Yvonne E. Mwende

Background

About Yvonne E. Mwende

Development Communication specialist with close to 10 years of experience supporting entities across Kenya and internationally through Impactful Storytelling, Advocacy, Knowledge Management, and Communication Strategy Development and Implementation, with clients across various sectors including Health, Finance, Renewable Energy, Digital Security, Wildlife Conservation, Youth Development, etc. Currently, as an Independent Consultant, I partner with clients across Not-for-profit, Government, and Public Sectors to deliver reliable and enabling solutions that have led to the strengthening of their institutional capacities. At my previous role in Winrock International (WI) serving in the capacity of Communications Officer, I managed key strategic partnerships, leveraging on this to engage the youth groups to deliberately present their policy decisions to their county governments in public forums. Prior to joining WI, I served as a Volunteer and Consultant at the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK), where I was actively engaged in influencing women’s socio-political gains in Kenya through profiling women political aspirants and advocating for policy implementation around the two-thirds gender principle. Notably, I have also profiled Top Achieving Women in Kenya drawn from various sectors. The stories of inspiring, achieving, powerhouse women was published in Volume 1 of the Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board, Pioneers and Transformers: The Journeys of Women Trailblazers in Kenya. Recently, I joined the Board of AMWIK, a national media association for women journalists and communicators. Here I offer strategic leadership along with other board members to ensure that AMWIK uses the media to promote an informed and gender-responsive society in Kenya and Africa. I also sit on the Board of Siasa Place, where I hope to build a new cadre of young leaders, especially women leaders that think critically, work relentlessly and competently, influence decisions, and serve with integrity, who will drive change in Africa and transform the Continent’s narrative. As a thought leader, I write opinions on women’s rights, social justice, and inequality among other social development issues. My mission is to create enabling environments that sustain gender transformative leadership and equitable development. I am an alumna of the African Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Initiative (AWLMI) by Urgent Action Fund-Africa in collaboration with Coady International Institute.