Maryana Iskander

Executive Board Member & CEO

Maryana Iskander has served since 2013 as Chief Executive Officer of Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, a leading social enterprise building African solutions to tackle the global challenge of youth unemployment. She brings a track record of scaling organisations through partnership models, data-driven delivery, talent management and technology innovation. In 2019, Maryana led Harambee to receive the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Conscious Companies Award.

Previously, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a US$1 billion organisation that is America’s largest provider of women’s healthcare. Maryana was an associate at global consultancy McKinsey & Company, and a law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

She earned a B.A. magna cum laude from Rice University, an M.Sc. from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she received a Distinguished Alumna Award. Maryana is a Henry Crown Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She also serves on the board of World Education Services, a leading institution in the field of education and professional development.

Other Interesting Articles

Harambee in the News

Accenture Development Partnerships collaborates with Harambee to build a tool to measure the ‘S’ in ESG

22 Feb 2024


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Harambee in the News

Sharmi Surianarain discusses the “Right to Work or not to Work” on “Beyond a Declaration – What Rights Can Do” with Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung

29 Jan 2024

In Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the right to work is clearly declared. It encompasses free choice of employment, just and favorable conditions, and protection against unemployment. But do these rights truly manifest in people’s lives? If not, how can we bridge the gap between declaration and reality?


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Cape Town's Tourism Boost: Youth Employment Surges at V&A Waterfront

Harambee in the News

Cape Town’s Tourism Boost: Youth Employment Surges at V&A Waterfront

07 Dec 2023

In a recent article, Busisiwe Mavuso, CEO of Business Leadership SA, highlights the critical issue of youth unemployment in South Africa and emphasizes the need for collaboration between business and government to address this pressing challenge. Mavuso points out that while businesses face various economic challenges, youth unemployment poses the most significant risk to social stability.


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