Our Team

  • Portrait of a woman with short black hair, glasses, wearing a colorful African dress with green and gold patterns, standing against a blue background.

    Thérèse Nzale, Executive Director + Co-founder

    Making the dream a reality. | Faire du rêve une réalité.

  • A woman with long, light brown hair smiling, wearing a dark top and a patterned scarf, standing in front of a plain off-white wall.

    Danielle Prince, Board President + Co-founder

    Human. Kind. Be both. | Humain. Bienveillant. Soyez les deux.

  • L'Or Ipansi, Board Member

    Masters Student in Development Economics at the Université Protestante au Congo.

  • A man wearing a black flat cap, glasses, and a black jacket, smiling inside a building with large windows.

    Andreas Herbst, Board Treasurer

    30 years of organizational leadership in youth development. Still not tired enough to stop.

  • A man with short hair wearing a blue and white checkered shirt, posing against a plain white background.

    Sadam Mabana, Driver + Jack of all Trades

    On est ensemble. | We’re in this together.

  • Close-up photo of a woman with red hair smiling at the camera.

    Ellen Marshall, Board Member

    "One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks." - Jack Penn

  • An African woman wearing dark sunglasses and a colorful, patterned dress with red, yellow, and blue designs, standing against a plain white background.

    Marguerite-Marie Tsesi, Board Member

    Soutenir une fille, c’est un acte de justice. | Supporting a girl is an act of justice.

  • A woman wearing a white shirt and gold earrings, smiling at the camera, with a stone wall and a colorful object in the background.

    Benjamine Munanga, Focal Point, Goma

    The time is now, not tomorrow. | Le moment, c’est maintenant. Pas demain.

Our Story

Young Women Emerge (YWE) was born from a powerful partnership rooted in purpose.

In 2020, two passionate individuals—Therese Nzale, from RD Congo, and Danielle Prince, from the USA—met while working together in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). What began as professional collaboration quickly evolved into a deep bond grounded in shared values, vision, and a commitment to justice.

Through their work, Therese and Danielle discovered a profound synergy. They realized they were not only effective partners but also co-dreamers with a shared passion: empowering young women to overcome the systemic challenges of gender inequality, poverty, and violence.

In 2024, that passion became a reality. Together, they founded Young Women Emerge, a grassroots organization shaped by Therese’s lifelong dream and the urgent needs of girls in the DRC. YWE was created to be a space where girls can reclaim their futures, be mentored, gain skills, and emerge as leaders in their communities.

With over 55 years of combined experience promoting human rights, education, and women’s empowerment, Therese and Danielle bring a legacy of advocacy to YWE. Their work spans continents and causes, but their focus remains constant: to support girls and young women in building lives of strength, purpose, and possibility.

YWE is the result of years of vision, trust, and collaboration. It represents what’s possible when women come together to build something bold—something that doesn't just serve, but transforms.

Because when one young woman emerges, communities change—and the future begins to shift.