Vivian Adhiambo Onano

Vivian Onano is a women and girls’ advocate and youth leader who was born and raised in rural Kenya. Her arduous upbringing has forged her strong commitment to education, to women, and to leadership. Vivian has a deep interest in re-defining Africa's growth and development. A Moremi fellow, she is recognized as one the top 25 emerging women leaders with the courage to lead change on the African continent.

Vivian is a graduate of Carthage College and currently a Partnerships Manager at SEED Project. She is the Vice-Chair of the Global Youth Empowerment Fund Board of Trustees, Youth Ambassador at WaterAid America, Women Deliver Young Leader and a Youth Advisor to the UN Women Civil Society Advisory Group. New African Woman Magazine recently featured her as one of the “30 under 30: Faces Changing Africa Now” and Forbes Woman Africa profiled her as “Ones to Watch”.

Vivian has held various leadership positions, including serving as a Congressional District Leader for ONE Campaign in Wisconsin, a campus advocate for the United Nations Association-USA, and a Half the Sky Movement community ambassador. She was also the Education Spokesperson for Moremi Africa, a Global Youth Ambassador for A World At School, and a 2014 Change Maker Fellow with the Nantucket Project.

Vivian has a diverse background working with a variety of organizations, including the MasterCard Foundation, where she served as an external reviewer for their scholarship program in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a blogger for Huffington Post, she uses her oral and written communication skills in service of her passion –– providing holistic and innovative approaches to solving community problems. Vivian actively advocates for women and girls' issues and youth entrepreneurship in Africa. Vivian is a respected speaker who often speaks on global education, finding one's passion and purpose, gender equality, youth entrepreneurship/empowerment, and international development.