Regulatory, Policy and Government Engagement Lead with 15+ years of extensive experience in partnerships, business development, strategic communications, and development programming within the African region. Demonstrated success in establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with government agencies, donors, and private sector organizations, as well as strong expertise in policy, planning, and program delivery. Skilled in leveraging evidence- based decision-making, impact measurement, and innovative thinking to drive organizational growth and competitive positioning. Served as Co-chair of Business and Industry (Private Sector) Major Group in United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) and as a Member of Technical working group and project Steering Committee of the ICGEB led biopesticides project for Southern Africa. Stella also has several years’ experience as a Program Officer, Regulatory Affairs, working for the Africa Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Trade Officer, and Assistant to the Trade Commission for Belgium Embassy and other NGO’s including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Institute of Economic Affairs. Stella attained her MPS (Master’s in Policy Studies) from the South African Regional Institute of Policy Studies, and her B.A. (Hons), Political Science from the University of Nairobi. Her professional development includes postgraduate diplomas in Biosafety in Plant Biotechnology from Ghent University, Belgium, Entrepreneurship, Kenyetta University and Environmental Biosafety, Michigan University, USA. Stella has completed many research, studies and published works including Genetically Modified Crop Science in Africa, Building Blocks for Biofertilizer and Biopesticides Policy Making in Africa, and Effective Regulation of biofertilizers and Biopesticides. She is English (proficient), Swahili (proficient) and French (conversational). Professor Francois was appointed Head of Department of Soil and Rural Engineering in 1999 and led the department until 2002. In 2002, Professor Francois started his MSc training at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the Republic of South Africa. His MSc research was judged exceptional and was upgraded to a PhD project which he completed in 2004. In 2006, Professor Francois was appointed by the Government of Rwanda (Cabinet) to lead the development of the National Land Reform Task Force. In summary, the purpose of the Task Force was to (1). Initiate the land reform in Rwanda, (2). Lead a team of Rwandan experts and DFID experts to execute the project, (3). Lead a review of land reform to allow a better understanding of land reform systems, (4). Develop an adapted land reform model for Rwanda, (5). Advise the Minister of Land with regards to transitional land management. Since 2017, Professor Francois has been leading the association of COMIFAC scientists (10 African countries for Central African Commission of Forests). He also leads the SDSN-FABLE (Food, Agriculture Biodiversity, Land and Energy) project in Rwanda; is the Co-Principal Investigator of the Earth Observation Africa project (supported by the European Space Agency. He is a member of the Rwanda Academy of Science and leads the Research and Post Graduate laboratory of Soil and Plant Sciences.