Team
Dr. Angela Okune
Head of Strategy
[email protected]
Dr. Angela Okune is a researcher and strategist with fifteen years of experience advancing equitable, community-led knowledge infrastructures across Africa and globally. Trained as a social scientist of science with a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of California, Irvine, she has held leadership roles at iHub Nairobi and Code for Science & Society, published widely on open scholarship and knowledge equity, and received fellowships from the National Science Foundation, Fulbright Program, The Wenner-Gren Foundation, and University of California – Berkeley. In the founding year of CSIDNet, Angela served as interim Managing Director before transitioning to serve as CSIDNet’s Head of Strategy from 2026. Angela is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii and grew up hiking, eating shave ice and surfing. She has lived in Nairobi, Kenya over the last 15 years with her partner and two kids.
Irene Ramos
Head of Membership
[email protected]
Irene Ramos works at the intersection of open science, data, and sustainability. As Head of Membership in CSIDNet, she designs participation pathways, processes, and training programs that help community members engage meaningfully in the network. With an interdisciplinary background in mathematics and sustainability science, she collaborates across disciplines and sectors to support more actionable, inclusive research. Irene has led international training programmes in collaboration with OLS (formerly Open Life Science) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and has contributed to data infrastructures that support biodiversity conservation. She is also a Research Fellow at OLS, where she co-develops training resources for project and community sustainability. Irene lives in Mexico City and spends her weekends reading in her garden, often with ice cream.
Dr. Ragıp Zık
Head of Operations
[email protected]
Dr. Ragıp Zık is a nonprofit operations executive with over 20 years of experience in international development, human rights, and culture and arts. Holding a Ph.D. in Sociology from Freie Universität Berlin, his expertise spans nonprofit management, strategic communications, project development, and fundraising, A published researcher and experienced trainer, Ragıp has designed programs for the Council of Europe, United Nations, and numerous civil society organizations. He is a founding member of the LINK Association strengthening civic initiatives and social enterprises in system optimization and organizational growth. Ragıp serves as Head of Operations at CSIDNet and supports the network’s mission by building systems and infrastructure. Coming from Istanbul and based in Berlin, he occasionally leads walking tours on migration and contemporary society. An experienced tahini eater, he always looks forward to summer to sip his freddo cappuccino at the seaside.
Livini Perera
Administrative & Operations Support Lead
[email protected]
Livini Perera is an operations and administrative professional with experience supporting start-ups and other organisations across Canada, USA, Australia, and Sri Lanka. Her background spans education services and immigration consulting, mainly overseeing client management. She previously served as the sole in-country liaison in Sri Lanka for a Canadian immigration firm, managing client portfolios and IRCC-related processes. With a First Class (Honours) degree in Psychology awarded by Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK, she brings a people-centred approach to her work, combining empathy with careful operational oversight, ensuring teams, projects and initiatives remain on track. At CSIDNet, she collaborates cross-functionally with the Heads of Operations, Membership and Strategy to strengthen organisational systems and oversee day-to-day processes, transforming complexity into flow. Based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Livini takes weekends very seriously. She is a strong advocate for slow weekends and embracing life’s simple pleasures, from a comfort TV series to a cup of warm tea and quality time with family.