Elizabeth “Betty” Sam is s a prominent qualified nurse-midwife, researcher, and maternal health advocate with over 40 years’ experience in Sierra Leone’s health system. She completed her Diploma in Reproductive Health at the LSTM and has worked with the Ministry of Health and multiples organisations, developing extensive expertise in maternal and newborn health, emergency obstetric and newborn care, mentorship and capacity strengthening. Betty is passionate about strengthening the skills of healthcare providers and improving the quality of care for mothers and babies and has contributed to operational and applied research to improve sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health.

Mangenda is a teacher and gender expert leading the 2YoungLives programme at Lifeline Nehemiah Projects and working as a research fellow at Welbodi Partnership in Sierra Leone. Having had an adolescent pregnancy herself, she is passionate about supporting girls and ensuring their voices shape research and services. She co-founded 2YoungLives with Lucy and has extensive experience in gender, adolescent health and community-based research. Her PhD was awarded in 2025 and used photovoice with 2YoungLives girls to document their experiences, highlighting family rejection, social stigma and fear of seeking healthcare, as well as the strength they found through peer support, mentoring and community.

Philemon “PS” is Administrative Director of Lifeline Nehemiah Projects (LNP) in Sierra Leone and former Principal of Lifeline Secondary School. Having himself been a beneficiary of LNP in the 1990s, he has since contributed to a range of community and sustainability initiatives and provides community and administrative support to 2YoungLives. He is passionate about supporting marginalised groups and recently researched barriers to healthcare for adolescent girls living with disabilities, highlighting the need for disability-inclusive services, healthcare-provider training and community advocacy to reduce stigma and improve access to care.

Prince is a human rights defender and Executive Director of Lifeline Nehemiah Projects (LNP), a civil society organisation working for the rights of marginalised people, including children, women and people with disabilities. Having himself been a beneficiary of LNP in the 1990s, he has spent over 25 years in various leadership roles within the organisation, becoming Executive Director in 2019. Prince is passionate about engaging and empowering communities and has extensive experience in CEI, including leading community engagement during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. He is also a CEI lead for various global maternal health research programmes at King’s College London and a CEI adviser to the UK’s NIHR.

Suzanne, once the trial manager for 2YoungLives, is now Education, Training and Advocacy Director for Mercy Ships in Sierra Leone. A pharmacist specialised in clinical education, she oversees training onboard the Global Mercy, the world’s largest civilian hospital ship, and leads a land-based team working with the Ministry of Health and University of Sierra Leone to strengthen surgical care. Having lived and worked in Sierra Leone for 15 years, she has extensive experience in health systems strengthening and partnership working, with particular interest in faculty development and clinical skills education.