2025 McNulty Prize Winner Mohamed Ali Diini, Founder of Itfin Global (Aspen Global Innovators Group), is dedicated to empowering Somalia’s youth to overcome decades of conflict by fostering lasting healing and meaningful transformation. His work began with a mission to create jobs through entrepreneurship, but encountered a deeper obstacle: the unspoken weight of trauma.

In response, Mohamed evolved his approach, pairing economic opportunity with trauma-informed mental health support. He envisions a Somalia where young people are not only employed, but empowered—connected to their communities and supported in healing. For him, peace isn’t just the absence of war—it’s the presence of understanding, resilience, and hope.

His model offers a path forward for post-conflict societies around the world—one that acknowledges trauma as a generational barrier and treats healing as essential to rebuilding.