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Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg
Educator and women's leadership advocate
She helped young women turn educational opportunity into public leadership.
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Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg founded Akili Dada, an organisation supporting the education and leadership of young African women. Her work has focused on widening access for women whose circumstances restrict their opportunities.
She has also contributed to initiatives supporting African women in agricultural research. Across these settings, her work connects individual development with the institutions and networks that determine whose knowledge and leadership are recognised.
Life and work
Wanjirū Kamau-Rutenberg is an Executive in Residence at Schmidt Futures. Before that she was Director of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD). Wanjiru is also the Founder and past executive director of Akili Dada, a leadership incubator for African girls and young women and a former assistant professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco.
Kamau-Rutenberg earned a Ph.D in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, where she concentrated on International Relations, Gender Studies & African History. Her 2008 dissertation on the Impact of Ethnic Politics on Women’s Rights legislation during Kenya’s Democratic Transition theorised about the intersection of gender, (re)production of ethnic identities and democratisation processes in emerging economies. Her essay using a gender lens to explore forced circumcision of men during Kenya's 2007-08 Post Election ethnic violence was one of the first of its kind to use African men's experiences of political violence as a point of departure to theorise the intersection of gender and politics and was published in the Oxford University Transitional Justice Research Working Paper Series.
She was also awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa) by Whitman College, Washington. This Honorary Doctorate recognised her scholarly work and activism towards gender equality especially in Africa. She delivered the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2017 as part of the award ceremony.
Kamau-Rutenberg also holds a Master of Arts degree in political science from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis awarded in 2005, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington awarded in 2001.
In 2005, Kamau-Rutenberg established Akili Dada, a leadership incubator for girls and young women based in Nairobi, Kenya to address the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in Africa.
Kamau-Rutenberg also served as an Assistant Professor at University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, from August 2008 to March 2014. During her career in academia she focused on the politics of International Aid and Development, Politics of Global Philanthropy, African Politics, International Relations, Politics of Race and Ethnic Identity.
Kamau-Rutenberg also served as a Lecturer in International Relations at Hekima University College, a Constituent College of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, from August 2013 to January 2014.
In March 2014 she was appointed the director of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD)] which is hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. AWARD invests in agricultural scientists, research institutions, and agribusinesses, strengthening their ability to deliver gender-responsive agricultural innovation for inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity across Africa. In 2017 AWARD announced the One Planet Fellowships, a $20M, 5 year initiative to invest in the careers of 600 scientists working towards research to help African smallholder farmers adapt towards a changing climate.
Wanjiru has, and continues to serve in numerous Boards. In 2021 she was appointed to Board of Landesa, the world's largest land rights organization, and the Board of the Syngenta Foundation. She also serves on the Selection Committee of the Africa Food Prize, the Board of the Wangari Maathai Foundation, and the President's Advisory Board of Whitman College.
She also sits on the Councils of the African Climate Foundation and The Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn. She is a member of the Malabo Montpellier Panel, a high-level panel of independent experts that supports African governments and civil society identify and implement policies that enhance agriculture, food and nutrition security across the continent. She also serves on the Board of Twaweza, East Africa's largest public and policy engagement platform.
This section adapts selected passages from Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg by Wikipedia contributors. It is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected passages; pronunciation guides, lists and reference markers omitted; punctuation and paragraph breaks adjusted. Photographs have separate licences.
