Walla Elsheikh Leads Programs That Prepare Students for the 21st Century Economy
Walla Elsheikh is the co-founder and CEO of Birthright AFRICA, which is committed to providing a free educational trip to Africa for all youth and young adults of African descent in the United States. Elsheikh has over 16 years of management and leadership experience in the private and public sectors and has spent the last 10 years supporting various college and career readiness initiatives in the K-12 and postsecondary education spaces.
Previously Elsheikh was the interim executive director of Schools That Can in New York City and served as a program director, internship coordinator, and strategic consultant to small and large educational nonprofits 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. Elsheikh participated in 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 grew up there as well as in Sweden and Uganda before immigrating to New York City.
Highlights from the podcast include:
- The genesis of Birthright Africa and why its is necessary to building the “next economy.”
- The effects of not knowing your origins and the loss of cultural legacy.
- Overcoming internalized myths about what people in the African Diaspora are capable of and their contribution to human history and innovation.
The Next Economy Now podcast highlights leaders taking a regenerative, bio-regional, equitable, transparent, and whole-systems approach to using business as a force for good.
B The Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.
Birthright Africa Beckons Youth to Reclaim Black Excellence and Innovation was originally published in B The Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
