Kwolanne has a wide range of experience as a researcher, writer, project coordinator, and communications strategist, and has been awarded several awards and fellowships.
Fellowships and Awards:
- Public Voices Fellowship On Advancing The Rights Of Women And Girls 2023 (Equality Now and Op-ed Project)
- Truthout Emerging Writer Fellowship 2023
- Women Deliver Conference Fellow 2023
- Columbia University LGBT+ Legacy Award 2023
- Columbia Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies 2022
- UN People of Arican Descent Fellow 2021 (UN Human Rights)
- Humanity in Action Fellow 2020
- Future Global Leader Fellowship 2019 (Fortis Foundation)
- Columbia University Community Service Award 2019
- Feminist Leader Award 2019 (National Organization for Women- NYC)
Work Experince:
Truthout Non-Profit News: Published two op-ed a week on pressing news issues through an intersectional lens. Collaborated with editorial team to produce timely and relevant writing on a wide variety of issues.
Women Deliver: Organized Women Deliver 2023 Conference in Rwanda, with a specific focus on the Climate and Gender Pre-conference events and Art and Film Festival.
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights & Climate Justice Coalition: Coordinated the network building, communication development, policy strategy of the of the SRHR and Climate Justice Coalition, a global network of more than 50 organizations committed to gender equality in the context of climate change.
Mellon Foundation: Worked with Mellon Foundation’s Higher Learning team and focused on their 40-year-old Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship. She managed program data for over 6000 fellows, tracked growth, and researched relevant academic publications.
United Nations Women: Implemented knowledge management plan for over 1,900 programs in 31 countries for UN Women’s Spotlight Initiative. Also worked on the communication strategy across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
Columbia University Climate School: Coordinated 12 climate panel events and a summit addressing various issues, including agriculture, indigenous peoples rights, and sustainable fashion. Supported grant application and communication strategy, with over 700 total attendees.
Brighter Green: Researched U.S. and UN climate policies, and tracked commitments and decision making. Engaged in international climate advocacy strategy to influence COP26 decision making.
African American Redress Network & Columbia Institute for Human Rights: Worked with African American Redress Network to further groundbreaking work in activism and to promote redress for U.S. historical racial injustices. Provided research and management support to the project manager and oversaw several student volunteer groups to develop communications and outreach plan.
Malala Fund: Researched and wrote articles for the Malala Fund Assembly platform. Managed Malala Fund’s Newsroom and supported the dissemination strategy for Girl’s Education in COVID-19 Report in Nigeria.
Columbia Department of Political Science: Collaborated with Professor Kimuli Kasara in designing research methods to investigate the political salience of gender and sexuality in contemporary politics. Conducted extensive literature review in political science on the subject of LGBT+ rights.
National Organization for Women-NYC Chapter: Organized chapter members around pressing issues such as reproductive rights, workplace equality, and domestic violence. Supported rallies, protests, and campaign efforts.
Council on Foreign Relations: Worked on the Foreign Affairs Magazine developed content that appeals to readers and researched audience trends. Created the weekly newsletter for Peace Corp members.
All Women Project: Managed social media, newsletter, and website with over 60,000 followers, creating content on relevant gender issues on voting, menstrual health, and body diversity.
Kwolanne 