Fellows (2021 - 2022)
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Associate Fellow
Sara Tadesse (Ethiopia)
Sara Tadesse operates at the intersection of social justice and culture change, leaving behind a career in the field of ‘Geometra’ - Architecture following a yearlong experience in one of the biggest hydropower projects in the Continent, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Having moved to the UK, she was exposed to the inequality ethnic minority groups face occupying white spaces, and the attribution of second-class citizen was a novel experience. Nonetheless, through her course in Humanities Studies -Anthropology, Sociology and African and Caribbean studies- at Kensington and Chelsea College while settling in to the new environment she cultivated how to marry cultural cornerstones – politics, activism, and art.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and African Studies (Swahili) from School of Oriental and African Studies. Alongside her Master’s Programme in Global Leadership and Peacebuilding at King’s College London, she is also a Fellow on the African Leadership Centre’s (ALC) Peace, Security, and Development Associate Fellowship Programme. She is also one of the Founding mothers, Secretary and Coordinator of the thematic group Health and Education at Ethionxtgen, a UK Ethiopian Diaspora youth-lead initiative aiming to bridge the gap between young and professional Ethiopians in the UK with leaders, businesses, and organisations in Ethiopia. In light of the ongoing conflict, she has participated in fundraising projects collecting food and clothes donations to IDP’s and refugees in Sudan. She has now taken interest in the security sector and conflict resolution research areas.
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Associate Fellow
Oyin Olugbile (Nigeria)
Oyin is a business development leader and strategist, with core strengths in organizational strategies and process design for social enterprises.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Creative Arts from the University of Lagos, as well as certifications in Entrepreneurship (Harvard Business School Online), Women in Leadership (Lagos Business School), and Strategic Management (Lagos Business School). She is a Certified Management Consultant and a WIMBIZ (Women In Management, Business and Public Service) Associate. She is currently a master’s scholar, focused on Leadership and Development at the African Leadership Centre, Kings’ College, London.
In 2004, Oyin represented the African child at the Global Summit of Women in Seoul, South Korea.
As an undergraduate at the University of Lagos, Oyin became a member of the Nigerian Leadership Initiative (NLI) and was the student Vice-President. In 2012, she co-founded the Youth Participatory Development Initiative - an initiative that strives to give the under-served an opportunity to compete/contribute within their societies. The Initiative worked towards equal opportunities for youth development, regardless of parental, financial, or behavioural backgrounds.
In 2013, she gained recognition for her impact in various areas of social development, securing a nomination for the Public Service Excellence by the ’30-under-30 Awards’ championed by the ‘Think-Oyo Initiative. In 2014, she Co-founded and led the Eve Global Foundation for Women, an advocacy initiative of Genesis Studios, Nigeria. In 2019, she organised a conference to promote discussions about “Involving the Nigerian Child”, which brought together young and old, and provided guidance to the current establishment about how Nigerian youngsters want to get involved in designing their future. Roles in business development, consulting, non-profit, and product design have given her the ability to manage multi-disciplinary projects and to navigate complex challenges.
Her current work and interests entail assisting social enterprises with impact management and measurement, leveraging data and statistical methodologies for the design of sustainable, effective programs and processes, and for the improvement of governance.
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Associate Fellow
Wokedje Homawoo (Togo)
Wokedje Homawoo is a Togolese and French social enthusiast, particularly on issues pertaining to women and youth demographics. She holds an International Management BSc from The University of Manchester’s Alliance Business School and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. While currently undertaking a Leadership & Development MSc at King’s College London, she is also a Fellow on the African Leadership Centre’s (ALC) Peace, Security, and Development Associate Fellowship Programme. In 2020, Wokedje led a fundraiser to laud Black women-owned businesses, social initiatives and to promote self-care - supporting over 20 global causes aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Simultaneously, she also played a role within The Hopenclass, a non-profit global think tank, where she coordinated the creation of courses for online learning platforms through an Academic Residency Program. While her research interests include education access, aquaponics, and digital transformation, Wokedje's broader area of interest is Food Security for Africa. Her vision is to see every underserved citizen of the continent assuring this primary need in the contexts of conflict and climate change, and ultimately leveraging this security as a tool to blossom to their full potential.
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Early Career Women Fellows
Chelsea Cohen (South Africa)
Chelsea Cohen is a South Africa-based criminologist. She holds an LLM master’s in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of Cape Town, where her focus was on sociopolitical factors that facilitate transnational crimes and security issues in Africa. She is currently a Fellow on the African Leadership Centre’s (ALC) Peace, Security and Development Fellowship Programme for Early Career Women in partnership with King’s College London (KCL). Chelsea Cohen has spent the last 3 years working extensively with NGOs such as the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation on research and policy issues, conflict and social cohesion and peacebuilding programmes. She has worked in the Public Service sectors such as the Public Protector as an investigator of service delivery as well as administrative justice and maladministration issues. She has published works on gender-based violence in South Africa and on issues pertaining to the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 women, peace and security agenda in South Africa. While on the fellowship, Chelsea aims to focus on thematic areas relating to social-political factors of community conflict, community development in fragile states, and regional solutions to resolving conflict, crime and violence in Africa.
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Early Career Women Fellows
Raïssa Roeaneba Zoungrana (Burkina Faso)
Raïssa Roeaneba Zoungrana is a Burkina Faso-based Developmental Economist. She holds a master’s degree in Macroeconomics and Development Management from the Saint Thomas d’Aquin University of Saaba and a second in Gender Population and Development from the Pan African Institute of Development in Ouagadougou. She is currently a Fellow on the African Leadership Centre’s (ALC) Peace, Security and Development Fellowship Programme for Early Career Women in partnership with King’s College London (KCL). Prior to this, she gained 4 years’ experience in the non-profit sector working and volunteering for international organisations as International Service, The Fondation Hirondelle. She also worked for the African Youth Initiative for Development (AYID) as the Director in charge of gender promotion where she successfully implemented several projects and activities focused on tackling gender-based violence and promoting women's empowerment. In 2020 she led a baseline study in the outskirts of Ouagadougou to evaluate the needs of internal displaced people and is leading the implementation of a project focused on the second phase of an educational project designed to help internally displaced children. Raïssa’s research interests include women’s access to resources, conflict resolution, terrorism and the future of internal displaced people.
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Early Career Women Fellows
Gorata Chepete (Botswana)
Gorata Chepete is a Botswana-based criminologist and public policy and regulatory affairs practitioner. She holds a Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Botswana and a Diploma in Political Economic Risk Analysis from the University of Stellenbosch. She is currently a Fellow on the African Leadership Centre’s (ALC) Peace, Security and Development Fellowship Programme for Early Career Women in partnership with King’s College London (KCL). She previously worked closely with the African Union on its year of the Silencing the Guns programme, actively reporting to the AU Peace and Security department about violence/insurgency in Africa, particularly about the effective rolling out of the Silencing the Guns programme. She has been the Model United Nations peace ambassador for two years with her main responsibility being conducting research on peacekeeping missions and how African states can adopt them. Gorata dedicates her time to mentoring young girls in her community. Her research interests include transnational organised crime, terrorism, corruption and governance, policy reform and gender issues.