Heela Yoon is the Founder and CEO of the Afghan Youth Ambassadors for Peace Organization (AYAP), a grassroots-level civil society organization based in Afghanistan working towards women and young women empowerment and capacity building. She worked with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) as the Fourth Cora Weiss Peacebuilding Fellow, a one-year fellowship program to support global advocacy at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) Agendas.  As the Cora Weiss Peacebuilding Fellow in New York City, Heela supports the implementation of GNWP’s programs in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines, which enhances young women’s capacities from conflict-affected communities to build sustainable peace and promote gender equality.  

Before joining GNWP as the Cora Weiss Peacebuilding Fellow, Heela worked as a Desk officer and Coordinator for the United Nations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Afghanistan (MoFA). She was responsible for handling the desks of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),  World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Heela graduated from Kabul University with a bachelor’s in law and Political Science.

She has a second bachelor’s degree in BBA Finance from the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). She is currently a member Global Leadership Council for Search for Common Ground, recipient of the Chevening scholarship.

Having founded her civil society organization, Heela is committed to uplifting women from poverty and illiteracy and helping them participate in different life spheres where they are needed.