Prof Ngila joined the AAS on 17^th of July 2020 as the Interim ED for 6 months. In her role, she will provide leadership and strategic direction of AAS’s programmes in order to achieve the Academy’s vision, mission and objectives. She will oversee both the programmatic and operational management of the organization with a focus to sustainably drive the mandate of AAS through the secretariat team, and to represent the academy globally.

Prof Ngila has joined the Academy from Riara University where she is on leave of absence as the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs. Her portfolio at the University involved supporting the university management  in delivering the University strategic objectives.  She has been in-charge of coordinating the formulation and implementation of University policies, regulations, quality assurance encompassing standards and guidelines that create a framework for academic excellence, effective management, implementation and evaluation of University programmes and activities, towards achieving of the  University’s vision & mission. Prior to Riara University, she held a number of leadership positions in both academic institutions as well as the public sector, which include the Kenya Pipeline Company Ltd where she served as Deputy Director of the Morendat Institute of Oil and Gas in charge of training, academic and linkages; University of Johannesburg where she was the Head of Applied Chemistry Department and previously Deputy Head in charge of Research and Post graduate Studies; University of Kwa Zulu Natal, School of Chemistry; University of Botswana and Kenyatta University in the Departments of Chemistry .

Ngila is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), Department of Chemical Sciences, as well as a Visiting Professor at the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kenya. Her research work is on Analytical/Environmental Chemistry and focuses on water quality/pollution monitoring, methods of water treatment based on nanotechnology, development of analytical methodologies for detecting metal pollutants and other chemical substances including their speciation analysis, in water.

She has held membership/leadership positions  to national, regional and international committees including chairing of the rating and proposal review panels of National Research Foundation; Membership of the UNESCO programmes such as ANSTI-COVIDSET), STEM Mentorship programme; Panel of Adjudicators of L’Oreal UNESCO for Women in Science in Sub-Saharan African Programme; Member of USA based African Scientific Institute (ASI) among other committees/bodies. She has about 25 years of research experience post PhD and has a sustained record of publications in accredited journals, good track record of postgraduate research supervision and training of masters and doctoral levels. She is rated by South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and has over 430 publications comprising of 210 journal articles, 15 book chapters, 17 proceedings, 37 keynote/invited lectures and 160 conference abstracts.

Prof Ngila has won various Awards including African Union Kwame Nkrumah East Africa Regional Women Scientific Awards (January 2017) for excellence in research in water quality monitoring and treatment using nanotechnology; South Africa Distinguished Women in Science (WISA) Awards - Physical Sciences & Engineering (August 2016), and different research grant Awards by  Organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons (OPCW); The Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO); South Africa’s NRF, Water Research Commission, CSIR, Sasol and Eskom, among others.

She is a Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS); Fellow Africa Academy of Sciences (FAAS); Member Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); Member of the AAS mentorship programmes; the Chair of the AAS Education & Gender Working Group; and Co-Chair of the 2021 Commonwealth Science Conference, a joint venture of Royal Society and the AAS. She is also a member of various Chemical Societies and Professional Organizations.

She holds a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from University of New South Wales in Australia, MSc in Chemistry and BEd.Sci from Kenyatta University.

Yvonne Moraa Onsotti is the Manager, Human Resources and Operations with substantial experience in Human resource practices and people matters.  She is passionate about Cultural Diversity and hopes to be a top-notch HR Professional impacting stakeholders to become effective leaders for continued strategic expertise. She has a proven reputation with a consistent history of exemplary performance reviews and recognition for driving efficiency improvements to office systems, work flows and processes ensuring sustainable competitive advantage.

Prior to joining AAS, she was Manager, Human Resources and Administration for Enwealth Financial Services Ltd a leading company that offers both Corporate and Individual Pension Administration.  During her tenure at Enwealth Financial Services, she was able to develop a competency framework that enhanced employee productivity levels driving business performance.  She brings in her wealth of experience of 10 plus years in the HR field that spans from manufacturing, education as well as the financial services sector.  She has interacted with HR Board Committees on Corporate Governance and how it adds value for Human Resources function.  Her core priority is to ensure HR and operations strategy is aligned to AAS strategy to meet strategic goals.  She is a Certified Human Resources Practitioner and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.

Dr. Obed Ogega, PhD is a climate scientist and program management specialist with a focus on research capacity strengthening for development in response to Africa’s developmental needs and priorities. In his role as Programmes Manager, Dr. Ogega leads a team at the AAS that is working towards the creation of a critical mass of emerging, and established, research leaders that will deliver the ‘Africa We Want’ as envisioned in Africa’s Agenda 2063. 

Before joining the AAS, Dr. Ogega worked with CORDIO East Africa and the Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi in various capacities. He holds a PhD in Environmental Studies (Climate Change & Sustainability) and is well-published in climate science and its application to various sectors. Additionally, Dr. Ogega is an Adjunct Professor of Climate Science at the Department of Chemistry & Physics, Saint Mount Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Alex Misoi is the AAS’s Finance and Grants Manager. He has over 14 years’ experience in Financial Management, Project Management, Review of Financial Management systems, Corporate Strategy formulation & Implementation, Development of Financial strategy, systems and procedure manuals, and Organizational reviews. Alex previously served as a Finance Manager at Centre for Health Solutions (CHS). He oversaw financial processing and reporting to various donor. He gained experience in leading teams to merge financial and programmatic proposals that lead to winning of grants and awards. This helped the NGO grow its funding level immensely through leverage of systems, technology and sound understanding of donor requirements.

Before CHS, Alex worked at Ernst & Young (EY) as Senior Auditor in the Not-for-Profit Organizations sector. He led various teams in conducting Audits, Compliance and limited scope reviews and Capacity Assessment of organizations in Africa. Alex also worked for Toyota East Africa as an Accountant where he participated in financial processing and reporting. He is passionate about sustainable development in the African continent and looks forward to making meaningful contributions to Africa’s science space. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from Kenyatta University and studied ACCA in Strathmore College.

Ms. Lydia Manoti works in the Strategy and Partnership Development Department at the African Academy of Sciences as the Manager, Resource Mobilization and Partnerships. She oversees the resource mobilization and management of organisation partnerships cooperation. She has experience in fundraising, negotiations and building various forms of institutional partnerships and cooperation arrangements with external partners as well as strategic planning.

Before joining the AAS, Ms. Lydia worked with the Save the Children International as the Business Development Manager where she managed the resource mobilisation, developed relationships with donors and international partners; coordinated the development and implementation of the Funding Strategic Plan and designed new projects.  She also worked at the African Academy of Sciences in the incubation of the Coalition for African Research Initiative hosted at the African Academy of Sciences. Before then, she worked with SOS Children’s Villages International as the Institutional Partnership Development Manager, Contracts Manager for Marie Stopes International. She also worked in the Directorate of capacity building at Amref Health Africa short courses training and USAID/Kenya Health Strengthening programme. In this capacity, she was responsible for the resource mobilization and fundraising initiatives, capacity development, partnership and networking, grants management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects implemented by various agencies. She also participated in coordination meetings with donors and partners coordination.