Monique Villa was appointed CEO of Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2008, shortly after the acquisition of Reuters by Thomson. She has since transformed the former Reuters Foundation into a strategic, high-impact and truly global corporate foundation that reflects the expertise and business acumen of the company.

With the strong belief that information is a form of aid that can strengthen humanitarian work, spread the rule of law and ultimately save lives, Monique has built upon the Foundation’s successful programs in media and journalism training around the world to launch several new initiatives.

In July 2010 she created TrustLaw, an electronic marketplace to connect lawyers willing to work at no cost with NGOs and social entrepreneurs in need of legal assistance. TrustLaw Connect now counts around 700 members in more than 140 countries and fast growing.

TrustLaw is also a hub of news and information on women’s rights and anti-corruption; because of her work promoting transparency, Monique has been ranked 43 of the world’s 100 most influential people in Business Ethics in 2011 by Ethisphere.

Monique was key in the revamp of AlertNet with new design, multimedia storytelling and grassroots voices. The humanitarian news website received the Voice Of Courage Award from the Women’s Refugee Commission as well as the prestigious EPPY Awards from Editor and Publisher in 2011. Part of AlertNet is also the Emergency Information Service (EIS), launched in Haiti immediately after the earthquake to provide critical information to survivors of natural disasters.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Monique was Managing Director of Reuters Media and Chairman of Action Images. Monique managed the picture and text news business for Reuters from 2001. She transformed the picture business and negotiated important deals for Media and Editorial, including a partnership with the International Herald Tribune to jointly produce their business pages, both in print and online.

A French national, Monique spent the first part of her career at Agence France-Presse (AFP) where she held a number of senior journalistic and management positions. She reported for a number of years from Paris, Rome and London where she was bureau chief from 1991 to 1996. She then became Director of Strategy and Business Development at AFP headquarters in Paris, with responsibility for the agency’s major partnerships worldwide. Monique has two sons. She studied Law and Political Science and has a Diploma from the Paris Centre de Formation Des Journalistes

Timothy Large is Editor of three flagship news services run by Thomson Reuters Foundation: the AlertNet humanitarian news website, its related Emergency Information Service (EIS) and the TrustLaw website on anti-corruption and free legal assistance.

Before joining the Foundation in 2003 he was a correspondent for Reuters News in Tokyo, a staff writer for a major Japanese daily newspaper and news editor of a popular online science magazine. He has also worked as a freelance journalist. He has written widely on humanitarian themes as well as social issues, economics, science, literature and the arts. He is a passionate photojournalist.

He led the creation of EIS, a free, SMS-based mass information service for disaster-affected populations, which deployed for the first time after the January 2010 Haiti earthquake. He spearheaded the AlertNet for Journalists initiative aimed at helping media professionals around the world tackle neglected wars, disasters and health emergencies. He has designed and delivered the Foundation’s "Reporting crises and disasters" courses for local journalists in Africa and Asia.

Born in the United States, raised in Australia, naturalised in Britain and a long-time resident of Japan, he considers himself a global citizen. He has a First Class degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University and in 1997 was a Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Scholar in Tokyo.

Jo has set up and managed partnership programmes between Thomson Reuters Foundation and various organisations including Robert Bosch Stiftung, IUCN (The World Conservation Union), the International Finance Corporation, Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF), The World Bank, UK's Department for International Development (DFID), UNICEF, UNDP, The American University of Beirut, The Westminster Foundation for Democracy and The Federation of Arab News Agencies.

She directed the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Aswat al Iraq project from 2004-2008 which helped journalists in Iraq to set up an independent news agency. This programme, which is funded by the United Nations Development Programme continues to operate independently as an accurate and objective news source to Iraqi and international media, as well as individuals.

Jo also manages the partnership with the new media training academy in Abu Dhabi, TwoFour54. As one of the main partners, Thomson Reuters Foundation delivers regular journalism training workshops for Arab journalists.

Maria joined the Foundation in November 2008, where her team manages TrustLaw Connect, the service through which NGOs and social enterprises can find pro bono assistance from the best law firms and lawyers anywhere around the world.

Her team also supports the AlertNet community of humanitarian NGOs, who have access to a number of services from the Foundation.

Before joining the Foundation, Maria worked at the International Crisis Group, a world leading source of analysis and advice on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict. She held different positions there, most recently as Director, Private Sector Initiatives. In that position, she was in charge of relations with the private sector outside of North America, contributing to corporations understanding of emerging economies and countries in conflict and post-conflict situations.

Maria completed an MBA at the Said Business School (University of Oxford) in 2007, where she worked, inter alia, on political risk and government affairs, new approaches to corporate responsibility, negotiations and social marketing. Maria also holds a Master's degree in European Union Studies.

She speaks fluent Spanish and English and good Portuguese.

Sarah is focused on business development efforts in the U.S. for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, working to deepen the impact of the Foundation’s programming through partnerships and other initiatives. She manages relationships with the members of TrustLaw Connect, the global pro bono platform, and oversees high impact programs in the areas of social entrepreneurship, impact investing, and in Haiti.

Sarah was most recently a vice president with SeaChange Capital Partners, a philanthropic network focused on providing growth capital to exceptional education nonprofits. Prior to SeaChange, she served as the director of programs for the NYU Stern School of Business’s Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, and as an adjunct professor of social entrepreneurship. She launched and directed the Stewart Satter Program in Social Entrepreneurship at NYU, oversaw grant making for the Satter Social Entrepreneurship Fund, and advised students and alumni on their business plans and operations. Previously, Sarah was an associate in the Private Equity Group at SoundView Technology Group.

in her career, she directed the nonprofit social venture, Earth Tones, a long distance reseller owned and operated by a consortium of environmental groups. Sarah was also a regional coordinator on campaign finance reform for the Public Interest Research Group. A graduate of Middlebury College and the NYU Stern School of Business, Sarah lives in New Jersey with her husband and three kids.

Dr David Levy is Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. Before joining the Institute he served on the French Commission to review the future of France Télévisions and jointly edited a book for the RISJ and Ofcom on the future of UK Public Service Broadcasting.

He was Controller, Public Policy at the BBC until 2007 where he led policy for the recent Charter Review negotiations and was responsible for public policy & regulation in the UK and Europe. He previously worked as a BBC journalist, on the World Service, as a reporter on File on 4 and Newsnight, and as Editor of Analysis on Radio 4.

He is the author of Europe's Digital Revolution; Broadcasting Regulation, the EU and the Nation State, and a range of other publications and regularly contributes to conferences and publications in Britain and abroad.