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2008 Tutu Fellow Elsie Kanza PhD, the Tanzanian Ambassador to the United States, has met US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office at the White House.  Elsie was appointed by President Samia Suluhu Hassan in May 2021 as one of 22 ambassadors, and in August of that year, assigned to the Embassy in Washington DC, one of the top postings in the diplomatic hierarchy.  She met President Biden on 24 June 2022. 

Elsie was formerly Head of Africa and Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum. She has worked in various capacities in the government of Tanzania, including in the Office of the Presidency, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank.  In her role at the Embassy, she is also responsible for diplomatic connections in Mexico.

Back on 22 May 2021, President Samia Suluhu Hassan appointed Elsie Kanza PhD as one of 22 ambassadors for Tanzania. Elsie is a 2008 Tutu Fellow.  On 17 August, she was posted to the Embassy in Washington, DC, as Tanzanian Ambassador. The US Embassy is considered a senior posting in diplomatic circles.  In May, President Hassan made the appointments, but did not at that time name the posts to which the appointees would be stationed. 

The appointments included senior government officials, members of the military, and government and cabinet advisors.  Prior to her appointment, Elsie's most recent position was as the Special Advisor to the President of the World Economic Forum.

On 22 May 2021, President Samia Suluhu Hassan appointed Elsie Kanza PhD as one of 22 ambassadors for Tanzania. Elsie is a 2008 Tutu Fellow.  

A statement issued by the director of communications at State House, Gerson Msigwa read that "The appointment of these Ambassadors commenced today, May 22, 2021 and they will be sworn in on dates to be announced later."

Elsie's most recent position was as the Special Advisor to the President of the World Economic Forum.

2008 Tutu Fellow Nitesh Dullabh has been appointed as Partner, Corporate Sustainability and Climate Change (CS&CC) at Environmental Resources Management, or ERM.  He began his new position in April 2021.

ERM is a leading sustainability consultancy, and the global sustainability and climate change practice provides innovative advisory services from Board engagement to operationalizing sustainability.  Environmental sustainability has become a business-critical issue for many enterprises. Nitesh intends to building on his sustainability experience and leverage ERM’s business process transformation capability, deep subject-matter expertise, and experienced teams.  This includes assisting local and global clients to integrate environmental sustainability practices into the fabric of their organizations for continuous improvement and to unlock business value for current and future generations.

2008 Tutu Fellow Elsie Kanza has been selected for a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellowship, a program of the Robert Bosch Academy. With this Fellowship, the Robert Bosch Academy offers outstanding personalities from over the world a residency of several months in Berlin.

The residency provides Fellows with the intellectual and physical space to pursue individual research and outreach activities on future-oriented topics in an international context. The Fellowship enables them to engage and study beyond their normal professional commitments. The highly-individualized stays offer these Fellows the intellectual freedom to deal with a variety of topics and issues beyond their regular duties and obligations. 

2008 Tutu Fellow Nitesh Dullabh has been appointed to serve as a director on the governing board of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP). The ISSP is the world's leading professional association of sustainability practitioners.

Nitesh is a global environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainabilty development goal (SDG) expert, and has over 20 years experience in facilitating Fortune 200 companies with their global expansion projects in developed and emerging markets.

2008 Tutu Fellow Bibi Bakare Yusuf has won the Distinguished Africanist Award from ASAUK. The ASAUK - or African Studies Association of the United Kingdom - is a scholarly organization with a membership that includes academics, journalists and broadcasters, civil servants and many others with an interest in Africa. 

Bibi is the award-winning Co-Founder and Publishing Director of Cassava Republic. Bibi explains: “I am a publisher because I am interested in the future. I am interested in contributing to and helping to shape what people in 100, 200 or even 500 years will be discussing and mulling over when they take a walk into the labyrinth of their past that is our present moment. I am interested in how we can create the archive of the future in the present.”

Several Tutu Leadership Programme alumni have been named in this year’s 100 Most Influential African Women list, which is published annually by Avance Media. They are Elsie Kanza, Ndidi Nwuneli, and Mimi Kalinda.

The prestigious listing is presented as a ranking of the 100 most influential African women, providing a summary of women who have climbed the corporate ladder, started their own businesses, or have been at the forefront of decision-making both locally and internationally.  The criteria for selection include excellence in leadership and performance, personal accomplishments, commitment to sharing knowledge, breaking the status quo, and being an accomplished African woman. The listing was released in August, to coincide with Women's Month.

Two Tutu Fellows have been named to this year’s 100 Most Reputable Africans by Reputation Poll International. The two are 2008 Fellow, Elsie Kanza, and 2010 Fellow and AFLI CEO, Jackie Chimhanzi.  The annual Poll lists 100 Africans who are celebrated for their good governance, leadership, and a range of other criteria. 

The two Fellows are joined by a range of luminaries that include two African presidents and a number of policymakers. The selection criteria are integrity, visibility and impact.