Stephen Chukwumah
Stephen Chibuikem Chukwumah (born 17 September 1988) is a Nigerian born Advocate and Strategist with extensive background in Youth Leadership and Advocacy, Policy, Movement Building, and Fund Raising. He is a public speaker and a former fellow of the faculty of Law, University of York, England. Stephen Chukwumah had a five year career as a Lead Division Coordinator at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., and is currently a Policy Advocate at the Council for Global Equality. He is from Ebenebe in Awka North LGA, Anambra state, Nigeria. Education Stephen has a masters degree in Global Policy from Johns Hopkins University and a certificate in Organisational Leadership from Harvard. He started his primary education at Duro-Oyedoyin primary school surulere Lagos and finished as one of the best pupil, he attended Iponri Estate High School in surulere Lagos for his secondary education. During his time in high school, Stephen and a select few were chosen by their teachers to represent their school at the National Youth AIDS program for peer-educators organised by the Lagos state government and National Union of Teachers Lagos state chapter. Stephen was offered admission to read mass-communication at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka Anambra state but he proceeded to the prestigious Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Edo state, to read English and Literary studies. During his first year at the university, he was voted his class representative after a keenly contested election and he occupied the position till graduation due to his impeccable leadership skills and for constantly advocating for the rights of students in the university. After his undergraduate degree, Stephen proceeded to the University of York in England as visiting fellow in the faculty of law. Career Stephen worked as a peer-educator in his early days in high school and was trained by the Lagos State Government through the National Youth AIDS program and also through the National Union of Teachers' HIV/AIDS program Lagos chapter. He started at a very young age, his advocacy and voluntary work with NGO's in Nigeria, working with Most at Risk Populations(MARPS), serving as a youth board member for one of Nigeria's NGO working on sexual health. Stephen started his international work with the Youth Coalition on sexual and reproductive rights in Canada, he served as an International Youth Advisor to the United Nations Fund Population Agency and as an International Advisor to Rutgers Nisso Group through their Youth Incentives program in the Netherlands. He worked as a steering committee member for the HIV Young Leaders Fund, served as a youth activist for Advocates for Youth in Washington, D.C., United States. He is the founder and Executive Director of Improved Youth Health Initiative, working on sexual health and rights for and with young people in Eastern Nigeria. He has a diploma from the RFSU International Training program on Sexual Health and Human Rights in Stockholm Sweden and Cape Town South Africa sponsored by the Swedish government. In May 2013, Stephen Chukwumah with three other representatives from civil society organisations met