Celebrating Ndi-Igbo

  Okechukwu Nzelu is a Manchester-based writer. In 2015 he was the recipient of a Northern Writers' Award from New Writing North. In 2020 his debut novel, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney , won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize, and the Polari First Book Prize. In 2021, it was selected for the Kingston University Big Read.  He is a regular contributor to Kinfolk magazine. His second novel, Here Again Now, will be published by Dialogue Books/Little,Brown in March 2022.  He is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Lancaster University. Sources: Hachette, Nzelu.org

  Jennifer Nwankwo Ph.D. is the founder and CEO @ 1910 Genetics. 1910 Genetics is a biotechnology company integrating AI, computation and biological automation to accelerate the design of small molecule and protein therapeutics. Their mission is to decrease the timeline and cost of drug development, while improving the success rate of bring innovative medicines to patients in need. They have two drug discovery engines - ELVIS™ and ROSALYND™ - that enable the design of both small molecule and protein therapeutics, an unmatched capability in the AI drug discovery space. Our therapeutic area-agnostic, end-to-end technology powers the full length of early drug discovery - from novel hit discovery to hit to lead, and lead optimization. They are currently applying their technology to drug discovery programs in several areas including, but not limited to, neuroscience, infectious disease, immunology and oncology. They are fortunate to have closed Series A and Seed funding from awesome inv...

  Paola Ogechi Egonu is an Italian volleyball player. She plays for Imoco Volley and is part of the Italy women's national volleyball team. She participated at the 2018 Montreux Volley Masters, 2018 FIVB Volleyball World Championship, and 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League. At club level she played for Club Italia in 2015. She was selected to play the Italian League All-Star game in 2017. In 2017 she moved to AGIL Novara. Ogechi was awarded the prize for Woman of the Year 2019 by D - la Repubblica delle donne, a weekly magazine of la Repubblica. Paola was one of the flagbearers of the Olympic Flag at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. She was born at Cittadella, in Veneto, to Nigerian parents. Her father, Ambrose, is Igbo from Imo State and her mother, Eunice, from Benin City. Sources: Sources: Wikipedia, Tokyo 2020

  Barthélémy Chinenyeze is a French volleyball player, member of the France men's national volleyball team and Italian club Volley Callipo. He joined the French national team in 2017 and participated at the 2017 European Championship and the 2017 World Grand Champions Cup. He was a gold medalist of 2017 World League. Sources: Wikipedia, French Olympic Team, Tokyo 2020

  Chiaka Sylvia Ogbogu is an American volleyball player. She plays for Eczacıbaşı VitrA and the United States women's volleyball team. She participated in the 2018 Pan American Cup and the 2018 and 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League. She played for University of Texas at Austin. At club level, she started her professional career for Il Bisonte Firenze. She is currently playing for the Turkish club Eczacıbaşı VitrA On June 7, 2021, US National Team head coach Karch Kiraly announced she would be part of the 12-player Olympic roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Sources: Wikipedia, US Olympics

    Adaku Ufere is an experienced international oil and gas lawyer with over a decade of legal experience. She has extensive experience in the energy sector, including oil and gas, and is an expert on the legal and commercial aspects of international contracts, international corporate frameworks, contractual management clauses, and key contract risks. She is currently the Acting Chief of Party at the USAID & Power Africa West Africa Energy Program at Deloitte. Before her current role Adaku was an energy practice leader at the Centurion Law Group, where she managed legal teams across Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, Mauritius, South Sudan, and South Africa.   Adaku is a member of several professional bodies and associations, in addition to being a certified Chartered Arbitrator and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She is also a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, Nigerian Bar Association, the Women in African Pow...

  Grounded by a belief that "talent is universal and opportunity is not", Chi Achebe is an investor & venture catalyst that is committed to investing in underestimated and resilient founders & creators that are building human-centered, community-driven, and market-based solutions. She currently works at Citi, where she has managed financial models, enhanced fund performance tracking processes, and facilitated investments. Prior to Citi, at Omidyar Network, Chi built a pipeline of over 200 ESG investment opportunities/climate finance funds, managed proptech and geospatial investments, and assisted with the spin out of the Property Rights group. At Astia Angels, a global angel fund that invests in women-led companies, she analyzed & managed consumer/ fintech/medtech investments, one of which (nVision Medical) was acquired for $258 million dollars. Chi holds a BA with distinction from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Columbia Business School, where she ...