Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speakers
PRIP MARK MALONEY BIO
“The clubs are where Rotary happens,” says Maloney, an attorney. He aims to support and strengthen clubs at the community level, preserve Rotary’s culture as a service-oriented membership organization, and test new regional approaches for growth.
“With the eradication of polio, recognition for Rotary will be great and the opportunities will be many,” he says. “We have the potential to become the global powerhouse for doing good.”
Maloney is a principal in the law firm of Blackburn, Maloney, and Schuppert LLC, with a focus on taxation, estate planning, and agricultural law. He represents large farming operations in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States, and has chaired the American Bar Association’s Committee on Agriculture in the section of taxation. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Alabama State Bar Association, and the Alabama Law Institute.
He has been active in Decatur’s religious community, chairing his church’s finance council and a local Catholic school board. He has also served as president of the Community Foundation of Greater Decatur, chair of Morgan County Meals on Wheels, and director of the United Way of Morgan County and the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.
A Rotarian since 1980, Maloney was Rotary International President in 2019-20. He served as an RI director; Foundation trustee and vice chair; and aide to 2003-04 RI President Jonathan Majiyagbe. He also has participated in the Council on Legislation as chair, vice chair, parliamentarian, and trainer. He was an adviser to the 2004 Osaka Convention Committee and chaired the 2014 Sydney Convention Committee.
Prior to serving as a district governor, Maloney led a Group Study Exchange to Nigeria.
He also served as Future Vision Committee vice chair; Foundation training institute moderator; Foundation permanent fund national adviser; member of the Peace Centers Committee; and adviser to the Foundation’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Schools Target Challenge Committee.
Maloney’s wife, Gay, is an attorney in the same law firm, and a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Decatur Daybreak, Alabama, USA. Both Mark and Gay are Paul Harris Fellows, Major Donors, and Bequest Society members.
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RIPN MARIO de CAMARGO BIO
Mário César Martins de Camargo, a member of the Rotary Club of Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil, is the selection of Nominating Committee for President to become Rotary International’s president for 2025-26. He will officially become the nominee on 15 September if no other candidates challenge him.
De Camargo plans to boost Rotary’s public image by working from the top down.
“Rotary today has strong competition for members and funds,” he says. “We need to rejuvenate the brand, especially in some zones. We should utilize post-pandemic meeting tools … to allow the president to address Rotarians all over the globe. We also need to develop more long-term partnerships with political, community, and business leaders. Let’s emphasize our greatest asset: 1.4 million volunteers.”
He also hopes to improve Rotary’s process for appointments and governance.
“Rotary should adopt a more transparent system to appoint volunteers for positions, with clear criteria and data-based evaluation of results,” he says.
De Camargo was president of Gráfica Bandeirantes and has been a consultant to the print industry in Brazil. He has also served as president and chair of several printing and graphics trade associations, including the Brazilian Association of Graphic Technology and ABIGRAF, the Brazilian Printing Industry Association.
He has served on the board of Casa da Esperança (House of Hope), a hospital sponsored by his Rotary club that serves 150,000 children with disabilities every year.
De Camargo studied in the U.S. and Germany and holds degrees from EAESP-Fundação Getulio Vargas in business administration and Faculdade de Direito de São Bernardo do Campo in law. He was a Youth Exchange participant to Minnesota, USA, in 1974-75, which inspired a lifelong commitment to the program.
A Rotarian since 1980, de Camargo served as his club’s Youth Exchange Officer in 1981, at age 24. He has served Rotary as director, trustee, RI learning facilitator, committee member and chair, and task force member.
De Camargo and his wife, Denise, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.
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RID Ghim Bok Chew
Born in Singapore, Ghim Bok “G.B.” Chew graduated in 1981 with an honors degree in computer science from the University of Liverpool, England, before returning to his home country to launch a career as a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and private equities fund manager. After opening his first business, an IT systems integrator, he took a bankrupt food processing company to an initial public offering after turning it around. Now semiretired, Chew maintains real estate and real estate management companies in Singapore, in addition to his fund management holding company.
Chew joined Rotary in 1996. Immediately after serving as district governor in 2013, he took on several zone and international roles, including assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, assistant Rotary public image coordinator, Rotary coordinator, and chair of the zone institute committee. He is the Host Organization Committee chair for the Rotary International Convention in Singapore in 2024.
Outside of Rotary, Chew is active as a local volunteer, having served for nearly three decades with Singapore’s People's Association, a government organization that uses a grassroots approach to promote racial and social harmony among Singapore’s diverse population.
Chew is a recipient of the Service Above Self Award. With his wife, Phyllis, he is a member of the Arch Klumph Society Chair’s Circle.
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Jason Browne
Passionate about storytelling, Jason Browne expertly merges radio, marketing, and public speaking to engage global audiences. Collaborating with giants like Facebook, Microsoft, and Rotary International and drawing from his MBA from Penn State, Jason has spoken on over 100 stages, addressing leadership, privilege, and diversity. Committed to crafting a better world for his nieces and nephews, he champions positive change.
Offstage, he enjoys basketball, music, kayaking, and winning over his young niece. From deep dives into DEI to discussions on space travel, Jason's approach intertwines seriousness with fun. His guiding principle: "Use what you love to fight what you hate.”
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Rajendra Gautam: (aka Raj)
Raj, M. Phil. Scholar in Social Work at Tribhuvan University is the Founder President of Solidarity Nepal, an entirely non-profitable and social welfare organization aiming to establish and implement sustainable education, health, drinking water and community development programs in the rural areas of Nepal.
He has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. Young social activist Raj, is the Past President of the Rotaract Club of Kathmandu and the current vice President of Rotary Club of Kathmandu, the first Rotary Club of Nepal.
Raj has expertise in the areas of disaster management, including mitigation, preparedness, response, and sustainable recovery to restore the livelihoods of affected communities. He has reconstructed 20 schools destroyed in 2015 Nepal earthquake. He's part of the team providing educational scholarships to more than 1000 vulnerable children a year in Nepal, benefiting 10,000 plus children to date.
Raj is also dedicated to working on several projects for communal peace, rural and sustainable development, including construction of girls-friendly toilets in remote schools, construction of rural health clinics and community centres.
Raj has been recognized at National and International levels by different organizations, including "Peace Hero 2019" and is the recipient of Rotary New Generations Service Exchange fellowship and the Royce and Jean Abbey Vocational Scholarship by the Rotary Foundation.
He was a Youth Exchange student to Hong Kong in 2014, and an International RYLA participant to Bangladesh in 2012.
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Cat Levine
Cat Levine is a public speaker and mental health educator from Auckland, New Zealand.
She delivers engaging presentations in schools about resilience and mental health, focusing on early intervention education. Cat is associated with “Think and Be Me,” a resource hub aimed at helping young people build emotional literacy for life.
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Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith – MNZM
Of Samoan, Scottish and Irish decent Pauline’s background is in arts, culture, and education. Her multi award winning book “Dawn Raid” was the catalyst for pursuing an apology from the NZ government for the infamous dawn raids of the 1970’s in Aotearoa NZ along with the Polynesian Panthers. The apology for the Dawn Raids was given by the NZ Government in August 2021.
Her work is heavily influenced by her experiences growing up in the 1970s, her roles as a teacher and university educator, her passion for civil rights and justice, and her deep interest in uplifting NZ Māori culture.
Pauline was the 2021 Southlander of the year recognised as an “Ardent Activist” by the Southland Times. When Pauline was asked if she had any advice for newcomers to activism, she instantly repeated the Polynesian Panthers’ motto ‘educate to liberate’. “Get informed, get informed about everything, every perspective because you might have to argue against a perspective.”
Pauline hopes her legacy shows that she cared enough about people and their histories to do something about it and make a difference. Along with husband Geoff, they live in a small seaside town at the bottom of the South Island of Aotearoa-New Zealand.
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Melissa Vining
Melissa Vining is a Southlander known for her dedication to improving cancer treatment in New Zealand. After her husband Blair was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer in late 2018, Melissa and Blair realized the significant lack of resources in the public health service in their region.
Motivated by their own experiences, the couple embarked on an arduous campaign to advocate for better cancer treatment. Blair's petition to establish a national cancer agency garnered support from over 140,000 New Zealanders. Additionally, they founded the Southland Charity Hospital Trust, aiming to create a community hospital to provide free colonoscopies and dental care to the people of Otago and Southland denied care by the Southern District Health Board.
Tragically, Blair passed away in October 2019, but Melissa continued their mission relentlessly. The community has worked tirelessly to build the charity hospital which is expected to open at the end of this year.
Melissa Vining's unwavering commitment to making a positive impact on cancer treatment in New Zealand earned her a well-deserved place as a two-time semi-finalist for the prestigious Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year award. Her story is nothing short of amazing and serves as an inspiration to many.
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