We are expanding a bit, so I wanted to take a brief moment to introduce the newest additions to Panoply Digital. The Panoply Digital Associates joined us in 2017 and represent some of the brightest lights in the field bringing with considerable capacity for knowledge management, for programming, evaluation, informatics, and more. Truly an exceptional bunch.

Most importantly, they signal that Panoply Digital is now squarely in the business of building appropriate solutions to development challenges. Our associates are not only leading global experts in all things ICT4D, but they are enthusiastic about what we are trying to do at Panoply Digital. They share our passion about the power of technology to make an impact, both in developing and developed contexts, and want to work with organisations that feel the same way. So we couldn’t be more thrilled to have them on board.

Brian Omwenga is a Computer Science doctoral candidate and part-time lecturer at the University of Nairobi, School of Computing and Informatics. He holds a Graduate Degree in Engineering Systems, Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is currently the Lead Enterprise Architect for the Kenya Government Enterprise Architecture. He has previously worked for PwC, Microsoft, and Nokia Research Africa. He has been credited as a respected African inventor with several publications and software patents. He is the founding chair of the Tech-Innovators SACCO of Kenya and also currently the chairman of the Software and Systems Engineering technical committee at the Kenya Bureau of Standards. He can be found, among other places, on Twitter @brianomwenga.

Eko Prasetyo specialises in ICT4D project management and evaluation. He has several years of experience of working directly with communities, civil society organisations and governments in Indonesia and neighbouring countries. His projects included open data for improving public services, mHealth for maternal and newborn health, and e-learning for university students in Southeast Asia. He contributed to feasibility studies for open contracting data standards and open assets declarations for public officials in Indonesia. Most recently, he co-authored research papers in data-driven projects and their potential contribution to SGDs. He can be found on Twitter @talibambu.  

Thelonius Cook is the sole proprietor and manager of a small-scale organic farm. He holds an MSc in Practicing Sustainable Development with ICT4D specialism from Royal Holloway, University of London, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) with a dual concentration in Telecommunications and Information Knowledge Management (IKM) from James Madison University. He has a strong IT background and more than a decade of experience researching, designing and implementing ICT projects. His expertise ranges from programming to hardware networking, and Thelonius has experience living and working in East Africa. There, he has implemented and supported ICT projects in a range of sectors, including agriculture and education, for governments, community-based organizations, schools and hospitals. He can be found on Twitter as well as @goosefists. Check out his farm page as well!

We might have a few more announcements along these lines in the coming months, but these three associates are an exceptional bunch and we can’t wait to get started with them. To learn more about who they are, check out our Associates page or click the link on their name to go to their LinkedIn profiles.