Management Team
our team
Staff
Obinna Anya
Co-founder
Obinna Anya is currently a Senior UX Researcher at Google Cloud AI and Industry Solutions. He grew up in Nigeria, was educated in Nigeria and the UK, and holds a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction. His research has shaped concepts and product innovation in e-health, future work design, enterprise data science, ethical social robotics, retail AI, cloud services compliance monitoring, and usable machine learning. Having had the privilege to study abroad and work at Liverpool Hope University, IBM and Google, Obinna is eager to establish a community to empower students in Africa with technical and soft skills necessary for the 21st century workplace, and help connect them to opportunities in industry-leading companies.
Osa Omokaro
Co-founder
Osa Omokaro is a Senior User Experience Researcher, leading research globally to inform product innovation and strategy on YouTube. She is the founder of Black Chic Tech, a platform dedicated to using fashion and lifestyle as a special purpose vehicle to increase representation & engagement of Black women in tech. She received a PhD in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her work is published at top research journals and conferences such as, Ubicomp, Ubicomm and PerCom.
Advisory Board Members
Christian Nwachukwu Okeke
Board Chairman
Christian Nwachukwu Okeke is a Professor of International Law, Jurisprudence and Comparative Law. He is the Director of Sompong Sucharitkul Center for Advanced International Legal Studies at Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco California. He is also the Director of LL.M. and S.J.D. Programs in international legal studies at the University. He earned a Master of Law (LL.M.) with honors (summa cum laude) from Kiev State University, Ukraine, and Doctor in de Rechtsgeleerdheid (Ph.D.) from Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Before joining Golden Gate University, he was Emeritus Pioneer Dean and Professor of Law at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria (1985-1991), and Enugu State University of Science and Technology, (ESUT), Nigeria (1991-1994) respectively. He was a Deputy Vice Chancellor of ESUT.
Professor Okeke is a Visiting Professor of Law at the Mount Crest University College of Laws in Accra, Ghana. He is a longstanding active member of both the American Society of International Law (ASIL), and the American Society of Comparative Law (ASCL) serving as a Director of the latter. He was appointed the pioneer Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, Nigeria from its inception in 2009, a position he holds till date.
Professor Okeke is a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He is acknowledged as a comparatist, widely published, and fluent in Igbo, English, Russian and Dutch. In 2012 he was knighted by Pope Benedict XVI in recognition of his outstanding services to the Church and to humanity at large.
Mekka Okereke
Board Member
Mekka Okereke serves as Engineering Director for Growth on Google Play, one of the largest digital marketplaces on earth. Prior to Google, he was at Amazon, where he led the Appstore Developer Services organization. Mekka is passionate about building diverse and inclusive teams. His organization is one of the most inclusive engineering teams at Google. He serves as executive sponsor of several initiatives, including Project Lifesaver, Tech Exchange, and Computer Science Summer Institute. Outside of Google, Mekka has served on the board of several non-profits. He is a frequent speaker, consultant, and mentor sharing his expertise with leaders on inclusivity in the workplace, diversity in tech, and successful team building.
Melissa Cefkin
Board Member
Melissa Cefkin is currently a Sr. Staff UX Researcher at Waymo, a foremost American autonomous driving technology development company. An anthropologist with a long career at the intersection of social research and business and technology, Melissa Cefkin began working on autonomous vehicles in 2015, fulfilling a life-long love of transportation matters. She worked at Nissan Research, where she was a Principal Scientist and Senior Manager. Her work has focused on people’s interactions with automated technology of all kinds, especially those related to mobility and people’s working lives. A long-time observer and participant in the growth of anthropological research in and with business, Melissa is the author of numerous publications including the edited volume Ethnography and the Corporate Encounter. She has served as president and conference co-chair for EPIC and on a US National Academies of Science committee on Information Technology, Automation and the Workforce. A frequent public and academic speaker and Fulbright award grantee, Melissa holds a PhD from Rice University; she worked previously at IBM Research, Sapient and the Institute for Research on Learning (IRL).
James Okafor
Board Member
James Okafor is a priest of the Diocese of San Jose. Currently, he is the Parish Administrator at St. Frances Cabrini Church, San Jose. Also, an Adjunct Lecturer in the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries (GPPM) at Santa Clara University. He received his Master’s degree in Catechetics from Santa Clara University and a Doctoral Degree in Catholic Education from the University of San Francisco.
Osa Omokaro
Co-founder
Osa Omokaro is a Senior User Experience Researcher, leading research globally to inform product innovation and strategy on YouTube. She is the founder of Black Chic Tech, a platform dedicated to using fashion and lifestyle as a special purpose vehicle to increase representation & engagement of Black women in tech. She received a PhD in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her work is published at top research journals and conferences such as, Ubicomp, Ubicomm and PerCom.
Obinna Anya
Co-founder
Obinna Anya is currently a Senior UX Researcher at Google Cloud AI and Industry Solutions. He grew up in Nigeria, was educated in Nigeria and the UK, and holds a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction. His research has shaped concepts and product innovation in e-health, future work design, enterprise data science, ethical social robotics, retail AI, cloud services compliance monitoring, and usable machine learning. Having had the privilege to study abroad and work at Liverpool Hope University, IBM and Google, Obinna is eager to establish a community to empower students in Africa with technical and soft skills necessary for the 21st century workplace, and help connect them to opportunities in industry-leading companies.
