Maanda Ngoitiko, the Co-founder and Executive Director of the Pastoral Women’s Council (PWC) Tanzania, is an indigenous pastoralist woman from the Maasai community who live northern Tanzania. woman. She has invested over twenty-five years in her community advocating for the equity and rights of Maasai women and girls and shaping the future of human rights among the Maasai and is a representative of Indigenous Maasai Communities in Tanzania. Maanda studied environmental studies at Kenyatta University in Kenya. She has worked for over 25 years in development and serves on various boards of schools, hospitals and CSOs in her home District.

Maanda is a recipient of the Paul K. Feyerabend Prize - A World of Solidarity is Possible; was nominated for The Guardian International Development Achievement Award; is a fellow of Segal Family Foundation - African Visionary Fellowship. In 2019 was awarded Grassroots Champion by Segal Family Foundation. Additionally, in 2023, Maanda was featured and recognized in the Pixel Project 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence 2023 campaign. For its 10th annual list of 16 women (from 16 countries and seven continents), role models fighting to end violence against women and girls in their communities were featured. Read more about the Award here

Maanda collaborates with several universities including the University of Washington. She gives lectures on pastoralist livelihoods and land use, women’s rights, girls education, the dynamics of international collaboration and philanthropy and grassroots development. She is part of the global reciprocity network, a group of educators from across the world who work toward more equitable collaboration in higher education and development. Finally, Maanda was elected (by other African feminist sisters) in October 2023 to serve on the African Feminist Climate Justice Movement Committee (AFCJM). This movement is supported by the Global Fund for Women as part of its efforts to centre women's voices and agency in advancing climate justice.