VOTING OPEN: Candidates for the Board of Directors
We are delighted to announce the candidates for election to the SSDP International Board of Directors! SSDP International’s Board of Directors is elected from the membership by the membership every year for two-year terms. The board oversees strategic direction, compliance and the Executive Director. This year we have three seats up for election. Voting opens now and will remain open until 7.30 pm CET&WAT/6.30 pm GMT Thursday 26th of January 2023. Results will be announced during the General Assembly on Thursday. Each chapter leader is invited to vote by selecting three candidates in the voting form. Only voters who registered in the voter registration form (which will remain open until the 26th), will be allowed to vote, with one vote per chapter or ambassador.
General Assembly Agenda:
7:00pm CET/6:00pm GMT Thursday 26th of January 2023
Register to vote & you will receive the zoom link for the event
- Opening
- Executive Director Report
- Amendments of Statutes
- Close Voting
- A word from the Chair
- Announcement of New Board Members
- Appointment of Auditors
- Closing
CANDIDATES (in alphabetical order)
We ask that those casting votes take into consideration the need for a balanced and fairly representative board, including but not limited to the following: regional representation, gender balance, representation of lived experience, representation of people of colour, representation of people from the global south, and those with diverse backgrounds. You can find more information about our current board here. Amy Romanello, Isaac Olushola Ogunkola will continue on the board to complete the second have of their term. Ewelle Sylvester Williams has completed his two year term on the board and is running for re-election. Monalisa Magoche is stepping down from her role on the board.
Ravina K. Clarke ‘21
SSDP Liberia
Profile Info: Ladies and Gentlemen I am Ravina Kukor Clarke, 23 years of age. Female by gender and a student reading Environmental Science and Biology at the African Methodist Episcopal University in Liberia. I am a senior student and a Liberian by birth. My experience has been impactful I have learnt a lot already and I am still open up to learning more. And that’s what I am looking forward to the forthcoming years.
Why should people vote for you? I am a young woman with a lot of leadership knowledge and ability already with that the organisation can be a great one. My knowledge plus what the others have can make a great team. I will love to be on the team at the international standard. I am privileged. Thanks
Alhaji Alusine Conteh ‘18
SSDP Sierra Leone
Profile info: I actually came to know about SSDP in 2018, when a friend by the name of Prince Bull Luseni explained to me what SSDP is all about and I became interested in that very moment. I have been opportune to attend many trainings on SSDP Nationally and Internationally. Currently, I am the Chapter president and I have been able to expand the work of SSDP here in Sierra Leone and now we have three campus chapters, with more than 100 members.
I worked with Red Cross Sierra Leone From 2014 up to 2018 in the communication department. I have Diploma in Peace and Conflict Studies, BA in Mass Communication and a Final Year LAW Student.
Why should people vote for you? I believed because of the passion I have for helping Humanity makes me more outstanding for people to vote for me. Also, because of my experience and achievement in the past make me a good candidate. During my term as the President of my Chapter, we have won awards and have been able to make great contributions to the current awaiting New Drug Bill in my country Sierra Leone. We have been able to expand the work of SSDP by establishing three Campus chapters at the Milton Margai Technical University.
Hosein Golafale ‘18
SSDP Liberia
Profile info: I am Hosein Golafale, a Liberian by birth. I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration from the United Methodist University. As a Youth and Student Advocate, I am passionate about working with youth organizations and other legal Institutions in helping to reduce drug s consumers within Liberia. During my Undergraduate studies at the United Methodist University, I joined the SSDP UMU chapter in 2018 and served as Secretary General and I enjoyed working with the SSDP team in Liberia.
Why should people vote for you? I want people to vote for me because I am diligent, results-oriented, and a good team player. Additionally, I am trustworthy and honest. I have worked with a couple of integrity Institutions and not a day I was warned or suspended for dishonesty. I want to plead with the voters to vote for me to be their servant. I promise to work tirelessly in ensuing that the SSDP mission is accomplished.
Uchenna Imo ‘19
SSDP University of Calabar (Nigeria)
Profile Information: Uchenna is studying Public Health at the University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria. Uchenna is very much interested in social impact projects where he plays critical roles in team leadership and project monitoring & evaluation. He expresses his passion towards issues that concerns young people and other vulnerable groups. He is an early career researcher and has published papers around Health Systems Management since 2020. Since 2019, he has served in various leadership and volunteering capacities including in social change groups, one-off projects and grassroots organizations even as he was the Director of Administration at SSDP University of Calabar Chapter. Currently, he is the current President of the SSDP University of Calabar Chapter after he was elected in 2021. Additionally, he was an Advocacy Team Member for the Cross River State Sustaining Evidence Driven Advocacy (SEDA) project in 2021 by the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning (IYAFP) which birthed the youth-friendly SRHR Policy document for the State. He was the monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) lead in the Nigeria Youth SDGs Network, Cross River State Chapter. Currently, he splits his time between leadership and volunteering around monitoring & evaluation roles in grassroots organizations.
Why should people vote for you? It is important to have, as a member of the sensible board, a young person who is knowledgeable and experienced in the field of community engagement on drug advocacy and project monitoring & evaluation. I have the knowledge and experience required to contribute a reasonable quota to the functions of the Board of Directors especially as it concerns engagements across campuses.
Edwin Kollie ‘19
SSDP Liberia
Profile info: My name is Edwin F. Kollie, from Liberia I have been a member of SSDP since 2019. SSDP has helped me gain knowledge on substance abuse and harm reduction. I also want to help young people gain knowledge in SSDP, especially in Africa.
Why should people vote for you? Because I'm the best candidate for the position with my skills and knowledge in SSDP. I can help young people around the world. Vote Edwin F. Kollie for better SSDP in Africa and the World at large.
Arvy K ‘19
SSDP Berlin (Germany)
Profile Info: Brown, queer, PWUD. First-generation migrant with a formidable track record in advocacy across Abu Dhabi, Berlin, and New York. Primary fields of work: drug education/policy & clinical/harm reduction. Affiliated with SSDP Berlin and formerly, SSDP Abu Dhabi and SSDP NYU. Coordinated several regional firsts in the Middle-East: first good samaritan policy in a UAE campus, advocated for informed consent in dietary psychoactives: including statutory warnings for caffeine intake, developed a curriculum based on Just Say Know and trained 3 cohorts of peer-to-peer facilitators for a campus-wide, mandatory drug and alcohol harm reduction program. Currently, working on building the first psychedelic media DAO, Entheoscope, committed to reclaiming psychedelic culture.
Why should people vote for you? Vote for me because I think we can continue making SSDP more accessible to drug cultures around the world. I’ve seen this beautiful organisation take flight. From SSDP to SSDP international, the journey is a reflection of the thousands of new harm reductionists who have access to a community. I want to focus on ensuring access to this community: I want to keep up the momentum, use intersectional lenses to understand our systemic challenges to access and build mechanisms of self-reliance to maintain access. In the coming years of commercial commodification of illegal drugs, the same drugs used to wage the war on drugs, SSDP can be an influential source of support to communities outside of North America. Alongside my management experience at Entheoscope, I want to create an ecosystem-wide effort to reclaim the post-war on drugs narrative for the global south.
Molly Ogbodum ‘20
SSDP University of Calabar (Nigeria)
Profile Info: As a Public Health enthusiast and having demonstrated relevant skills with local, national and international not-for-profits organizations, I foresee projects towards improving health outcomes for young people and marginalized groups. For the past three years, I've engaged with SSDP Unical as the communications Lead, responsible for fostering partnerships and collaborations between the chapter and relevant stakeholders. As a result of this, we've been able to engage more than 50 stakeholders in our workshops and sessions. In lieu of that, due to my active participation and productive involvement with the chapter, I was selected to attend the SSDP Leaders conference in Lagos, Nigeria, this created a platform for further engagement with leaders across the country. On a broader scale, I act as the Harm reduction working group team Lead, where I've conducted a virtual training on harm reduction. I have led advocacy works such as the 16 days activism to end violence against women who use drugs. This was in collaboration with Women in Harm Reduction International Network, as I leveraged my communication skill for our chapter to achieve this and we were able to host an online awareness campaign to end violence against women who use drugs.
These deliverables are all obtainable while working in teams and groups. The dynamics and experiences involved while working with people who use drugs has shaped my mindset towards certain challenges faced by these group and laxity of policymakers to act upon pressing issues. This gap has left an unquenchable passion in me to understand the diversity of health issues they face and how to address these issues.
As a mental health enthusiast, I understand the nexus between drug use and mental illness, it is my goal to address these poor mental outcomes by continuously advocating for Sensible Drug Policies and defending their rights.
Why should people vote for you? With years of demonstrating competence in advocating for Sensible Drug Policy through engagement with relevant stakeholders, I have the mandate to represent at the international level because my set skill is key to the achievement of the organisation's set goals and objectives from local chapters even to the global landscape.
Nikola Seuss ‘22
SSDP Vienna (Austria)
Profile Info: Hi, I am Niko, 20 and I am from Vienna/Austria. I have been a political activist for about 4 years in the socialist youth (SJ). This is a leftist youth organisation related, to the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). Through SJ I learned a lot about our economic system, how policies affect different people and how to organise. But since SJ doesn't focus on one topic only, drug policies specifically weren't a big topic inside our organisation. That's why I decided to join SSDP to address this issue more directly. Also since this topic is of international dimensions, it is not sufficient to just stay local.
Why should people vote for you? I think that I have pretty good knowledge about global drug policies, why they were implemented and how we can change them. Also, since I am studying law and am active inside a political party, I have a more in-depth view of policymaking, our judicial system and international relations.
The global consensus towards drug prohibition has its roots in racism, colonialism, classism and generally oppression by the ruling class. But nowadays we see the devastating effects of prohibition. People who use drugs are being stigmatized, discriminated and killed. We need to stop this. We need to change our system to be based on human rights and science. It is not enough to just decriminalize or legalize some substances, although this would be an important first step. We need to go further. We need to provide accessible health care, financial support and fight the roots of addiction.
I want to support SSDP International in any possible way. We need to build a big network and grow as a movement. We need change.
Ewelle Williams ‘13
SSDP Liberia
Profile Info: After joining SSDP in 2013, the following year, I launch my SSDP Chapter at the United Methodists University in Monrovia. I served as the Chapter Leader that same year and put in a leadership team to manage the chapter as I maintain communication with the International Coordinator. From 2020-2022 I served on the Board of SSDP INT'L and became board chair as well. My primary role as the board chair is to keep the organization on track toward fulfilling its mission. At its core, this role involves facilitating board meetings, exemplifying strong leadership, practising effective governance, and putting change into motion. I hold a bachelor's degree in information technology.
Why should people vote for you? People should vote for me because I have a passion to work and contribute enormously to see the vision and mission of our organization met. I do believe I am more capable to serve.
