Lala Touray is an award-winning poet and women’s right activist whose work focuses on promoting the representation of Gambian women in political leadership. She is the Senior Program Officer on Gender, Elections and Governance at the National Democratic Institute. She serves as an appointed adviser to the Gambian Government on youth issues at the National Youth Council of The Gambia. She is a Mandela Washington Alumni who worked as Country Coordinator of the Gender Center for Empowering Development, where she implemented programs geared towards promoting women’s rights and leadership in politics. She previously worked with the International Republican Institute and the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission.