Resume

Career Summary

2010 – Present

Director

Twamanguluka Consultancy CC, Windhoek, Namibia

Founded consultancy firm to build leadership capacity and provide advocacy, lobbying, and civil engagement training for youth to support their own organizations. Leveraged funds for International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumni through American Embassy to provide capacity-building training for National Youth Council (NYC) Regional Coordinators.

Developed educational animation featuring characters from different parts of Africa to create positive African identities for young people.
Marshalled students throughout the country to share unique experiences at National Education Conference for incorporation into education policy reform advocacy.
Played active role in developing National Human Resource Plan for Namibia as member of National Planning Commission (NPC) Working Group.
Led Namibian youth in drafting position paper that was presented at National Education Conference in collaboration with Namibian National Student Organization (NANSO) and National Youth Council.

2009 -2010

Senior Operations Officer

Namibia Global Fund Programme, Ministry of Health and Social Services/Program Management Unit | Windhoek, Namibia

Liaised between Namibian Ministry of Health & Social Services and its grantees for HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria programs, frequently collaborating with executive directors, program managers, and finance teams. Supported grantees to meet their deliverables. Reviewed grant agreements and implementation letters. Supervised junior operations officer, and coordinated with Program Management Unit staff, consultants, and grantees. Traveled nationally to support grant management team.

Broke down organization silos by mediating between international and local staff to improve office relations.
Upheld service standards and ensured delivery of quality programming by monitoring performance data and providing capacity-building opportunities.

2003 -2016

Co-Founder and Executive Director

Physically Active Youth Programme Namibia, Windhoek

Served in multiple roles to further mission of advancing disadvantaged youth. Provided 100-120 young people each year with academic support, daily hot meals, mentoring, life skills including ESD, SRH, and nutrition, coding and robotics skills, exposure opportunities, and sports. Built and cultivated partnerships to expand quality services. Created platforms for direct communication with participants. Measured tangible program outcomes to guide decision-making. Managed marketing and advocacy efforts. Directed ~10 staff members and ~30 volunteers. Set and managed budgets and leveraged resources from government, international partners, and private sector.

Formed long-term formal partnership with Namibian Cycling Federation, which provided country-wide training and offered organizational coaching, including by travelling to the UK to garner support.
Boosted student experience in policymaking process by winning support of conference organizers for students to share their stories at largest education conference in Namibia to gain interest and support from policymakers.
Strengthened training of regional youth coordinators in rural communities to improve service delivery by applying for and receiving funding from National Youth Council.

Education

2016 - 2024

PhD, Global Urban Studies | Rutgers University, Newark, NJ

Defended dissertation How do Holistic Afterschool Programs Improve the Readiness of Poor Black Learners in Urban Namibia and South Africa to Enter Tertiary Education? Case Studies Examining Two Successful Afterschool Programs Operating in the Post-Apartheid Context (August 27, 2024).
Collected and analyzed data in former black townships of Windhoek, Namibia, and Cape Town, South Africa for my mixed methods dissertation, including 124 interviews and 84 surveys (2022-23).
Supported the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers-Newark as a Graduate Assistant, including to develop a training curriculum for Critical Participatory Action Research for one of their partners and deliver the initial training of trainers (2022-2023).
Defended dissertation proposal (2020).
Taught Sociology of Education and Urban Politics & Public Policy, as Teaching Assistant (2019-20).
Supported Thriving Neighborhoods Initiative (TNI) as a Graduate Assistant at the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, a community change initiative in Newark’s Fairmont Heights & Upper Clinton Hill neighborhoods (2018-19).
Implemented programming at East Side High School in Newark as Graduate Assistant for Newest Americans Program (2016-2018).
Volunteered in education unit at Newark City Hall (2017).

2007

Bachelors of Accounting University of Namibia

Windhoek, Namibia

Core Competencies

Languages

English | German | Afrikaans | Kinyarwanda