Wanjira Mathai

Wanjira Mathai (born December 1971) is a Kenyan environmentalist and activist. She is Vice President and Regional Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute, based in Nairobi, Kenya. In this role, she takes on global issues including deforestation and energy access. She was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by ''New African Magazine'' in 2018 for her role serving as the senior advisor at the World Resources Institute as well as for her recent campaign to plant over 30 million trees through her work at the Green Belt Movement.

Early life and education

Mathai was born and raised in Kenya. Her mother, Wangari Maathai, was a social, environmental and political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, in 2004.

Mathai was a student at State House Girls' High School in Nairobi. After completing high school she moved to New York City to attend Hobart and William Smith Colleges where she majored in biology and graduated in 1994. She received a Masters in Public Health and in Business Administration from Emory University. After graduating Mathai joined the Carter Center where she worked on disease control. Here she learned about diseases that impacted African communities such as dracunculiasis, onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis.

Research and career

The Green Belt Movement

Mathai serves on the World Future Council and on the board of the Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement was founded by Wanjira's mother Wangari in 1977. Originally, Mathai served as Director of International of Affairs of the Green Belt Movement from 2002 and later was made Executive Director of the organization. At this organization she led fundraising programs and monitored resource mobilization, as well as facilitated international outreach. She realized that women were more responsive when the Green Belt Movement called for people to help planting trees. She has said that her work in planting trees, also called agroforestry, was inspired by her mother's environmental work. After her mother won the Nobel Peace Prize, Mathai accompanied her on a world tour. When her mother passed away in 2011, she helped steer the club through a time of transition.

Other organizations and foundations

Mathai serves as senior advisor of the Partnerships for Women Entrepreneurs in Renewables. which promotes women in renewable energy leadership in an effort to bring renewables to almost four million women in East Africa. To Mathai, women's engagement with renewable energy is one of economic empowerment, fulfilling several of the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the modernization occurring in Kenya, women still spend several hours a day collecting firewood, and half of all deaths in children under 5 years old occur due to household air pollution. Mathai serves on the advisory board of the Clean Cooking Alliance, and is also a member of the Earth Chapter International Council. She also serves on the board of trustees of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). She is also one of a few six second EQ practitioners. These practitioners seek to promote emotional intelligence and support others to create a culture of positivity.

Since 2016, Mathai has served as chairperson of the Wangari Maathai Foundation. The foundation looks to advance the legacy of Wangari Maathai by promoting a culture of purpose with young people serving as leaders. When asked of her work with the foundation, Mathai responded "I am not living in my mother’s Shadow, I am basking in her light...". The foundation has three priorities: maintaining Wangari Muta Maathai House, instilling leadership skills in youth to promote creativity and courage at a young age (''Wanakesho''), and a fellowship for young people. As an illustration of her faith in the importance of educating youth, she was the project director for the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi (WMI). This institute focuses on promoting positive ethics and sustainable development. Educating youth has always been one of Maathai's goals, and she states, "Human beings are not born corrupt. At some point these behaviors are fostered by a culture that promotes individual gain over collective progress." She believes that educating youth will allow for peace-building and for a decrease in corruption in Kenya, as youth will grow up to become future leaders. She often speaks to these topics, as she is a motivational speaker on the topics of youth leadership, environment, and climate change.

In addition, Mathai sits on the board of The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Kenya. In 2018 Mathai was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by ''New African Magazine'', as well as the Top Influential African Women by the African Leadership University.

As of December 2019 Mathai has served as Vice President and Regional Director for Africa at World Resources Institute. In this capacity Mathai convinced the Kenyan Environment Minister Judi Wakhungu to commit to restoring 12.6 million acres of deforested land in Kenya by 2030, building on her mother's environmental activism legacy. This is part of the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), which Mathai oversees, an initiative to restore over 100 million hectares of deforested land in Africa by 2030.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathai, Wanjira
1971 births
Living people
Emory University alumni
Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni
Kenyan women environmentalists
Kenyan expatriates in the United States
Kenyan environmentalists