MEET OUR TEAM

  Acting Director

Charles Wanguhu is a Pan-Africanist, with a focus on human rights and good governance. He is the founding director of the Enzi Ijayo-Africa Initiative, which focuses on Africa’s future development in the context of the global climate crisis. Since 2016, he has served on the board of the Africa Centre for Open Governance, where he was previously head of programs (2008–2013). An experienced analyst on the political economy of oil and gas, Wanguhu has coordinated civil society platforms, including the Kenya Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas, and served as civil society gas lead at the African Climate Foundation in 2022. His earlier roles include positions at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and the Danish Institute for Human Rights. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bedfordshireand a master’s in international and commercial dispute resolution from the University of Westminster. Wanguhu is an alumnus of the Draper Hills Fellows Programat Stanford University.

Director of Programmes

Maria is a senior business executive with 20 years’ work experience in shipping, oil and gas regulation and banking in Ghana, West Africa. She is a respected thought leader in maritime infrastructure project development, maritime decarbonization, coastal and short-sea shipping. Ms. Ogbugo is passionate about developing bankable and transformational projects to meet Africa's infrastructure needs and she believes that climate action presents an opportunity for Africa to grow its maritime sector in a climate resilient way. She has consulted for many organisations including the International Maritime Organization, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), African Policy Research Institute, and recently for the Climate Champions Team.

Senior Policy Officer: Public Finance

Maria is a development economist with experience in providing analytical insights  and evidence-based policy advice. She has led and coordinated the delivery of programmes within philanthropy, think tanks, and policy institutes in southern and east Africa. Her core mission is to drive policy and systemic shifts that contribute to Africa’s transformative agenda. Maria is an alumni of the Future Leaders Programme at SOAS, University of London and the New Structural Economics Summer School at Beijing’s Peking University. She holds an MCom (Cum Laude) from the University of the Witwatersrand. 

Senior Policy Officer: Trade

Shimukunku is an economist and trade expert with 10 years experience in trade promotion, policy analysis and research. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Zambia and an MSc in International Trade Policy and Trade Law from Lund University, Sweden. Shimukunku  has worked for the Zambia Development Agency as an Export Development Officer and as a Researcher at the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) where he rose to the rank of Head of the Trade and Investment Unit. More recently, he held the role of Project Manager (Regional Trade and Value Chains) at the Delegation of the European Union to Zambia and COMESA. He has undertaken consultancy work for the International Trade Centre, International Labour Organisation, African Development Bank, KPMG and Enhanced Integrated Framework, among others. 

Research Assistant

Kasonde is an economist and researcher with over five years experience in evidence-based research, policy analysis and policy advocacy. He has an interest in Pan-African and development studies, as well as environmental economics and international trade. He is passionate about leveraging his expertise to contribute to valuable insights at the intersection of economic theory and real-world policy challenges at regional, continental and global level. Kasonde is eager to drive positive impact through informed decision-making and innovative solutions in the global economic landscape. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Copperbelt University, Zambia and a Master of Science Degree in International Trade Policy and Trade Law from Lund University.

Media Relations & Communications Associate

Ozayr Patel is a seasoned journalist, editor, and communication professional with a strong background in digital media, research, and audience development. With experience spanning newspaper, TV, and online journalism, he has held key editorial roles, including Digital Editor and Section Editor, focusing on climate, environment, and broader news coverage. Passionate about digital journalism and innovative storytelling, Ozayr specialises in making complex topics accessible to diverse audiences through various media platforms.

Senior Advisor: Green Industrialisation

Dr. Ken Opalo is an Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is also a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development, a research fellow in the Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University, and a Senior Fellow at New America. His research interests include the political economy of development, legislative institutions in Africa, the politics of state building, and the politics of education policy. Ken’s first book, Legislative Development in Africa: Politics and Postcolonial Legacies (Cambridge University Press, 2019) explores the cross-sectional and longitudinal variation in legislative institutionalization and strength in African states. He is currently working on two books titled Making Politics Work for Development in Africa and Educating Loyal Citizens and Workers: The Political Economy of Education Policy in Tanzania Since 1961. Ken has published papers in the British Journal of Political Science, Democratization, Journal of Democracy, the Journal of Legislative Studies, World Development, the Journal of Eastern African Studies, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, the Journal of Historical Political Economy, among others. Ken is a regular columnist for Kenya’s Standard Newspaper, occasionally contributes to Bloomberg Opinion, and has published in Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. Ken also blogs on Substack (An Africanist Perspective) at https://www.africanistperspective.com/

Executive Assistant