Ashoka Indonesia 

Nani has been dedicated to women’s empowerment since 1987, focusing on poverty eradication and combating discrimination through social, economic, and political initiatives. A graduate of Bogor Agricultural Institute (1985) with a master’s degree in Sociology from North Carolina State University, USA (1993), Nani identifies as a community organizer, gender and development specialist, educator, feminist, activist, social entrepreneur, and changemaker.   

From 1995 to 2000, Nani served as the director of PPSW (The Center for Women’s Resources Development) before founding PEKKA (Women-Headed Family Empowerment) in 2001. PEKKA supports over 3,000 community-based organizations of poor rural widows, divorced, abandoned, and single women across more than 1,600 villages in 27 of Indonesia’s 38 provinces. Through PEKKA, these women build movements to challenge stigmas against single women, access resources, achieve justice, and participate in decision-making processes at various levels.   

In 2016, Nani established the Akademi Paradigta Indonesia, a structured leadership training program that annually graduates around 500 grassroots women leaders. She has also co-founded and co-led several influential networks, including ASPPUK (Association of Small and Micro Enterprises Empowerment Organization), ALIMAT (network of Scholars and Activists for Muslim Family Law Reformation), and JASS (Just Associates). Additionally, Nani plays leadership roles in global education networks such as ASPBAE (Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education) and ICAE (International Council for Basic and Adult Education).     

In 2020, Nani joined Ashoka as the Southeast Asia Diamond Leader, continuing her mission to foster gender equity and transformative social change across Indonesia and beyond.   

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Retha has been active in the non-profit sector since she first served as Student Senate President at Udayana University, Bali in 2004. Her experience in public relations and radio production then led her to launch Club SPEAK with Transparency International Indonesia, promoting anti-corruption values among youth. In 2010, Ashoka honored her as a Young Intrapreneur for her innovative approach to engaging youth in social movements. 

In 2012, Retha co-founded Indorelawan.org, now Indonesia’s largest volunteer platform with over 284,000 volunteers and 6,200 partner organizations. The initiative has strengthened youth civic engagement and empowered social projects nationwide, from education, healthcare, to environmental protection. Retha is also an active member of Koalisi Seni, a policy advocacy organization in arts, and Sindikasi, a labour union for workers in media and creative industry. 

Retha is a champion of Appreciative Inquiry and asset-based approaches to drive change. She holds a bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology and a master's degree in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from The Australian National University. She currently serves as Southeast Asia Integrator at Ashoka. 

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Ara Kusuma began her changemaking journey at age 10 with Moo’s Project, a social initiative empowering 150 farmers in Boyolali, Indonesia, to adopt sustainable practices. Her work earned her recognition as a Young Changemaker by Ashoka and a feature on Kompas as a Young Pioneer in 2008. 

Guided by her vision of Mulya Sesarengan ("for the welfare of all"), Ara founded initiatives to inspire teenagers to collaborate with social innovators and create their own impactful solutions. As Youth Years Manager for Ashoka Indonesia, she championed the Everyone A Changemaker movement, encouraging young people to practice empathy and realize their potential. She partnered with leading educational networks such as Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the Ministry of Education, integrating changemaking principles into over 350 schools across Indonesia. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ara launched the Aha! Project to provide quality education for underprivileged children. The initiative reached more than 4,500 children in 64 villages across 18 provinces, ensuring access to learning in challenging times. 

For her commitment to social innovation and education, Ara was honored as a National Geographic Young Explorer in 2020, continuing her dedication to empowering youth and fostering meaningful change. 

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Rezza has a 10-year track record in fostering positive change through youth development programs and sport-related programs. He has taken the helm in organizing numerous national and international programs with the Ministry of Youth & Sports Indonesia and supports the process of selection of several flagship youth exchange programs. In 2018, Rezza successfully recruited, trained, and managed 7000 national & international volunteers for the Asian Para Games 2018. This achievement brought him to serve as the Media & Public Relations Coordinator for the Indonesia Olympic Committee and be part of Team Indonesia for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He is also selected as one of the directors for the ASEAN Para Sports Federation between 2019-2022.  

Presently, His role involves spearheading the search and selection process for Ashoka Fellows in Indonesia and Southeast Asia while actively collaborating with over 200 Ashoka Fellows in driving the transformative Everyone a Changemaker Movement. In addition, He leads the Spiritual Changemakers Initiative in Indonesia and successfully brought more than 52 Multi-Faith organizations from 20 provinces in Indonesia to the Spiritual Changemakers community. 

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Rina Kusuma is an experienced coach, mentor, and facilitator with over 20 years in Indonesia’s environmental NGO sector, focusing on children, youth, and women’s development. In 2008, she founded Teens Go Green, a volunteer-based youth club promoting environmental awareness across Indonesia. At EcoNusa Foundation, she launched the School of Eco Diplomacy and Papuan Young Researcher programs to empower young people in biodiverse but underserved eastern Indonesia. 

Rina holds an MA in Children, Youth, and International Development from Brunel University London and currently serves as Family Changemaking Program Manager at Ashoka Indonesia. Since 2022, she has trained 150 family facilitators across Indonesia in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Children Protection. 

She is also an Advisor for GYBN (Global Youth Biodiversity Network) Indonesia, Board member of Teens Go Green Indonesia, and co-initiator of Kaum Muda Tanah Air. A single mother of two, Rina enjoys baking, making kimchi, and watercolor sketching (check her artworks on Instagram: @sketsarina)

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Sabrina has 7 years of professional experience in finance, operations, and tax across both corporate and non-profit sectors. She has been actively involved in Toastmasters International for the past 9 years, holding various roles up to the regional level, including Chair of Club Growth Director in District 87 (Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, and East Malaysia). In recognition of her contributions to regional growth, she received the Division Director Award in 2020. 

Sabrina has also been a judge for school and university speech contests at both national and regional levels, including events like ALSA UI and the Asian English Olympic (AEO) since 2022. 

Currently, she focuses on supporting Ashoka Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines with financial and operational matters while participating in professional-level public speaking competitions. Sabrina's diverse experiences highlight her commitment to personal and professional growth in multiple fields. 

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With over 17 years of experience, Nila has built a global career in communications, partnerships, marketing, and branding. She started her career in 2008, as a journalist at Koran Tempo, covering social, political, and urban issues for almost seven years. 

In 2015, she moved to the digital agency world, joining GetCraft. As Production Director, Nila leads a team to help hundreds of clients run thousands of digital marketing campaigns—from website and blog development to media relations, social media development management, and influencer collaboration. Having a keen interest in education, she is involved in a content marketing master class project for freelance creators and a volunteer English teacher at PAUD Anggrek Tunas Mandala, East Ciputat, South Tangerang. 

Her expertise in POAC (Planning, Organizing, Actuating, Controlling) and negotiation, especially in national and international events, was further honed when she served as Account Director at 360 Marketing Agency (BUBU), in 2022. She then strengthened her collaboration and partnership building skills as the head of the marcomm team for a private hotel company and as a marcomm consultant for CSO - Save the Children. 

Currently, at Ashoka Indonesia, Nila takes on the role of Communications & Partnerships Manager. She also serves on the board of CommsLab, a non-profit institution dedicated to communication education for young people, journalists, policymakers, and CSO practitioners. 

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Dally has built a rich and diverse 10-year career focused on driving entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability. With extensive firsthand experience building innovation around agriculture and technology, as well as mentoring young entrepreneurs, Dally has worked with various sectors from public, private, CSO, and universities to empower innovation and entrepreneurship in Indonesia. Through projects, workshops, and partnerships, Dally has helped nurture solutions that address pressing environmental and social challenges. The leadership has extended to pioneering technology and exploring inclusive models to create equitable economic opportunities.

Currently, Dally serves as Program Manager for ASPIRe, a global initiative by Ashoka that supports social entrepreneurs in designing for exponential social impact by activating agency, leveraging changemaking networks, and fostering impactful collaboration among stakeholders. By optimizing the use of data and enabling technology, ASPIRe empowers social entrepreneurs to drive systemic change at scale. Through this work, Dally collaborates with Ashoka fellows worldwide, advancing Ashoka's mission to create a world where everyone is a changemaker.

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Since 2021, Engel has been an active environmentalist in Maluku Province and campaigns on issues around the climate crisis on rural small-island communities. She is a founder of #TarusJagaRumah environmental campaign, which is a platform for intergenerational collaboration through local approaches. She actively engages in environmental projects such as providing ocean literacy for students, beach clean-up, mangrove and tree plantation, coral reef preservation, Education in Emergencies, advocacy to village authories, etc. 

Engel is currently taking part as a Youth Years Associate in Ashoka Indonesia. Most of her work focuses on the ecosystem of youth and education. This all to reach the stage of “Everyone a Changemaker.” 

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With over five years of experience in finance and a background in communication education, Tristin demonstrates that anything can be learned in this world. 

At Ashoka, Tristin serves as a Finance Associate, responsible for managing and ensuring that the institution's financial system operates in accordance with existing regulations.

Adam enjoys walking and began his steps with the Student Executive organizations (BEM) of Universitas Indonesia, where he and his friends promoted youth engagement in environmental and educational issues. 
 
He once led an environmental campaign involving over 7,000 new students. During the pandemic, as the Deputy Head of the Social Affair Department of BEM UI, Adam collaborated with the university and faculty-level BEMs across UI to support a vaccination program, successfully vaccinating over 10,000 students and local communities 

Adam joined Ashoka as a Challenge Management Intern, supporting social initiatives across Indonesia to combat the climate crisis. Currently, he serves as a Youth Years Associate, driving the “Everyone a Changemaker” movement within education and youth ecosystems. 

In his spare time, Adam writes poetry to express his thoughts on social dynamics and issues around him. 

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Verren Ivandra is a passionate advocate for social impact, community development, and youth empowerment. With a background in business administration, she has extensive experience in project management, communications, and program coordination. Verren has worked with various organizations, including Girl Up Jakarta and Amnesty Amawa Wikreti where she has played a key role in fostering meaningful discussions, organizing impactful events, and promoting change-making initiatives. 

She has been actively involved in initiatives such as the TEDx East Cempaka Baru Street Women event and a writing workshop at Amnesty Amawa Wikreti, collaborating with renowned speakers to amplify youth voices through literature. Currently, Verren serves as an Operation Associate at Ashoka Indonesia, where she plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth execution of internal operations.  

Beyond her professional endeavors, Verren enjoys reading and watching movies. Whether through her work or personal pursuits, she is driven by a mission to create a more inclusive and empowered society. 

Risa has over five years of experience developing and managing programs focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Peacebuilding. With a strong background in these areas, she facilitates multidisciplinary innovation to support diverse communities, with a particular emphasis on empowering women and youth and promoting inclusive education.

As a Venture and Fellowship Associate at Ashoka, Risa actively supports the search and selection process for Ashoka Fellow candidates in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. She collaborates with more than 200 Ashoka Fellows in Indonesia to strengthen the transformative Everyone a Changemaker movement and drive positive change through impactful collaboration.

Additionally, Risa is an administrator for the women's community Srikandi Lintas Iman in Yogyakarta. Drawing from her extensive experience, she founded the Legal Aid Institute and established the Infinity Law Center (ILC) in Yogyakarta in early 2024. This initiative emerged from shared concerns and collaborative efforts to support victims of sexual violence, particularly women, children with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups.