Dr. Makonese is currently serving as the ABA ROLI Country Representative for Angola. She has over 20 years’ leadership experience on international development projects funded by a variety of donors. She previously led ABA ROLI's USAID-funded Advancing Rights in Southern Africa (ARISA) program, serving as the Deputy Chief of Party for about five years, including six months as the Acting Chief of Party where she was the lead for a team of 15 people in four different international organizations. Before that, she served as the Chief Executive of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission and the regional Bar Association, the Southern African Development Community Lawyers’ Association. She has previously served as a Magistrate in the Government of Zimbabwe and co-founded and worked for Zimbabwe’s only public interest environmental law organization, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association. Makanatsa has a PhD in law from the University of Zimbabwe and is a published author of four peer-reviewed book chapters, a book focusing on women, land and human rights, and over a dozen other publications. Her professional, research and academic interests are in human rights, the rule of law, women’s rights, gender equality, and land and environmental law.