Mambo! Bawo ni? Vanakkam.
Thanks for dropping by!

I am an epidemiologist and researcher by training. Over the past decade, I have worked on a number of large scale research initiatives and managed several multi-country, multi-stakeholder projects, across the world, with a majority focused on the African continent.

From 2011-2013, I worked for the RAND Corporation in Washington DC looking at the impact of emerging technology on diverse sectors, particularly health. In 2013, I moved to Uganda to work as a Program Manager with Text to Change after picking up interesting in mHealth initiatives that were growing alongside increased internet proliferation. A notable project during this time was a country-wide PPP in Tanzania between the government and mobile network providers that provided expectant and new mothers with vital information regarding their health and pregnancy.

In 2015, I was offered the role of Regional Director for East African programs at VOTO Mobile, now Viamo, that utilised interactive voice response technologies to easily facilitate two-way communication in local languages, jumping over the hurdle of low literacy. There were many creative applications of this technology, especially in last mile contexts.

In 2017, I took the plunge and founded a civic technology initiative called Pollicy (a portmanteau of poll and policy). My initial intention was to support governments in collecting, using and disseminating data for improved service delivery. The first year was an incredible learning experience where I gave myself the grace and freedom to experiment, learn and pivot.

In 2019, two years later, it became more clear about the type of organisation that Pollicy would become. After an engaging workshop and generous grant from the Association for Progressive Communication, I became increasingly interested in the concept of a Feminist Internet. Many, if not most, of the projects at Pollicy since then have focused on identifying feminist approaches to ensure that technology is inclusive, fair and joyful.

In 2021, I was awarded a Practitioner's Fellowship from Stanford’s Digital Civil Society Lab. That same year, I received the 2021 Digital Equality Award, Research and Knowledge Builder category, Coalition for Digital Equality (CODE) and also made the 2021 Quartz Africa Innovators list. In 2022, I was then awarded a Senior Fellowship in Trustworthy AI from Mozilla Foundation.

In 2023, I decided to step down as the Executive Director of Pollicy and I am currently plotting next steps! If you have an interesting proposition or opportunity, please do get in touch!