Ms. Lynette Mwende is a passionate social and youth policy practitioner, with over eight years working experience in project management and Education sector-Youth & TVET Policy. In 2014, she was the project lead of Africa Tech Challenge (ATC) under the Ministry of Education- State department of Vocational and Technical Training in Kenya. This was a re-skilling TVET program that saw the participation of youth from Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. The annual skills contest trained approximately 1000 youth to get re-skilled and up-skilled. In 2018, she founded Ujana Afrika, a youth serving organization aimed at championing TVET, lobbying for better policy action and increased funding for programs towards youth skills development.

Her interests lie in the role of public policy in shaping the development of economies, specifically in developing countries. She has taken a keen focus on advocating for the socio-economic development of youth through TVET. Her TVET advocacy and championing efforts have been recognized by the Government of Kenya and in 2018, the Ministry of Education appointed her to serve as a member of the Board of Governors at Machakos Technical Institute for the blind. She serves in the Board’s Finance Committee having a special interest in prudent public finance management. She is currently a consultant for the East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP) at the World Bank.

She pursued her undergraduate degree in aeronautical engineering and flight design from the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She was also elected as the President of the Kenyan Students in Beijing Association (KENSAB). She holds a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from The Strathmore University Business School (SBS).