The event will include a keynote address from Heba Aly, of the Coalition for the UN We Need and opening Remarks from Rachel Pitman, Executive Director of UNA-USA.

Our distinguished panelists includes:

• Dr. Soon-Young Yoon, moderator

• Augusto Lopez Claro, Global Governance Forum

• Kome Igbogidi, ServiceNow AI

• Jessica Li, UNA-USA National Council member

• Kasch Marquardt, California Youth Climate Policy Leader

The webinar will discuss how we can prioritize prevention and sustaining peace, enhance the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and move towards a single, integrated peace and security pillar under the reform agenda of the Second Charter. 

It will further review the calls to reform and address the goals enumerated in the Summit of the Future which invited stakeholders to consider actionable steps to account for the interests of future generations in national and global decision making.

Calls for reform of the UN Charter aim to address its perceived shortcomings and make the organization more relevant to contemporary challenges, including climate change, emerging technologies, and the need for a more equitable global governance structure.

Features interviews with:

• Security Council

• Strengthening the UN's role to address global challenges

• Increased Democratic Legitimacy

• Modernizing a Second UN Charter

• Streamlining Operations

Summit of the Future - September 2024, world leaders convened at the United Nations to adopt the Pact for the Future, which will include a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations. The Panel will explore how the Pact for the Future can be utilized as a vehicle for Charter Reform.

Keynote Speaker, Heba Aly, Director, UN Charter Reform Coalition

Heba Aly is a Canadian and Egyptian journalist and news executive, currently serving as chief executive officer of the independent, non-profit news agency The New Humanitarian, formerly a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) known as Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). She led the transition of the news agency into its current status as an independent organization, which focuses on conflict journalism, especially in Africa.

Aly was named a 2018 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Her public leadership work involves advocating for quality news coverage of conflict areas and humanitarian work. She has been a speaker at TEDxChamonix and at PeaceTalks.

Moderator: Dr. Soon Young Yoon

Soon-Young Yoon is the NY representative for the International Alliance of Women to the UN. In 2021, she was appointed to the Council on Gender Equality convened by H. E. Ambassador, Abdhulla Shahid, the President of the 76 th UN General Assembly. 

In 2020, she founded and is currently co-director of the Cities for CEDAW History and Futures Project.She was a Social Development officer for UNICEF in the Southeast Asia office as well as the Social Scientist at WHO/SEARO in New Delhi and continues to work as an advisor to the WHO NCH Innovation lab. She is also a founding director of the Coalition for the UN We Need and founding member of the Women Mayor’s Network in association with the National Democratic Institute.

A former columnist for the EarthTimes newspaper, she is co-editor with Dr Jonathan Samet of the WHO monograph, “Gender, Women, and the Tobacco Epidemic.” Yoon received her A.B. in French literature with honors, a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan. She is married to Richard M. Smith, former Editor-in-Chief and President of Newsweek and current President of the Pinkerton Foundation.

Opening Remarks: Rachel Pittman, Executive Director UNA-USA

Rachel Bowen Pittman is a senior nonprofit leader with extensive experience across international peace and security, medicine, science, regulatory affairs, and law. As Executive Director of the United Nations Association of the USA, she leads a national network of 20,000 members and oversees strategic initiatives that support the UN’s mission. Rachel has forged strong global partnerships, secured significant grants to advance education and leadership, and directed successful humanitarian campaigns. A dynamic speaker, she has addressed major forums on sustainable development and advocacy, championing efforts that foster global collaboration and organizational growth.

Rachel holds a B.S.B.A in international business from American University and an MBA in marketing from Johns Hopkins University.

Welcome: Ashley Raveche, President UNA-USA-San Francisco

Ashley Raveche participates in collaborative policy-making for local, state, and national groups with a focus on intersectional approaches and data-driven solutions to address public safety, open government, and human rights issues.

Ashley is the President of the United Nations Association of San Francisco and member of UNA-USA Women Affinity Group. Since 2021, Ashley has spearheaded advocacy through the Ratify Movement, a virtual program structured under U.N. Resolution 1325 Women, Peace and Security which convenes speakers in support of the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2023, Ashley co-sponsored California Assembly Bill 549, CEDAW Act, with the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.

Ashley served as a delegate to the U.N. Human Rights Commission for the 87th Session of the CEDAW Committee, a delegate to Commission on the Status of Women 68th and 69th sessions, and a delegate to the UN Conference of the Parties for Climate 26th - 30th sessions. As a member of the Women and Gender Constituency, she advocated for more robust language to ensure the protection of women, children, indigenous people, and persons with disabilities to be centered in the agreements. Ashley also contributed to the creation of a Disability Caucus recognized at COP-26, and continues to advocate for the U.N. to recognize a formal constituency for disability justice advocates to intervene.

Ashley has received the Emerging Public Leader for the United Nations Agenda 2030 Award for her advocacy in human rights and racial justice and the HERO Award from the Mayor of San Francisco and Human Rights Commission for her advocacy promoting civic engagement.

Panelist: Augusto Lopez-Claros

Augusto Lopez-Claros is Executive Director and Chair of the Global Governance Forum. He has been driving the process, convened by the Global Governance Forum to draft a Second Charter, to show what is possible.  

An international economist with over 30 years of experience in international organizations, including most recently at the World Bank.  For the 2018-19 academic years Lopez-Claros was a Senior Fellow at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.  From 2011 to 2017 he was the Director of the Global Indicators Group, leading the analytical reporting and international benchmarking studies on Enabling the Business of Agriculture and Women, and the study of Business and the Law. 

Earlier in his career he was the Chief Economist and Director of Global Competitiveness Program at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. In this capacity he traveled widely and engaged with senior policymakers in government and the business community on the policy and institutional requirements associated with improvements in the business environment. 

Panelist: “Kome” Oghenekome Igbogidi

Kome Igbogidi is a Senior Product Manager at ServiceNow, specializing in AI and conversational experience products. She brings expertise in user research, strategic planning, and program execution, with a focus on the intersection of technology, social impact, and global development. She also holds leadership roles in the UNA-NCA Young Professionals Program and women's empowerment initiatives where she bridged the gap in AI for SDGs and transitional non-technical individuals to the world of Technology. 

Panelist: Jessica Li

UNA-USA National Council, representative for the Mid-Pacific region, and member of the UNA-SF Advisory Board, focuses on advancing strategic collaboration, effective action, and meaningful dialogue to build a stronger, safer, and more vibrant community.  Jessica also has been a major contributor to the International Organization of Youth (IOY) and currently serves as the Executive Assistant to its founder. 

Panelist: Kasch Marquardt

Kasch Marquardt is from Sacramento, California, and is an incoming freshman at Princeton University intending to major in International Relations. He is a sustainability advocate, and have served as sustainability liaison for the Sacramento City Unified School district the past year, where I worked to pass a resolution establishing guidelines for food waste, as well as conducted an investigation into green schoolyards and gardens within our district. Furthermore, he is a graduate of the first cohort of the California Youth Climate Policy Leadership Program, and has advocated for SB 1182 by writing an op-ed featured in Capitol Weekly with fellow alumnus Liliana Karesh.