Sheila Khamala

Biography

Sheila Khamala is a PhD student and graduate assistant pursuing her PhD in Public
Affairs at Florida International University. Her passion for women’s representation in East
African governments has shaped her research interests in Gender and Equity Leadership,
Inclusive Governance, Community Development, and Nonprofit Management. She holds
a BA in Development Studies from Mount Kenya University and an MPA from Regent
University in Virginia.

Between 2018 and 2022, with Fikia Society, a nonprofit, Sheila coordinated various
projects in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to create awareness among high school
teenagers on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, ensure girls gain access to feminine
products, and children in rural areas receive medical treatment from jiggers which
hindered their access to education. Upon completing her MPA, Sheila worked as a Family
Support Specialist with HumanKind a nonprofit in Virginia.

Sheila is inspired by the late Prof. Wangari Maathai, who was the first woman in East and
Central Africa to receive her Ph.D., became the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace
Prize, and made tremendous contributions to women’s rights and Kenya’s democracy.
Sheila lives by one of Prof. Wangari’s famous quotes, “When you know who you are, you
are free.”