Harnessing the power of the sun to break the cycle of poverty

Abigail Wilson has spent the past 25 years working with communities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, helping them build brighter, more resilient futures. Through her work with organizations like Save the Children, IFES and FHI 360, she has seen firsthand how the lack of electricity can limit lives—how families have no escape from extreme heat, and how medical clinics go dark when they’re needed most.

Those experiences inspired Abigail to co-found SunRoots, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing clean, reliable solar power to communities on the frontlines of climate change. She believes that access to energy is more than a technical solution—it is a lifeline that supports health, education, and opportunity.

Abigail holds master’s degrees in French and Sustainable Development and lives in Washington, DC.

For more than 25 years, Cheick Diakité has been working to promote democracy and governance in West Africa. With a Master of Arts equivalent in special education and sign language, he has led complex USAID-funded projects in sensitive contexts in Mali, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Chad, the Central African Republic, and elsewhere. His expertise covers civil society strengthening, electoral administration, civic education, and the inclusion of marginalized groups (the deaf, youth, women, minorities) in communities. An experienced trainer and seasoned manager, his career reflects a constant commitment to inclusive governance, citizen participation, and the sustainable development of African civil societies.

Alok grew up in India and built a global career across four continents, working at the intersection of technology, innovation, and social impact. He began his career at Accenture, helping organizations solve complex business problems through technology. At Ericsson, he helped develop and manage the company’s innovation portfolio, spanning M&A, strategic investments, and new product incubation. He also partnered with the CEOs of internal startups to shape strategy, strengthen execution, and accelerate their next stage of growth.

His lifelong belief in the power of transformative technologies, shaped by personal experiences across India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the U.S., ultimately brought him to SunRoots. He believes that solar energy can shift power, literally and figuratively, into the hands of communities long overlooked by traditional systems.

Alok holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering from the National University of Singapore.

Elizabeth Côté is a passionate leader in democracy, governance, and community empowerment, with over two decades of experience across Africa and Asia. She  has worked with local and international partners to help communities shape their own futures, from supporting women’s rights coalitions in Mali to strengthening citizen participation and youth leadership in Guinea, the DRC and Nepal. Her work with IFES,  Counterpart International and UNICEF has always centered on helping vulnerable communities find their voice whether through political participation, civic education or economic empowerment. Now with SunRoots, she brings the same dedication and optimism to promoting solar power as a catalyst for opportunity, equality, and hope.

Graduate from the highest teacher training school ‘’Ecole Normale Superieure’’ (ENSup) of Bamako, Amadou O.Traore is also an alumni of Monterey Institute of  International Studies (MIIS) in California where he studied English for Specific Purposes (ESP). 

He worked for Peace Corps as a language instructor for 8 years. Amadou also served at Save the Children as Documentation and Training Officer before leading ‘’Building with Books’’ currently ‘’Buildon’’ as Country Director. He worked for Intervida and Oxfam as Education Program Manager before joining USAID in October 2013 where he retired in December 31st, 2021 after serving as Senior Education Policy and Strategy Advisor in Mali. Amadou joined SunRoots Energy with a large field experience in community and youth development, management of education programs and adult training. He published ‘’BEEJEKAN’’, Easy Bambara: self-instruction book in Bambara and ‘’KOLEKAN” a manual of locutions, idioms, and proverbs in Bambara and he collaborated in the composition and edition of ‘’The Printed Words/Taalvorming in Mali’’. 

Marie Bellon has extensive experience across francophone Africa, supporting local associations and authorities, civil society groups, women’s networks, and community leaders working to improve daily life in challenging environments. With expertise in community resilience, gender and social inclusion and participative governance—and experience at FHI 360, Forum Réfugiés, ASMAE, and UNDP— Marie believes that meaningful impact comes from human-centred collaboration, led by communities in their own language, adapted to the local context. Deeply convinced of the transformative potential of solar energy and inspired by the creativity and strength of the women and youth she has met in remote areas, Marie joined SunRoots to help expand access to sustainable energy and human development. She holds a master’s degree from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

Charlie Pinder is a seasoned creative with over 20 years working across visual media. With an early career in finance Charlie switched careers to be a commercial photographer serving magazines, travel companies and events. He then moved on to Canon and Red Bull managing their world of imagery, and with time his expertise grew into comms and content.

With a sharp eye for a story his work has moved into crafting compelling video narratives while keeping a trained eye on brand and how to keep it consistent. His work is now heavily focussed on climate and making the world a better place.