Emira Woods

Committed to feminist leadership, Emira is working to co-create Shine’s Energy Access COVID Recovery Fund.  Emira previously worked at ThoughtWorks where she led efforts to bring more robust technology solutions to the Ebola crisis. She has also held positions at the Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam America and InterAction.  Emira is an Ambassador of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace, and Dignity, a network of African social movements working to build peace, seek justice and manifest dignity on the African continent and throughout the diaspora.  Emira is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, Trustee of the Wallace Global Fund, Trustee of the Janelia Fund, and member of ActionAid International’s Board Risk and Internal Audit Committee. 

 In addition, she serves as a Mentor at the Fighters’ Table supporting feminist leadership in Black and Brown communities.  She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars.  Emira Woods is a contributor to CNN’s OneWorld with Zain Asher and Voice of America’s Straight Talk Africa.  She has been a regular commentator on BBC’s The World Today (Weekend), and appears regularly on Al Jazeera, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour, and CGTN.  She has written on a range of issues from climate change, trade and investment to U.S. military policy. Emira completed her undergraduate studies in Political Science at Columbia University and her graduate studies in Political Economy and Government at Harvard.