Governed by people who answer to the coast
The Executive Committee is COAST's highest policy-making body. It meets at least once every three months and reports to the General Council, which meets every year.
Members of the Executive Committee
Gawher Nayeem Wahra
DRR and humanitarian accountability expert; MSS in Public Administration.
Jasmeen Sultana Paru
Chief Executive Officer, ELLMA, Chattogram.
Mostafa Kamal Ahmed FCA
Chartered accountant (FCA).
Nurul Alam Masud
Chief Executive, Participatory Research Action Network (PRAAN), Noakhali.
Anjulika Khisa
Former District Education Officer; M.Ed.
M. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury
Executive Director of COAST Foundation and Chief Moderator of EquityBD.
In October 2025 COAST mourned the passing of its Chairperson, Professor Dr. Tofail Ahmed, an eminent local government and cooperative specialist and former Professor of Public Administration at the University of Chittagong, whose leadership strengthened COAST's commitment to justice, equity and human dignity.
Participation, accountability and transparency
COAST has written manuals on human resources, field operations, and finance and audit that follow internationally accepted standards and are reviewed regularly. It reports to local government and holds an annual review with all internal and external stakeholders, including the people it serves.
People's organisations of COAST members take part in decision-making at every level, from the branch to the central management. The accounts are audited every year by an external firm enlisted with the NGO Affairs Bureau.
- Executive Committee meets at least quarterly; the General Council holds an Annual General Meeting
- Senior Management Team meets weekly and quarterly
- Special consultative status with UN ECOSOC
- One of the first NGOs in Bangladesh to adopt the Right to Information
- Complaint response mechanism with a whistle-blowing policy and complaint boxes in every office
- Separate Internal Audit and MEAL (monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning) sections
- Annual external audit by a firm enlisted with the NGO Affairs Bureau
- Meeting minutes, policies and circulars published openly
Day-to-day leadership
M. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury
Executive Director and Member Secretary of the Executive Committee. He is also Chief Moderator of EquityBD.
Senior Management Team
Meets weekly and quarterly. Separate Internal Audit and MEAL sections support quality control.
Meeting minutes
Minutes of Executive Committee and General Council meetings are open to the public. Ask us for a copy.
Request minutesStand with the coastal poor
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