Kelly has dedicated her professional career to develop the leadership capacity, emotional and cultural intelligence, and professional skills of young people around the world. She became the Executive Director at the Future Leaders Foundation in June 2019 where she manages an exclusive network of outstanding young leaders. Kelly played an integral role in the development and execution of President Obama’s signature public diplomacy program between the U.S. and African continent, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). While working on YALI at the U.S. Department of State, she served as a liaison between U.S. diplomatic missions in Sub-Saharan Africa and U.S. higher education institutions that hosted 1,000 of Africa’s most innovative young people each summer. Additionally, Kelly managed Generation Citizen’s Global Network for Youth Action to build the capacity of international civic education organizations to increase civic engagement among youth. Finally, Kelly incorporated her own organization in early 2018, Exchanging America, which provides immersive leadership development exchange programs for emerging American leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kelly obtained a Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Education Entrepreneurship.

Linh Dinh is a data scientist with extensive experience in consulting, technology, and data analytics. After graduating from Smith College with a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics, she worked at Compass Lexecon – an economic consulting firm based in Washington, DC – examining data to formulate arguments used in regulatory proceedings. Wanting to drive more implementation-focused and innovative projects, Linh transitioned to a new position at Everquote Inc. – a digital marketing startup based in Boston, MA – where she analyzed large consumer datasets to uncover new product ideas, subsequently overseeing their executions. She is currently an M.S. Candidate in Computational Analysis and Public Policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Linh finds Sozo’s mission especially resonating with her personal beliefs – that is, enabling disadvantaged populations the fair access to opportunity and personal development – and wants to bring her expertise and experience to support Sozo’s on their mission to impact more youths in Africa.

Wura is passionate about youth empowerment and leadership in Africa as a means to address challenging social and economic issues. She is also interested in the role of postsecondary education in shaping the next generation of African leaders and proactively preparing youth, and the continent, for the future of work. Her interests align with the core mission of Sozo Networks and she hopes to contribute towards the organization’s efforts in impacting lives by building and empowering young African leaders. Wura works in education consulting, helping clients, primarily in higher education, develop and execute short- and long-term strategic goals. Prior to this, she spent four years with Deloitte & Touche LLP in Houston, TX, working as an external auditor for clients in the oil and gas industry. Through this, she gained experience in understanding business processes, verifying the effectiveness of organizations’ internal controls and ensuring accuracy of financial statement reporting. Wura holds her Master’s degree in International Education Policy from Harvard University and also holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Accounting from Baylor University in Waco, TX.