Fellows

Omitogun Abolaji has more than five years of experience in enterprise building, startups, and social entrepreneurship. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Geography from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He founded Zmcorps a network of young individuals that support several community developmental initiatives by engaging fresh university graduates posted for National service within the Northern state of Zamfara, Nigeria. Through his activities at ZMCORPS, he encouraged and promoted several socio-cultural integrations and developmental activities especially trough fundraising & donations. He leads, contributed and participated to many community development activities including organizing learning programs, sessions for uneducated and fresh graduates, fundraising for sport, dance and drama amongst communities and schools, Skill acquisition, empowerment and training in cosmetics in Zamfara state. In his quest for self-improvement, Abolaji acquired skill and knowledge from several institutions including the African Managers Initiative, Enterprise Development Center (Lagos, Nigeria), Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation University of Ibadan. He is a 2015 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Foundation Alumni. Abolaji Keen interest in business and startup has found him worked with several startups including WAWOOH. While at Wawooh, a fashion tech startup for discovering African fashion designers and promoting trade and investment opportunities in African fashion Industry, we lead and played a pivotal role leading the startup from ideation to execution and in developing successful business strategies. In his spare time, he is a business development and a Start-up coach; and have helped in mentoring and securing over $50,000 in business funding for several startups.

Host Org: Making Cents International

Role at Making Cents International: As the YouthLead Fellow, Abolaji will support the newly launched online platform YouthLead.org, a website to inspire, support, and foster connections among young changemakers around the world. In addition, Abolaji will participate in the planning of the annual YP meeting and contribute to social media and youth outreach.

Adelide has more than five years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies (magna cum laude) from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea and a Master’s Degree (summa cum laude) in Public Policy from Korea Development Institute Graduate School of Public Policy and Management. Motivated by driving social change, social enterprise acumen and youth capacity building, Adelide is the Co-Founder and Director of the Nairobi-based nonprofit organization Africa Young Entrepreneurs Support Centre which runs youth social entrepreneurship and leadership training & exchange programs. Adelide has most recently worked as an Atlas Corps Fellow in Australia supporting the design and development of youth and social change programs at the Foundation for Young Australians in Melbourne. Previously, she has worked in both government and non-governmental agencies such as the Global Peace Foundation and the Korea Trade Promotion-Investment Agency where she was actively involved in policy analysis, project management, event planning, research and report writing. Through these experiences, she has developed strong analytical, logical, project management, program design and development skills. Adelide is passionate about high performance in the social sector, social inclusion, education and youth and female empowerment.

Host Organization: RFK Human Rights*

Role at Host Organization: Adelide will develop strategies for expansion, provide support to fellows and nonprofit partners with Fellowship placements, execute and market events for Fellowship programs and fundraising, and build and maintain relationships with nonprofit partners. She will also identify new individual major donors, foundation prospects, and corporate partners.

*Also served with Atlas Corps Australia at the Foundation for Young Australians.

Nino has five years of experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management from the International University of Tunis. After founding two social businesses, Nino became a social entrepreneurship specialist and has developed a curriculum for a MEPI funded job development project. The project will teach practical skills to young unemployed people on starting and running their own businesses. He also serves as manager of EL SPACE, a community shared workspace that he co-founded. EL SPACE provides interdisciplinary workshops for local business people and affordable office space for social entrepreneurs. While working on these initiatives, Nino developed project management skills: conception, research, design, planning, execution, quality control, and report writing. He is the volunteer head of an ongoing organization, Tunisian Association for Nature and Sustainable Development (ANDD), which educates people through public workshops and debates on climate change. This work followed his volunteer work with EVASIONS, an outdoor activity association which he co-founded, that encouraged good bodily health and exploration of Tunisia. Through EVASIONS, he learned how to manage large groups of people and organize events. He also managed the budget for EVASIONS and ANDD. Nino is determined to improve the community by developing social entrepreneurship thus encouraging economic development for young people.

Host: PYXERA Global

Fellow Role at Host Organization: Nino will assist in improving local partner and participant training/tools for the SAP program that has a focus on assisting entrepreneurs. He will also help with Ares client management, social media/communications, project development, and impact measurement.

Adriana has five years of experience in the nonprofit sector and nine years working with social ventures. She earned a Bachelor’s of Social Sciences in Social Communications from USMA University in Panama. In 2013, Adriana joined a social enterprise ThinkImpact as Country Coordinator to establish their in-country operations. These operations were focused on social innovation programs carried out by foreign volunteers in rural communities of Panama. Previously, Adriana served for nine months as Project Officer in Save the Children’s regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean, and created internal communications channels to connect seven country offices. Earlier, Adriana worked for three years with nonprofit Global Brigades, as their Business Program Director and Deputy Director. As the first locally hired, she became President of the local entity of the organization as well. In Global Brigades and ThinkImpact, Adriana connected university volunteers from the United States with indigenous and rural entrepreneurs to create a social business or improve an existent business using design thinking, social innovation and consulting skills. She also built relationships with Peace Corps Panama, the U.S. Embassy, Indigenous Congresses, local nonprofits, academic institutions, community leaders and government agencies. Adriana has strong leadership, project management, strategy creation, and business consulting skills. She is passionate about social entrepreneurship, youth empowerment and corporate social responsibility.

Host Organization: WakaWaka

Role at Host Organization: As Strategic Operations Coordinator, Adriana will provide extensive research and market analysis for Mexico market entry. In addition, she will coordinate the participation of WakaWaka in technology events and support the development of WakaWaka’s marketing materials and campaigns.

Agang Ditlhogo is passionate about education and is co-founder of The Clicking Generation-ICT Academy for Kids and Teens; a social enterprise that offers computing and technology curriculum to kids and teens. She is currently National Expert for UN-World Summit Award Organization, Ambassador-ITU Young Innovator Competition, Ambassador-Africa Code Week and PR Officer – Internet Society (ISOC) local chapter. In these roles she partakes in encouraging Botswana youngsters in the Information Technology field on issues of innovation and e-content creation. She works closely with relevant stakeholders to implement Girls in ICT programmes throughout Botswana. Agang is a Brightest Young Minds Alumni 2015, a selection of top 100 young Africans contributing to their communities. Agang forms part of the prestigious Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship program, being mentored by a successful and seasoned thought leader, Tony Elumelu. She is also a Mandela Washington Fellow 2016, an initiative by U.S. State Department. A Cherie Blair Foundation mentee she continues to receive social entrepreneurship training through the comprehensive support. Agang was selected as OkayAfrica Magazine publication top 100 women in 2017.

Host Organization: Tetra Tech

Role at Host Organization: Agang will support the leadership of Tetra Tech’s international energy division in implementing its new strategy to grow business in additional developing countries, with new clients and launch a new business line. She will use entrepreneurial skills to delve into different aspects of business development, marketing and operations.

Ahmed has seven years experience in the nonprofit sector including two years experience in IT Management and 3 years experience in business administration. He has a mixed educational background as an IT Engineer specialized in software programming and embedded systems from the Higher School of Engineering and Technology in Tunis (ESPRIT), a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Enterprise Telecommunications from the National School of Electronics and Telecommunications in Sfax. He also has a Master’s Degree in Social Entrepreneurship from the Institute of High Business Studies (IHEC Carthage). Ahmed is the CEO and Co-Founder of Secure Drive Company, which was featured in TechCrunch as one of the top three successful businesses in Tunisia developing ways to improve society and fix endemic economic problems through innovation and creativity. Previously, he has worked as a Project Manager of Unleash Tunisia Venture Bus, which funds a project promoting entrepreneurship and social business in Tunisia. He has also been selected several times to represent his country’s ecosystem of entrepreneurship in many countries including Germany, France, Italy, Egypt, and Morocco. Through these varied experiences, he has developed strong skills in leadership, public speaking, project management, business consulting, digital marketing, sales strategy, customer service, community management, technology, youth development, and social entrepreneurship.

Host Organization: SD Mayer & Associates

Role at Host Organization: Ahmed will be responsible for strengthening SD Mayer & Associates’ current position in the non-profit space, while also expanding upon it. He will help with figuring out which services their clients could be using but are not already, and assessing what non-profit organizations need in a general sense. Ahmed will also help market their firm, cultivate new client relationships, and perpetuate current ones. Additionally, Ahmed will create an internal program to expand the community outreach of our employees.

Aida Merabet has over ten years working experience with different nonprofits and corporations in the fields of business empowerment for women and youth educational programs in Algeria. She earned an MBA in Management Marketing from ESG Paris. Aida is the Founder of the social enterprise “Power Harmony Solution.” Previously, Aida worked as the Middle East Partnership (MEPI) Alumni Local Chapter Coordinator, where she strengthened commitment to civic activism, thus creating an environment where alumni can work together to bring positive change to the region. She helped empower young people to work for their economic success as an Education & Training Officer at Injaz El Djazair. As a Hub Manager for the Middle East and North Africa Business Women Network (MENABWN), she was responsible for leading and managing a program to support business women in Algeria. She has also served as an Algerian Country Officer Alwane-Algeria, with Women’s campaign International, an initiative that seeks to empower Algerian women to hold decision-making positions and to enhance their leadership roles so that they can become role models for the region. She also enjoys volunteering, whether it be as the Under Secretary General for Algeria’s national Model United Nations conference or as the Algeria Country Coordinator for the World Peace Initiative Foundation’s Project Peace In and Peace Out (PIPO).

Host Organization: Atlas Corps | American Express

Role at Host Organization: Aida will support the overall strengthening of leadership development in the nonprofit sector through a partnership with American Express. In her role, Aida will help to expand the American Express Leadership Academy franchise. Building on the American Express role in supporting best-in-class leadership practices and capacity building, she will coordinate and grow the alumni network; manage and coordinate the global Alumni Summit, help develop and improve communication and dissemination of best practices and provide overall project support for the Leaderstories.org website.

Aishwarya is a professional with three years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She holds an MBA in Marketing & Biotechnology from the University of Pune and currently works as a consultant with social enterprises and state governments. Her project themes range from education to environment, and her skills include program management, partnership building, training, and facilitation. In her previous role, Aishwarya led successful projects aimed at advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals through global mobility programs. She has also taught over 200 underprivileged children at a government school for two years as a Teach for India Fellow. Furthermore, she has spearheaded mindfulness programs in various organizations and is a Toastmasters International Ambassador, advocating for building leadership through public speaking. Aishwarya’s passion lies in nurturing leadership and empowering individuals towards a more inclusive society.

Host Organization: Northwestern University, Buffett Institute for Global Affairs

Role at Host Organization: As a Global Engagement Programs Fellow, Aishwarya will play a role in managing global engagement programs at GLO. The Fellowship will have some flexibility based on the Fellows interest and experience—possibilities include assessment, event planning, program/partnership management and development, marketing and recruitment, curriculum development, and alum engagement.