BridgeAfrica - BridgeUSA

Upcoming Events

Join us as we host the Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission!

Impacts of COVID-19 on Higher Education w/AIER & the Bastiat Society

Our Chapters

Our Team

Belinder Odek

Chief Executive Officer

Emmanuel Abban-Baidoo

Chief Operating Officer

Magdalena Atieno

Chapter Development Consultant

Nathaniel Dwamena

Chapter Development Consultant

Sarah Annabel

National Student Coordinator – Kenya

Martin Van Staden

Chief Advisor, Policy

Chief Executive Officer

Belinder Odek

Belinder has a B.S. in Communication and Journalism from Moi University & a Diploma in PR Management from the Kenya Institute of Management. In 2019, Belinder founded BridgeAfrica to address political polarization in Africa and promote solution-oriented discussion that effectively addresses contemporary political, economic and social issues in the continent.

Chief Operating Officer

Emmanuel Abban-Baidoo

Emmanuel has a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the UCC, Ghana, a master’s degree in Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) from Kenyatta University, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He founded the first BridgeAfrica chapter at Kenyatta University in 2019 and has since advised on chapter growth and programs design. He is passionate about good governance and joined BridgeAfrica to promote policy solutions that break barriers to social, economic, and political prosperity in Africa.

Chapter Development Consultant

Magdalena Atieno

Magdalena is the epitome of a business-mind driven by passion, ambition and self-determination; with a strong drive to succeed in mobilizing government, donors & private sector to invest in sustainable concepts seeking to empower & improve the lives of marginalized children, youth & communities. Magdalena is a graduate in Project Planning Management from the University of Nairobi.

Chapter Development Consultant

Nathaniel Dwamena

Nathaniel Dwamena is the Chapter Development Consultant for BridgeAfrica in Ghana. He has Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Rural Development from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) – Ghana. He successfully completed in person training in Nigeria and project management training in Kenya which aided in his successful graduation from the Atlas Leadership Academy, Atlas Network (USA).

National Student Coordinator – Kenya

Sarah Annabel

Sarah Annabell is a student focused on International Relations and Diplomacy. She is a strong believer in using education as a tool for empowerment. Sarah is passionate about leading youth to effect social and political change by working with organizations such as BridgeAfrica and is the editor of YouthSpaceKE- a blog that gives youth a platform to express their views on social and political issues. Sarah is the current president of the BridgeAfrica chapter at Technical University of Kenya.

Chief Advisor, Policy

Martin Van Staden

Martin van Staden is the Chief Advisor (Legal Policy) serving on BridgeAfrica’s Board of Advisors, and the Head of Legal (Policy and Research) at the Free Market Foundation (FMF) in South Africa, where he has worked since 2017. Martin has a law degree from the University of Pretoria, where he is pursuing postgraduate studies in the same field. Martin regards bridging the divide between the various political ideologies in Africa as particularly important, and believes political discourse ought to be more diverse. Martin was on the African Executive Board of Students For Liberty between August 2015 and August 2018, and was a Young Voices Advocate between May 2017 and March 2018.