Walla | Birthright AFRICA

In this episode, Walla not only provides insights about how she was able to start Birthright AFRICA but speaks at length about its mission and the important work that they are doing as they continue to grow. We recognize that this is longer than the typical episode, but it was hard to leave any of it on the editing room floor. We promise that this will be an outlier

Walla and I go all the way back to my grad school days. Walla is the Co-Founder and CEO of Birthright AFRICA which is committed to providing a free educational trip to Africa for youth and young adults of African descent ages 13 - 30 in the US. She has over 16 years of management and leadership experience in both the private and public sectors and has spent the last 10 years supporting various college and career readiness initiatives in both the K-12 and Postsecondary education spaces that prepare students with skills required in the 21st century global economy. Walla has served as an Interim Executive Director Program Director, Internship Coordinator, and Strategic Consultant to small and large educational non-profits in NYC and Washington, D.C. She received her MBA in strategic management and social entrepreneurship from Indiana University after working as a Financial Associate at Goldman Sachs & Co. Walla participated in both the Education Pioneers and Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) Fellowships and was selected as one of the Most Influential People of African descent (MIPAD) in 2018. She was born in Sudan and raised there as well as Sweden and Uganda before immigrating to New York City.

Find Birthright AFRICA Online:

• Birthright AFRICA's Website – Interested in becoming a donor, corporate partner, or educational partner please be sure to check out the website and reach out!
• Birthright AFRICA's Facebook
• Birthright AFRICA’s Instagram
• Birthright AFRICA’s LinkedIn
• Birthright AFRICA’s YouTube

Cool stuff discussed during the episode that you should further explore:

• Management Leadership for Tomorrow – Program that helped prepare Walla for the MBA process and journey
• Education Pioneers – Program that helped Walla grow her understanding of the world of education and programmatically how to approach Birthright AFRICA’s setup
• Kelley School of Business – Business school that Walla attended. Fun fact: Walla and Sheed met here in the same graduating class
• 100 Black Men – NY Chapter – Organization that partnered with Walla during Birthright AFRICA's early years
• How I Built This Podcast – Walla loves this podcast , Guy Raz does a phenomenal job interviewing business legends to talk about "How I Built This". Fun fact: Sheed was inspired to start Legacy Hustle, in part, because of this podcast.