Maka Tokhishvili

Chief Executive Officer, Center for Progress

Georgia

Maka Tokhishvili is the chief executive officer of the Center for Progress, a non-profit organization that develops education, women’s rights, and environmental policy and reform. Maka led one of Georgia’s largest political youth movements, engaging over 10,000 young people in higher education policy-making for the first time,creating new scholarship opportunities for more than 6,000 students. As a result of her efforts, the government created a new strategy for education funding. She also filed a successful constitutional lawsuit to overturn a ban on political debates in universities, and as a result of her efforts, they are now permitted in Georgian universities. Maka describes herself as a “one-for-all entrepreneur of democracy,” and her personal mission is to be an ambassador of peace and equality for a better world.