Patrick McNamara, Ph.D., serves as Executive Director of the United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission. He has worked with universities, governments, corporations, nonprofits, and foundations for over 35 years. Before joining Fulbright Sri Lanka, Patrick served as Senior International Officer at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where he taught conflict resolution, sustainable development, and social entrepreneurship. Wherever in the world Patrick finds himself, he always tries to visit the libraries.  

Professor Siri Hettige is an Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Colombo and an adjunct Professor at RMIT University, Melbourne. With a BA (Hons) and BPhil in Sociology from the University of Colombo, he earned his PhD from Monash University, Australia. He has been a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. His work spans a wide range of topics including social inequality, social protection, youth unrest, education and health policy, ethnic conflict, and migration, with numerous publications to his credit.

Professor Nilanthi de Silva graduated MBBS from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo in 1986, obtained a M.Sc. in Medical Parasitology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 1989, and MD in Medical Parasitology from the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo in 1994. She has served on the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Parasitic Diseases since 2001, and participated in many WHO meetings relating to soil-transmitted helminths and neglected tropical diseases. She is currently an Associate Editor of the open-access journal PLoS NTDs. She is also a member of the Mebendazole Advisory Committee, an independent body of experts that advises Johnson & Johnson’s Mebendazole Donation Initiative. Her major research contribution is in the epidemiology and control of the soil-transmitted helminth infections, roundworm, whipworm and hookworm.

Ms. Saxena is a Library Professional with over 3 decades of working with British Council Libraries. In her current position she is leading on the delivery of the Digital Library in 30+ countries across the network in South Asia, East Asia, Sub Saharan Africa, Europe and the Middle East. She leads on product development of mobile applications, website content, web portal, digital walls, and any other technological innovations needed for Digital Library in close liaison with external suppliers and internal teams