Global Council

Deepak L. Xavier is a visionary strategist with over two decades of global experience advancing equity across inequality, climate justice, and economic policy. As Head of Advocacy and Campaigns at Oxfam International, he has led transformative efforts that mobilized resources, shaped policy in 60+ countries, and elevated inequality as a global priority. Deepak serves as the Convenor of the Global Council of the Fight Inequality Alliance, which he co-founded, and has been a key architect of campaigns like Even It Up. His work spans 40+ countries, empowering diverse teams and next-generation changemakers in the fight for systemic justice.

A pan-African feminist with over 15 years leading civil society across Southern Africa, Jay serves as Economic Justice Lead at Southern Africa Trust and brings that conviction to her role as Co-Convenor of FIA’s Global Council, having previously led the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development and served as Secretary General of the Southern Africa People’s Solidarity Network, building people-centred movements across the region. Her advocacy has been recognised with a U.S. Secretary of State Anti-Corruption Champion award, Director of the Year in Zimbabwe, and a place among the top 50 Emerging Women Leaders globally. She holds degrees in Politics and International Relations, is completing her LLB, and brings additional qualifications in economics and human rights to her work.

Every debate about inequality eventually comes back to work: who does it, what it pays, and who decides. Beatrice keeps that truth at the centre as Economic and Social Policy Officer at the International Trade Union Confederation, where she fights for universal social protection and living wages through global advocacy and coalition building. She brings the labour movement’s perspective to FIA’s Global Council, connecting workers’ struggles across regions to the wider fight for systemic economic change. Rooted in solidarity and collective power, she builds the kinds of alliances that make real policy change possible.

Chenai Mukumba is the Executive Director of Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), based in Nairobi, Kenya. She provides strategic leadership to advance TJNA’s mission across key thematic areas, driving advocacy for fair and transparent tax systems across the continent. With a master’s in International Relations from Wits University and a master’s in Taxation from the University of Oxford, Chenai brings a powerful blend of policy expertise and global perspective. Her work reflects a commitment to economic justice and equity, positioning TJNA as a leading voice in shaping progressive fiscal policy and amplifying African-led solutions to systemic inequality.

The climate and biodiversity crisis is not a technical problem waiting for a technical fix. It is a justice crisis, and Catherine Rodgers has spent her career treating it that way. An African feminist based in Nairobi, she serves as Co-lead for the Social and Economic Systems pillar at Greenpeace International, mobilising global communities around systemic change rather than surface solutions. She brings deep roots in youth leadership and movement-building from her time as Hub Director at Restless Development Uganda and Global Youth Advisor at ActionAid International, and sits on the boards of Equality Vanguard Kenya and the Global Fund for Community Foundations. Passionate about joy and connection, she finds balance in dance classes and cooking for friends.

Farooq Tariq does not just write about the fight for democracy and human rights. He has lived it. Exiled for eight years under General Zia’s dictatorship and arrested twelve times under Musharraf’s regime for defending democratic rights, he brings a depth of commitment to social justice that goes well beyond the conference room. He serves on the executive committee of the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development, the International Organising Committee of the Asia Europe Peoples Forum, and FIA’s Global Council, connecting struggles across Asia and beyond. He holds a Masters in Applied Psychology from the University of Punjab, has authored several books on poverty, fundamentalism, and activism in South Asia, and has been an active member of Pakistan’s Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights since 1992.

Hardi Yakubu is a Pan-Africanist organiser and social justice campaigner whose work is rooted in grassroots people power. As Movement Coordinator of Africans Rising, a Pan-African movement mobilising people for unity, justice, peace and dignity for all Africans everywhere, he brings deep expertise in cross-border mobilising, organising and Pan-African movement building to the fight for a just continent and world.

Economic justice does not stop at borders, and neither does Sergio. An interdisciplinary human rights activist and researcher, he has spent his career connecting movements across geographies to challenge the systems that keep wealth concentrated and communities marginalised. As an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity, he has worked across Colombia’s National Congress, the think-do tank Dejusticia, and the Center for Economic and Social Rights, where he helped build the Initiative for Human Rights in Fiscal Policy. He now brings that experience to the Tax Justice Network, tackling the fiscal systems that funnel resources away from the people who need them. He holds an MSc in Inequalities and Social Science from the London School of Economics, a master’s in Law from the National University of Colombia, and has studied economics and philosophy along the way.