The Emerge Force
The Emerge Board of Directors
Alia Whitney-Johnson
Founder & CEO
Alia is an experienced social entrepreneur with over fifteen years of experience working with children who’ve endured trauma, sexual abuse, and exploitation. She founded Emerge at the age of 19 after a tsunami relief trip to Sri Lanka and has remained deeply involved ever since. She is also the Co-Founder of Freedom Forward (www.Freedom-Forward.org), a non-profit that is working to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of youth in San Francisco through systems change. Alia has experience as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and has served on several boards including the MIT Corporation (MIT’s board of trustees), SERES Global, and Emerge Lanka Foundation. She holds a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Chair of the Board of Directors
Jehan Mubarak
Jehan is a former international cricketer and water polo player. He has represented Sri Lanka at three Cricket World Cups and captained many teams throughout his career. Jehan is a qualified high performance cricket coach. He is currently the head coach of the Sri Lanka Under-19 cricket team. Jehan holds a degree in Physical Science from the University of Colombo. He also served as the Chairman of Colombo Round Table 1, a charity and fellowship club which provided the Emerge Centre for Reintegration with its first funding in 2016. Jehan has since worked closely with Emerge and plays an active role of spreading awareness while providing his insight into Emerge strategies. He is passionate about Emerge and the cause we represent and is an active part of all our programmes and events.
Swasha Malalasekera
Treasurer of the Board of Directors
Swasha holds a BSc in Accounting and Finance and ATCL, LLCM and FTCL in Speech and Drama. She is the owner and director of The Studio, Fine and Performing Arts Academy, and the T and T Villas (Pvt) Ltd. Swasha is also the Founder of Nama Sanctuary Foundation. A safe house in Sri Lanka, the only one of its kind which helps victims of Abuse and Domestic Violence heal and live empowered, independent lives. An accountant by profession, her love for the performing arts and humanity has changed her life’s purpose. To fight for and on behalf of women and children that have been victimized for no fault of their own, and to make a difference, is her goal. Through this goal, Swasha joined Emerge Lanka Foundation and is currently part of the Board of Directors, where she empowers young women who have experienced sexual abuse.
Priya Sivagananathan
Secretary of the Board of Directors
Priya Sivagananathan is an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. She is a law graduate of the London School of Economics & Political Science, Barrister-at-law and a member of the Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn. She is a Partner at Julius & Creasy, Attorneys-at-Law & Notaries Public, since 2008. She specializes in the areas of Banking and Finance, and Aircraft Leasing. She is also a member of the Board for the Office for Reparations, which is an independent body established to manage Sri Lanka’s reparations regime and grant reparation to victims of conflict.
Farzana Khan
Director of the Board
Farzana has a Bachelor of Business Administration (Second Upper) from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura and an MBA from PIM, where she passed as a Merit student. Her research thesis on a comparative study of the Corporate Social Responsibility models was published in the PIM Journal. She is also a member of the Association of Business Executives (UK) and the Australian Computer Society (ACS) and a trained Speech and Drama teacher from the Trinity Colleague of London. She also serves as a Board Member and is a past president of the Rotary Club of Colombo Regency.
​​The Emerge Cause Ambassadors
Russel Arnold
From representing the National Cricket Team of Sri Lanka to become an eloquent International Cricket Commentator, Russel brings an aura of professionalism and positivity to represent our mission. His positive, upbeat, and passionate attitude transcend from the commentary box into his life of representing the Emerge cause. Russel is inspired by the resilience and strength of our program participants and has been very keen to learn more about child protection in Sri Lanka. His focus will be on raising awareness through his platforms and networks and creating a community to give towards Emerge. Russel is a great advocate for our resilient survivors and holds great importance in their confidence and strong mental health as essential elements in the process of reintegrating into society as adults.
Chamari Attapaththu
Chamari is the Captain of the Sri Lanka Women's Cricket Team. Her philosophy of leading the team to play "freely, positively, and with courage" has propelled the national team to be formidable. Chamari has been on several international tours in the past year and has been taking women’s cricketing to the next level with her talent and drive. She is an incredible inspiration to the young girls Emerge works to support – and is a firm believer that every program participant we work with, has immeasurable strength and potential. As someone who has overcome many obstacles in her sporting life; Chamari understands and advocates for transformational impact. Chamari is a representation of hard work and shines as she breaks through barriers and glass ceilings to navigate her journey as an international sports personality.
Indu and San Dharmasena
A renowned playwright and dramatist who has written over 60 plays, Indu and his extremely talented wife San join the Emerge journey as Brand Ambassadors as of July 2021! Indu and San together use the magic of theatre to bring forward interesting topics and create awareness through humor and thought provoking art. Their collective ability to bring the best out of people creatively will help the program participants at the Emerge Centre for Reintegration unlock new skills and talent. They see theatre as a medium that will help our participants express themselves and enhance their confidence and become unstoppable in their authentic selves. Indu and San believe that each of our program participants should have the space to express themselves and learn of their own potential through that expression.
Bhoomi Harendran
Best known for her activism in achieving equality and accessibility for the local transgender community through the National Transgender Network, Bhoomi is fearless in her work and is a champion of empowerment. Bhoomi believes that our survivors deserve dignity and respect, and that independence is key to achieving a wholesome life, where they can live authentically. She looks forward to working closely with our Centre Participants; and puts an emphasis on "empowering" them to be the best versions of themselves. Bhoomi is a fountain of knowledge, and it adds an edge, confidence, and wisdom to our journey.
