Fellows

Abdulahi has three years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He graduated with honors in Demography and Social Statistics from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in Nigeria. He also received certifications in Social Sector Management (sponsored by the Africa-America Institute) and NGO Management & Administration from Enterprise Development Center, Pan-Atlantic University and the Institute for Humanitarian Studies & Social Development, respectively. He volunteered with Living Hope Care under the American Jewish World Service project where he coordinated an empowerment program for the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NEPWHAN) Osun State. While working as an Account Officer and Monitoring & Evaluation Officer, he facilitated the training of 403 female sex workers on the consistent use of condoms and trained over 80 traditional birth attendants on universal safety precautions and prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child. He founded the Initiative for Sound Education, Relationship & Health (ISERH) and the Youth Affairs Center. Through these organizations, he has sponsored the Senior School Certificates Examination (SSCE) of 59 high school students, equipped 350 youths with books, awarded 17 vibrant teachers and reached over 15,700 youths in the areas of counseling and psychosocial supports. Under his leadership, ISERH provides oversight functions on the Npower Program of the Federal Republic of Nigeria designed to employ 500,000 unemployed graduates and 25,000 unskilled labors. He is a Fellow of YALI Regional Leadership Center (Cohort 3), Ghana (West Africa) 2016. In June 2016, Abdulahi was selected as a “Top 100 Brightest Young Minds” by BYM South Africa and Barclays Africa. He received ‘The Most Replicable Project Award’ of the Life Changers Foundation, U. K. in 2015. Abdulahi has developed strong leadership, youth education policy, strategy building and management skills. His interested in good governance, civic engagements, youth education, social and health issues.

Host Organization: Points of Light

Role at Host Organization: Abdulahi will support the successful development and execution of the Points of Light’s portfolio of programs focused on meeting both the academic needs and service leadership development of youth through youth and volunteer engagement in generation. He will equip youth and volunteers with the right resources that allow youth, volunteers, parents and teachers to collaborate on academic interventions and service opportunities that support the development of caring, compassionate and capable youth.

Abigail Bokoyeibo has five years of experience as an advocate for women and girls development, renewable energy access, and business development in the nonprofit sector. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Calabar in Nigeria. While working as Business Coach and Facilitator at the International Institute of Tourism and Hospitality, Bayelsa, Nigeria, she trained students on vocational skills, entrepreneurial skills and business development, and also consulted for the business unit of the Institute. As the Founder and Team Lead of a Nonprofit Young African Women Connect initiative, she developed and led programs that build the capacities of young women on hand skills and empower them through trainings on self-growth, entrepreneurship, business, career, leadership, personal finance, and advocacy. Previously, Abigail worked at Solar Sister as a Business Development Associate, where she recruited, trained and mentored rural women to become energy solution providers and solar entrepreneurs. Through her work, 30 women became active renewable energy advocates and solar entrepreneurs; each making an average of $1,000 annually through her mentorship. Abigail has volunteered in different organizations as a facilitator, youth advocate, and agent of change, including CornerStone Leadership Inspiration Transform foundation, Great Reformers Initiative, and Agent of Change Initiative. Through these experiences, Abigail has developed skills in capacity building, leadership development, business development and project planning and implementation. Abigail is interested in entrepreneurship, leadership, rural energy access, social entrepreneurship, business development, and management.

Host Organization: World Vision US

Role at Host Organization: Abigail will focus on the holistic youth workforce development project model called “Youth Ready: For Work, For Life”. She will particularly work on improving the learning activities and materials that make up the project’s extensive curriculum that focuses on life skills development, livelihood preparation(employability and entrepreneurship), financial education, digital literacy, and citizenship.

Anwuli earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Benin in Nigeria. She has worked extensively in media, development, and management consulting. In the early stages of her career, she served as a journalist, columnist, and as assistant editor/PRO Officer at Kachifo Limited (Owners of the Farafina Trademark) working with acclaimed writers, such as Chimamanda Adichie, Chika Unigwe, and Binyanvanga Wainaina. Her other past experiences include stints as a communication manager at FATE Foundation, where she managed the communication strategy of the foundation and worked with budding entrepreneurs; Senior Consultant, Development Communications & Projects, ThistlePraxis Consulting, where she co-designed and lead media campaigns on sustainability for clients such as the Cross River State Government, and Ag Executive Director, Career Development Network (CDNet), a career development based non profit. Also, she has lead projects on youth development. Anwuli is a Fellow of the sustainability initiative at Leadership in Environment and Development Program in Africa (LEAD), a member of the Atlas Community Leaders, and a member of the Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum. In addition, she serves as a global volunteer for the Global Dignity Day Project, affiliated with the World Economic Forum. Anwuli is currently in the process of setting up a publishing/communication outfit where she will be co-partner.

Host Organization: Thinking Beyond Borders

Role at Host Organization: Anwuli will contribute to the planning and implementation of Thinking Beyond Borders’ digital communication strategies to promote and advance its mission. Anwuli’s contributions will include engaging take holders, research, planning content creation, building a long-term infrastructure for TBB digital media; disseminating information and promoting discussions on global issues of interest on sustainability and international development in line with Thinking Beyond Borders’ mission.

Oluwabusayomi is a Journalist with over seven years of experience in using storytelling to educate, empower, and encourage positive outlook on rural development, entrepreneurship, and youth leadership in Africa and across the Commonwealth region. A graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, ’Busayomi’s work has been featured on news platforms and magazines with continental and global reach. She has also published in the How We Made It In Africa: The Book. (2018). Oluwabusayomi is the co-founder and managing editor of Rural Reporters – a Nigeria-based news platform with in-depth coverage of under-reported issues in rural communities in Nigeria and across Africa. She also served as the Assistant Editor of Leading Change, the University of Cambridge website for The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme. Her experience in the nonprofit sector includes working as the Communications Officer for Network of Migration Research on Africa (NOMRA), serving as an Editorial Assistant at Development Diaries, and volunteering as an advocate of Women Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights in Nigeria for Ipas. Oluwabusayomi has worked as an independent research consultant for Euromonitor International since 2016 covering consumer behaviour and lifestyles and other industry-related research in Nigeria. She draws on her experience as both a Journalist and industry watcher to communicate from an insider’s perspective. Oluwabusayomi, a fellow of the International Women’s Media Foundation, enjoys shining the spotlight on people who are breaking barriers in their field and communities. She is interested in making rural development issues an integral part of global development.

Host Organization: Transparency and Accountability Initiative

Role at Transparency and Accountability Initiative: At TAI, Oluwabusayomi will focus on developing and implementing a strategic communications plan for the organization. She will also help TAI undergo a strategy refresh in 2019, disseminate our new strategy widely in 2020, and work on fast changing, globally relevant issues with leading philanthropic funders.

Chiudo has eight years of experience in environmental management consulting and earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Pure and Industrial Chemistry from the University of Nigeria, and a Master’s of Science in Environmental Technology and Management from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Chiudo is Head of Projects at Rumines Limited, an environmental technology and management consulting company in Nigeria. His responsibilities include project management, environmental research, data collection and analysis, as well as technical report writing. Since June 2016, he has served as Country Manager for Nigeria with Climate Scorecard – a U.S.-based organization that monitors how the top 25 greenhouse gas emitting countries implement the Paris Agreement on climate change. As a participant of the USAID Young African Leaders Initiative training program that held in Accra, Ghana, from October to December 2015, he served as Research and Outreach Volunteer with U.S.-based Leaders of the Free World, a nonprofit that aims to improve positive outcomes for young Black males through training on leadership and self-efficacy, and international travel. Chiudo helped to develop a White Paper on the LFW program and contributed to blog articles. He is interested in environmental protection and sustainable development, as well as entrepreneurship and youth empowerment.

Host Organization: Seeding Labs

Role at Host Organization: Chiudo will be responsible for managing several partnerships with universities in the Instrumental Access program. He will also help increase the annual capacity of universities that Seeding Labs can support.

Chris is a public health practitioner with six years of experience in community and public health and development. As a Public Health Officer with Pro-Health International Nigeria, under the CDC-funded Global Health Security Agenda program, he has contributed to strengthening the public health emergency preparedness system in three international airports and two land crossings in Nigeria. His work includes advocacy and technical assistance to the public health institution in Nigeria on Global Health Security, implementation of the International Health Regulations at the points of entry and prevention, detection and response to disease outbreaks within the country. Prior to taking on the role of Public Health Officer, he worked as a Program Officer for four years in the same organization, where he designed, planned and coordinated medical interventions in rural communities in 20 states across Nigeria. Chris has also worked with a community-based organization to engage stakeholders and raise funds for the implementation of rural medical outreaches in Nigeria. He currently also serves as knowledge management and communications expert with Pro-Health, where he manages the organization’s website and social media platforms and leads the development of various knowledge and communication products. As a medical laboratory scientist, he worked with a USAID-funded hospital in the treatment, management, and care of rural dwellers living with HIV/AIDs and Tuberculosis. Through these experiences, he has developed strong capacity building, leadership development, fund-raising and project management skills. Chris has a deep-seated interest in community health and social empowerment.

Host Org: Susan G Komen

Role at Susan G Komen: As the Breast Cancer Fellow, Chris will provide support to Komen’s Global and National Capital Region (NCR) Programs. This includes assisting with the maintenance of a website for the NCR Program and developing an external communication plan.

Comfort is a communications professional with over five years of experience in internal and external communications in various industries like education, media (print and social media), professional training and research as well as operations. She worked as the COO at the KSE Network while also serving as a media account officer at The Alpha Reach. Comfort recently led the KSE Network’s team in a 3 months and 2 weeks training of 100 participants at the #MTNPulseBlowMyHustle campaign which recorded overwhelmingly positive feedback. At This Day Newspaper where she worked as a reporter, she had over 100 articles published in her maiden name (Comfort Umoren). Comfort has an MA (Distinction) and a BA (First Class) in Communication and Language Arts, both at the prestigious University of Ibadan and, an OND (Distinction) in Mass Communication at the former Lagos State Polytechnic. She runs a blog – Unwind With Kam4t, where she writes on issues that affect young professionals and entrepreneurs in a relaxed way.

Host Organization: Deseret Management Corporation

Role at Host Organization: As a Global Communications Fellow, Comfort will assist the global reach efforts of the Deseret Management Corporation, including expanding a mission-driven mandate to help media be a constructive, inclusive part of civil society, in particular as it relates to some of the oft-forgotten issues of faith and values. Comfort will assist in managing a diverse portfolio of activities and partnership in the communications realm. As the supervisor is also the CEO of the Radiant Foundation (the corporate foundation associated with the corporation), there will be ample opportunities to assist with projects that build partnerships and awareness around the foundation’s core issues. Comfort’s fellowship will focus on media brands, on communications, public relations and the nexus of how those issues impact society as a whole.

Douglas is a communications and development professional with two years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He has a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and a Bachelor’s in English Language from Lagos State University. Douglas also has journalism certifications from Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, NORAD/Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa and the School of Media and Communications, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria. While working with Mara Foundation’s youth development and entrepreneurship focused program, Mara Mentor, Douglas was at the forefront of stakeholder engagement. He leveraged support from public, private and nonprofit decision-makers to influence policy to focus on capacity development for young Nigerians as a tool to mitigate unemployment, stimulate job creation, and spark development in local communities. In his role as Communications Manager, Douglas sourced and managed partnerships with stakeholders in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He also oversaw media relations and the communications needs of the program. Douglas worked closely with the Country Manager in developing relationships with decision makers in government and provided communications support for the organisation’s development strategy, while working with business leaders and top professionals to mentor young, aspiring entrepreneurs in their local communities. Through his experience in the non-profit sector, Douglas has developed strong government relations, policy, and advocacy skills. He has also consolidated his capacity to manage development communication. Douglas is particularly passionate about youth empowerment and education. He has also worked as a Global Youth Ambassador for Education in Nigeria with A World at School, and is a strong advocate of using the media to drive social change projects.

Host Organization:  Restless Development

 Role at Host Organization: Douglas will add capacity to continue leading the strategic growth of the US hub, which launched 4 years ago in New York, including helping to deliver on existing new projects and helping branch out in new areas. Specific areas Douglas will work on include: communications for general and targeted audiences, project management of a new corporate pro bono partnership, and research and coordination for expanding work on girls empowerment and gender equality.