley (chair)
UNDP
Since 2020, Jeff has served as the Senior Advisor on LGBTIQ+ Inclusion at UNDP, based in South Africa while working across Africa and globally. Jeff has been involved in HIV and LGBTIQ+ activism for over 40 years, including as the founding Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (1993-2003) and as the global director of HIV & health work for UNDP, where he initiated UNDP’s work on LGBTIQ+ issues in 2007. He has also worked as the director of the India office of PATH, the Director of Policy and Strategy for UNICEF, at the Harvard School of Public Health, and at the World Health Organization.