KWISA Board Member
Dr Isioma Okolo is is a director at KWISA. She is a connector, cross-disciplinarian, storyteller and queen of germane tangential thinking. Isioma is a Harvard graduate and award-winning obstetrics & gynaecology doctor, researcher, women’s health advocate, public speaker and writer, committed to advancing the well-being of women and girls globally. Hailing from Nigeria, Dr. Okolo’s experiences living and working across four continents have shaped her into a true global citizen. As a public speaker, she is precise, disarming and captivating. Isioma has vast experience in public speaking to local and international audiences, including Westminster UK Parliament, UN General Assembly, WHO World Health Summit, USAID GHTechX, Harvard Medical School, Oxford University, RCOG World Congress and International Federation of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists ( FIGO). Isioma sits on the Scottish Government Short Life Working Group tackling racialised maternal health inequities. She is the convener of NAUWU- Nothing About Us Without Us- a community participatory initiative aimed at promoting birth equity by promoting positive and respectful pregnancies and births for Black women living in Scotland. With a background in medicine, public health, academia, community organising and global health, her mission extends far beyond reproductive justice, aiming to disrupt systemic inequities faced by Black and Brown communities through participatory collaborative approaches rooted in the powerful African principle of ubuntu: I am because we are. Dr Okolo is the author of the weekly blog “ Echi Di Ime– No One Knows Tomorrow” where she reflects on better approaches to well-being, research, social justice and collective hope.