Africa House Fireside Chat with Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili
Co-Hosted by NYU Wagner School of Public Service
Date: Thursday, December 2, 2021
Time: 10:00 AM-11:30 AM Eastern Time
Speakers:
Dr. Obiageli “Oby” Katryn Ezekwesili (Keynote Speaker) is the President of Human Capital Africa and Senior Economic Adviser at Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AEDPI). She is the Founder and Chairperson of SPPG (School of Politics, Policy and Governance) established by the #FixPoliticsInitiative, which she also co-chairs. Dr. Ezekwesili is a former Vice President of the World Bank, Africa Region. She was a Minister of Education and also of Mineral Resources of Nigeria. She is Co-Convener of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. In 2019, she was a presidential candidate in the Nigeria elections. Dr. Ezekwesili is currently a Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and was a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin Germany.
Dr. Marion Bergman, Director, Oral Health Care Projects, MCW Global (Volunteer) (Speaker introduction)
Dr. Marion Bergman was born and educated in South Africa and practiced Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care in Patchogue, New York for 33 years. During this time she directed Brookhaven Memorial Hospital’s Respiratory Care Services and served a term as Medical Staff President. In addition, Marion regularly mentored medical and international students and, along with her family, provided scholarship support for South African Health professionals from underprivileged backgrounds.
As an advocate for rural health and development in the developing world, Marion now directs Global Healthcare projects for MCW Global. In this capacity, Marion has played a leadership role in improving the state of oral health and building the capacity of health professionals in Tanzania.
Marion is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing. In addition, she serves on several university health advisory boards, including the Kornberg Dental School at Temple University, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Medical School for International Health at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Marion also serves as a trustee on several non-profit boards including the Global Child Dental Fund and Physicians for Human Rights. She recently completed her term as a trustee of American Jewish World Service including Vice President. Marion is a member of the AJC’s Board of Governors, its Jacob Blaustein Institute for Human Rights and also currently chairs AJC’s Africa Institute.
Yaw Nyarko, Professor of Economics, New York University (NYU); Director, NYU Africa House/CTED; Co-Director, NYU Development Research Institute; Director, NYU Abu Dhabi DevLab (Moderator)
Paul Smoke, Professor of Public Finance and Planning; Director of Global EMPA, NYU Wagner School of Public Service (Intro remarks on behalf of NYU Wagner)