Parayma Fellowship
Every year, the Parayma Fellowship selects 12-16 changeworkers from across the world who have a strong track record in paradigm shifting work.
From September to June, these Fellows go on a 9-month journey. Together, we refine systems change strategies, share knowledge to lead change more holistically, tell their stories, support each other as leaders in this field, and build a community.
Meet the
Parayma Fellows
Learn more about the incredible changeworkers that make up the Parayma Fellowship
Support the Paryama Fellows
Support through collaboration
We are welcoming applications from people with relevant skills and experiences who would like to volunteer some hours to support these incredible changeworkers, or explore the potential of partnering with us on workshops and other aligned offerings. If you are interested, you’re welcome to fill out this form.
Apply to collaborateSupport this fellowship financially
The support we give the fellows is 100% free, and we invest between €5’000 and €10’000 in each fellow to tell their story, support them hands-on in 1-1 calls, invite in experts as needed, and pay them a small stipend. To be able to continue offering this support over time and hopefully considerably increase it, we’re welcoming donations and contributions to our fellowship fund!
Contribute to the fellowship fundOur mentors
These four incredible changeworkers bring their first-hand experience, as well as the wisdom of their lineages and practices, to the fellowship.
Dr. Flavia Maia
she/her
Climate leader, frontline defender, storyteller & Leadership Mentor
Dr. Flavia Maia
she/her
Climate leader, frontline defender, storyteller & Leadership Mentor
Decolonisation Climate Social Justice Women‘s Rights Regeneration
📍Brazil
Dr. Flávia Neves Maia is the cofounder and creative director of Filha do Sol, a Brazilian organization that supports women-led associations and frontline leaders in climate action, strengthening climate justice and resilience across communities in the Northeast. Between 2025 and 2027, her work focuses on the states of Piauí and Maranhão, across the Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado, and Coastal biomes.
With more than 15 years of experience in women’s leadership, territorial strategic planning, climate justice advocacy, and resource mobilization for resilience, Dr. Flávia is a TEDx Speaker, an Obama Scholar (values-based leadership), a Dalai Lama Fellow (compassion-based leadership), and a Donella Meadows Fellow (systems thinking leadership). In 2024, she was recognized by ChangeNOW in Paris as one of the 25 Women Shaping the Future.
She holds a PhD in Urbanism from UFRJ, with additional training in climate resilience from PUC-Rio, and also identifies as a “medicine woman,” in the Latin American tradition.
Vuyo Henda
she/her
Marketing Executive, Leader & Story-teller
Vuyo Henda
she/her
Marketing Executive, Leader & Story-teller
Women’s rights Conscious Leadership Social Justice Inclusive Economy
📍South Africa
Vuyo Henda is a seasoned marketing executive known for shaping iconic brands and guiding organisations through modernisation and growth. With experience across both African and global markets, she brings a strategic yet deeply human approach to brand building and leadership. In 2020 she was selected as a Dalai Lama fellow as part of her quest to deepen her practice of conscious leadership. Beyond her corporate role, Vuyo is committed to developing emerging leaders, mentoring young women from marginalised communities and co-creating a mentorship initiative for a women-led non-profit. As a Parayma mentor, she offers fellows support to sharpen their thinking and help to scale their ideas with clarity, courage, and heart.
Hemakshi Meghani
she/her
Entrepreneur, Dreamer, Leadership Facilitator & Seeker
Hemakshi Meghani
she/her
Entrepreneur, Dreamer, Leadership Facilitator & Seeker
Democracy Social Justice Women’s rights
📍India
Hemakshi Meghani is an entrepreneur, explorer, and a fierce advocate of social justice and a dreamer of equal democracy. She is the co-founder of the Indian School of Democracy (ISD), an organization dedicated to nurturing principled political leaders, which she led from its inception in 2018 until 2024. A World Bank Graduate Scholar, she earned her Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. Hemakshi began her career as a Teach For India fellow and later worked on education policy with Indus Action and the Boston Consulting Group. She has facilitated global leadership forums and is an Echoing Green Fellow, Acumen Foundry member, and a Dalai Lama Fellow. She is currently reimagining her work to advance inclusive democracy and create communities rooted in deep connection and purpose. She enjoys travelling to remote parts of the country, and going on outer and inner journeys. Hemakshi’s dream is to become a farmer someday.
Sima Gatea
she/her
Conscious Leadership Coach, Community Facilitator & Storyteller
Sima Gatea
she/her
Conscious Leadership Coach, Community Facilitator & Storyteller
Health Social Justice Racism Mental Health Resilient communities Social fabric Peace building
📍Morocco
Sima Gatea is an intuitive speaker, healer, storyteller and coach.
She weaves her passion for questions around identity, home and belonging together with her training in Compassionate Inquiry, a trauma-healing method, and Sufi Psychology into her talks, community healing circles, group facilitation and coaching sessions.
Sima’s journey began growing up in a mixed German-Iraqi family in Canada. After earning her Master’s in Transcultural Studies from the University of Heidelberg, Sima co-founded SINGA, a social startup challenging narratives around migration and connecting newcomers and locals around shared passion projects, professional mentoring, newcomer entrepreneurship and storytelling. Sima went on to create international capacity building programs to train leaders in migration inclusion on conscious leadership and systems change across sectors in Germany, Morocco and Canada. Sima acts as a mentor, facilitator and board member for many organisations, including the Dalai Lama Fellowship, SINGA Global and ChangemakerXchange.
She is now living in Essaouira, Morocco, leading talks and circles around conscious leadership, belonging, healing through authenticity and cultivating a Baraka Mindset. Sima loves dancing, sufi thikr practices, standup comedy and cooking spicy, saucy dishes. She’s on the lookout for creative collaborations.
Become a Parayma Fellow
If you’re considering applying next year, you’re welcome to sign up to our waitlist to be the first to hear when applications open again.
Find out more about the Fellowship
