Alia Whitney-Johnson is the founder and executive director of Emerge. She began making and selling jewelry at the age of seven and apprenticed with Paula Dawkins, a nationally known jeweler, at twelve. She loves art, science, international development and business and hopes to combine these interests to help others pursue lives they find meaningful. She currently attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she is pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering. She has worked on tsunami relief in Sri Lanka, helped refine a process for converting agricultural waste into charcoal for use in Haiti, and interned with the World Bank for the Latin America and Caribbean Region. In addition to running Emerge, her current work aims to improve a micro-hydro turbine system with minimal environmental impact for use in Guatemalan villages that are off the electric grid.

Nirukshi De Lanerolle brings compassion to everything she does. She is not only the mother of her 21 year old daughter, but a mother figure to countless more in Sri Lanka through her work with orphanages and children's programs across the country. In the past, she has worked with World Vision Lanka as the Coordinator of Sponsor Relations and currently, in addition to serving as the Emerge Bead Program Coordinator, works with Sarvodaya Suwasetha Sewa Society Ltd. where she is the Web and Donor Relations Manager. Her organizational skills, initiative and fluency in both Sinhala and English are an asset to Emerge. Most of all, we appreciate her heart and her dedication to our work and her incredible initiative to take Emerge to the next level even before she became part of the team!