Happy new year and warm greetings from Nairobi!
As we welcome a new year, we also welcome a new administration to the White House. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris began their tenure on January 20. It is a historic time for the United States as Vice President Harris is the first female vice president, the highest-ranking female elected official in U.S. history, and the first Black American and first South Asian American vice president. After a tense election season, Vice President Harris put it well when she said, “A great experiment takes great determination. The will to do the work and then the wisdom to keep refining, keep tinkering, keep perfecting.”
One of President Biden’s first executive acts was to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. H e also indicated that climate change will be a priority of his administration. Additionally, Samantha Power, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, has been nominated by President Biden to lead USAID. We congratulate our newly elected and appointed leaders and send our gratitude to the public servants who have offered their skills and talents in service to humanity and the environment over the last four years.
In this edition, we would like to introduce the Environment Office team. We have two new members who joined us in 2020; please take a look at their bios and pictures below.
As the seasons change in the southern hemisphere from the sunshine of January to the expected long rains in March, we anticipate changes for our sector, too. I look forward to new opportunities that will come to our work and the communities we partner with. I would like to share words from the poem “The Hill We Climb” by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who read this poem at the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris last week. Let us remember her words as we continue into 2021 and pursue the work of serving each other and our planet:
The new dawn balloons as we free it.
For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
Be well,
Aurelia Micko
Environment Office Director
USAID Kenya and East Africa
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Aurelia Micko, Director
Aurelia arrived at USAID Kenya and East Africa in August 2019. She has been with USAID since 2005 and has worked in Indonesia, the Philippines, Washington D.C. and the Regional Development Mission for Asia.
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Beatrice Wamalwa, Deputy Director of Technical Programs
Beatrice provides strategic and technical oversight for all environment program activities. She focuses on community-based natural resource management, strategic planning, performance management and program design. She joined USAID in 2001.
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SarahJean Harrison, Deputy Director of Operations and Strategy
Since 2010, SarahJean has served USAID and the Department of State in Kenya, Haiti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Washington DC. She has a passion for the environment, women and gender policies, communications and private sector engagement.
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Lilly Bekele-Piper, Strategic Communications Manager
Lilly provides technical and programmatic support for the management and implementation of the ENV Office portfolio related to strategic communications in Kenya and the region. She is an Activity Manager for three media-focused programs. She joined USAID in September 2020.
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Humphrey Kaburu, Project Management Specialist
Humphrey joined USAID in 2018 and his work supports biodiversity conservation and climate change projects within the Northern Rangelands, Amboseli, and Tsavo ecosystems.
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Chinhenyo Kangara, Resilience and Adaptation Specialist
Chihenyo is the Resilience Team Lead. She provides technical and analytical management of biodiversity, climate change and resilience programs. She has been with USAID since 2013.
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Enock Kanyanya, Forestry and Environment Program Management Specialist Enock leads on forestry and environmental management programs, policies, and laws. He is a technical lead on climate change programs and supports the implementation of USAID’s environmental safeguard procedures. Enock joined USAID in 2009.
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Mikala Lauridsen, Senior Counter Wildlife Trafficking and Conservation Advisor Mikala is the Environment Regional Team Lead and has been with USAID since 2010. Her work focuses on countering wildlife trafficking, biodiversity conservation, community based natural resource management, and monitoring and evaluation.
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Joyce Makau, Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning Specialist
Joyce is our newest team member. She specializes in project evaluations, results-based monitoring, study designs, development of effective monitoring and evaluation systems and collaborative learning. Joyce joined USAID in 2020.
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Kelvin Munguti, Financial Analyst
Since 2013, Kelvin's work has included analyzing and advising on financial aspects of designing, implementing and evaluating USAID activities. His work includes ensuring USAID programs are audited as required, coordinating recommendation resolution and closure actions, and conducting periodic financial reviews of the recipients systems.
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Loice Njoroge, Administrative Assistant
Loice provides program support and customer service across all portfolios within the Office and coordinates all of the Office’s administrative activities. Loice specializes in conflict mitigation, and is an Activity Manager for our newest Conflict Management and Mitigation program in Northern Kenya. Loice joined USAID in 2015.
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Brian O. Otiende, Project Management Specialist, Biodiversity and Water Brian focuses on the design and management of environmental conservation and natural resource management projects that focus on terrestrial, freshwater ecosystems, and wildlife. Brian’s specializes in southern Kenya, specifically the Maasai Mara. Brian joined USAID in 2016.
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Norin Walimohamed, Program Management Assistant
Norin provides budgetary and program support and is responsible for procurement actions for the Office. Norin is the Gender Point of Contact for the office and is an Activity Manager for small grants. She has been with USAID since 2010.
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Ben Wandango, Biodiversity & Natural Resource Management Specialist
Ben is the Policy and Biodiversity Team Lead. He is the strategic and technical policy lead for the Government of Kenya’s natural resource management biodiversity programs, policies, and laws. Ben manages biodiversity conservation programs. Ben joined USAID in 2016.
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Conservation & Tourism for Improved Livelihoods Conference February 11-12
Wildlife Clubs of Kenya and the International Union for Conservation of Nature are hosting a virtual conference that aims to bring together great minds in conservation and tourism across the continent and beyond and facilitate for dialogues concerning pertinent issues facing wildlife and tourism, encourage research on various fronts in the industry and provide concrete and implementable solutions to these issues. Submission of papers in the following areas is now open:
1. Conservation Education/Wildlife Sustainability
2. Community Engagement in Conservation
3. ICT and Innovations for Sustainable Tourism
4. Youth and Wildlife Conservation and Tourism
Abstract should not exceed 350 words and must be submitted in word document, 1.5 spacing, Times New Roman, 12pt font.
Register for the conference here.
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Strategic Environmental Assessment for Wind Energy and Biodiversity in Kenya
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