Dr Peggy Oti-Boateng was appointed the Executive Director at the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) on 01 November 2022. In her role, she will provide leadership and strategic direction of AAS’s programmes in order to achieve the Academy’s vision, mission and objectives. She will oversee both the programmatic and operational management of the organization with a focus to sustainably drive the mandate of AAS through the secretariat team, and to represent the academy globally.

Previously Dr Oti-Boateng was the Senior Science Advisor for Natural Sciences and the Director of the Division of Science Policy and Capacity Building in the Natural Sciences Sector at UNESCO Paris (France) In the past, she has been responsible for projects and programmes relating to science policy and capacity building in basic sciences and engineering at the multisectoral UNESCO regional office in Harare (Zimbabwe). She was regional thematic adviser for Africa for the formulation of policies and capacity building in science, technology, and innovation and engineering. She also served as focal point for the African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology and was the Head of the Science in the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). She had additional responsibilities in the area of local and indigenous knowledge systems, ecological and earth system sciences, water sciences, and intersectoral collaboration in Education, Social and Human Sciences, Culture and Communication

Dr Oti-Boateng holds a PhD in Food Science and Technology obtained from University of Adelaide in Australia and BSc, with a specialization in Biochemistry, obtained from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi (Ghana).  Dr Oti-Boateng began her career in 1985 as a researcher at the Technology Consultancy Centre at the College of Engineering at KNUST. In 1989 she was appointed Consultant and Trainer at the South Australian Department for Employment and Training in Adelaide (Australia) and from 2005 to 2010, she served as Director of the Technology Consultancy Centre, College of Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, working in collaboration with national and international strategic partners. In 2011, Dr Oti-Boateng joined the UNESCO Office in Nairobi, Kenya as a Senior Programme Specialist for Science and Technology. In this capacity, she was responsible for developing, coordinating, implementing, and evaluating projects and programmes of activities relating to the basic sciences and engineering and science policy for sustainable development in Africa. In 2015, Dr Oti-Boateng was transferred to the UNESCO multisectoral regional office in Harare (Zimbabwe) and since 2018-2022 she held the position of Director of Division at UNESCO Headquarters.

Yvonne Moraa Onsotti is the Manager, Human Resources and Operations with substantial experience in Human resource practices and people matters.  She is passionate about Cultural Diversity and hopes to be a top-notch HR Professional impacting stakeholders to become effective leaders for continued strategic expertise. She has a proven reputation with a consistent history of exemplary performance reviews and recognition for driving efficiency improvements to office systems, work flows and processes ensuring sustainable competitive advantage.

Prior to joining AAS, she was Manager, Human Resources and Administration for Enwealth Financial Services Ltd a leading company that offers both Corporate and Individual Pension Administration.  During her tenure at Enwealth Financial Services, she was able to develop a competency framework that enhanced employee productivity levels driving business performance.  She brings in her wealth of experience of 10 plus years in the HR field that spans from manufacturing, education as well as the financial services sector.  She has interacted with HR Board Committees on Corporate Governance and how it adds value for Human Resources function.  Her core priority is to ensure HR and operations strategy is aligned to AAS strategy to meet strategic goals.  She is a Certified Human Resources Practitioner and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.

Dr. Obed Ogega, PhD is a climate scientist and program management specialist with a focus on research capacity strengthening for development in response to Africa’s developmental needs and priorities. In his role as Programmes Manager, Dr. Ogega leads a team at the AAS that is working towards the creation of a critical mass of emerging, and established, research leaders that will deliver the ‘Africa We Want’ as envisioned in Africa’s Agenda 2063. 

Before joining the AAS, Dr. Ogega worked with CORDIO East Africa and the Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi in various capacities. He holds a PhD in Environmental Studies (Climate Change & Sustainability) and is well-published in climate science and its application to various sectors. Additionally, Dr. Ogega is an Adjunct Professor of Climate Science at the Department of Chemistry & Physics, Saint Mount Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Alex Misoi is the AAS’s Finance and Grants Manager. He has over 14 years’ experience in Financial Management, Project Management, Review of Financial Management systems, Corporate Strategy formulation & Implementation, Development of Financial strategy, systems and procedure manuals, and Organizational reviews. Alex previously served as a Finance Manager at Centre for Health Solutions (CHS). He oversaw financial processing and reporting to various donor. He gained experience in leading teams to merge financial and programmatic proposals that lead to winning of grants and awards. This helped the NGO grow its funding level immensely through leverage of systems, technology and sound understanding of donor requirements.

Before CHS, Alex worked at Ernst & Young (EY) as Senior Auditor in the Not-for-Profit Organizations sector. He led various teams in conducting Audits, Compliance and limited scope reviews and Capacity Assessment of organizations in Africa. Alex also worked for Toyota East Africa as an Accountant where he participated in financial processing and reporting. He is passionate about sustainable development in the African continent and looks forward to making meaningful contributions to Africa’s science space. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from Kenyatta University and studied ACCA in Strathmore College.