Lateefat Odunuga, MS

Lateefat Odunuga is a pan-African leader and passionate development expert, emerging as a rising voice for young Africans on the continent and in the diaspora. She has served in various leadership capacities, successfully leading dialogues that have influenced the formulation and implementation of youth policy documents across different states in Nigeria and Africa.

 

As the Chair of the Forum for Youth Policies and Development (FYPOD), Lateefat has played a key role in the popularization of national youth policies through roundtable dialogues, conferences, and collaborative initiatives. She has pitched her initiatives to over 52 representative leaders and governments and engaged more than 100 global leaders, contributing to policy changes at both continental and global levels while driving an increase in youth appointments nationally.

 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she actively facilitated mental health services for vulnerable communities and engaged millions of young people through awareness and intervention programs. With over ten years of experience in the healthcare industry and non-profit sector, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership and foresight in policy advocacy, strategic partnerships, and community development across governmental and non-governmental sectors.

 

Lateefat serves on the Board of Directors for Narconon Nigerian Initiative and as a Selection and Application Reviewer at Atlas Corps Network (USA). She also held leadership positions as a Student Union Representative at Alliant International University and Lagos State University, where she was part of the Student Union Council and Independent Electoral Commission.

 

Academically, Lateefat holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Lagos, graduating with distinction. She is a Lagos State University Scholar and made history as the first individual to achieve First-Class Honors in the Department of Psychology. Her extensive experience has established her as a leading voice in rebranding Africa and advocating for mental health, migration, education, and the reintegration of vulnerable communities.

 

She is passionate about building sustainable communities, focusing on key thematic areas such as youth policy, civic engagement, education, health, global citizenship, homelessness, migration, refugee rights, and climate change. She has been featured in five international publications, with several of her works currently under peer review.

 

Over the past decade, Lateefat has impacted over 25,000 young people through her initiative, One Young African (OYA)—a movement that has grown into one of Africa’s largest pan-African youth-led organizations and think tanks, gaining both regional and global recognition.

 

In her civil society advocacy journey, she has participated in several prestigious development programs, including the Young African Leaders’ Initiative (YALI) West Africa, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State under President Barack Obama’s administration in 2016. She is also an alumna of The Dutch Mentor (USA) and currently serves as an Advisor at the Directorate of Health Affairs for the African Network of Youth Policy Experts (AFRINYPE).

 

Lateefat Odunuga continues to champion African development and youth empowerment, advocating for a prosperous, youth-driven, and policy-oriented Africa through leadership, strategic policymaking, and community engagement.