Excel
James Kassaga Arinaitwe
Global Health and Sustainable Development
Kampala
Summary
I am a Ugandan Sustainable Development Professional with over 10 years of founding and leading non-profit organisations. A Mckinsey certified Business Strategist who possess deep organisational development, change management skills in creating and sustaining multi-lateral; foundations and corporate donor relationships in the US, India and Africa. Passionate about cutting-edge sustainable development work in education, health, climate justice and international policy. Inspired by social innovation work that delivers sustainable impact in the provision of quality education, healthcare and climate justice for youth, women, children as well as disadvantaged populations in low and middle-income countries in Africa and beyond.
Fluent in English, Swahili and possess basic speaking proficiency skills in Spanish. A multicultural leader with lived experiences in South-East Asia, Latin America, Aotearoa-New Zealand, Europe, Africa and the US.
A detail-oriented team player with strong communication skills. Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously with a high degree of accuracy.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
8
8
years of post-secondary education
5
5
English
5
5
Swahili
5
5
Kinyarwanda
2
2
Spanish
Work History
Executive Director and Co-founder
Teach For Uganda (TFU)
Kampala, Makindye
02.2016 - Current
- Founded and led TFU, a 41 staff non-profit and non-governmental organization with a mission of nurturing leaders committed to advancing equitable access to quality education in low-income communities across Uganda; currently with 450 active Fellows and over 85 alumni leaders across impacting communities in education, policy and social entrepreneurship and corporate leadership
- Developed and implemented organizational strategies to achieve set goals and objectives and secured long-term success
- Built relationships with donors, government officials and other organizations to secure $10Million USDs in funding and support for organization for the last 8 years
- Devised and presented business plans and forecasts to board of directors' strategic, fiduciary and governance decision making
- Communicated business performance, forecasts and strategies to donor partners to ensure sustainable multi-year funding for the organization
- Represented organization at industry conferences and events across United States, Africa, Middle East, Asia & New Zealand
- Cultivated company-wide culture of innovation and collaboration to ensure over 450 people are aligned to our mission and vision
- Aligned department vision, goals, and objectives with company strategy to achieve consistently high results on our impact in over 190 schools communities
- Advocated for organization and company mission to raise awareness and support across 11 districts in 3 regions in Uganda and growing to 15 districts in 4 regions in 2024
Chief Strategic Officer (CSO) & Cofounder
Accompanied Health Initiative (ACHI)
Kampala
04.2021 - Current
- Co-founded ACHI, which is a healthcare social enterprise and organization dedicated to advancing access to affordable and quality healthcare for low-income families in East Africa with an innovative healthcare approach of leveraging on a model community clinic, home-based care, tele-health services and micro-health insurance (health saving scheme
- Established and maintained strong relationships with customers, vendors and strategic partners such as investors and signing contracts of $100,000 to launch this business in the first year.
- Managed financial, operational to optimize business performance and to align our books with standard accounting procedures.
- Led recruitment and development of the finance, admin and health program managers for improved performance.
Global Fellow | Manager, Special Projects, Labournet
Acumen
New York, NY & Bangalore
11.2014 - 12.2015
- Fellowship with a 12/1,200+ acceptance rate which provides financial, operational, and moral leadership training to 12 fellows placed in one of Acumen's portfolio companies to provide strategic support, such as operations, sales, marketing & leadership
- Built and strengthened long-lasting client relationships based on accurate price quotes and customer-centric terms in Bangalore and Tamil Nadu region of South India
- Monitored and analyzed customer feedback to identify opportunities for future engagement and partnerships in Bangalore City and outlying outskirts
Senior New Voices Fellow
Aspen Institute New Voices Fellowship
Kampala/Aspen Institute
03.2014 - 03.2015
- Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Aspen Institute annually trains and mentors 12 development professionals in Media and advocacy to bring leading voices from the developing world into the global development discussion
- Generated high-quality, professional Op-Ed papers and over 10 published in high stakes papers such as New York Times, Devex, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, NPR etc.
School Partnerships Manager
Educate
Kampala
08.2013 - 10.2014
- Supervised and trained 30 field staff who implement Educate!'s youth leadership and social entrepreneurship training in 250 schools across Uganda
- Joined business development meetings and supported market outreach plans to improve business development and created partnerships in 300 schools reaching over 150,000 educate! Experience Entreprenurial program
- Drove efficiency improvement through continued process refinement and data analysis through excel charts to compel managers to make informed decision on future investments
Program Assistant, Single Stop
Global Health Corps
New York, NY
01.2012 - 01.2013
- With a 1.6% acceptance rate, Global Health Corps pairs young leaders from around the world with transformative healthcare organizations to build a movement for global health equity
- Placement with Single Stop USA, addressing barriers financial, legal, and health services for low-income families in Harlem.
Global Health Fellow
The Carter Center
Atlanta, GA
01.2011
- Founded by President Jimmy Carter, 40 fellows from around the world annually lead efforts for the Carter Center's global health delivery initiatives in southern and eastern Africa
Research Fellow, Social Innovations in Microfinance & Education
BRAC
New York, NY
01.2012
- Funded by the Master Card Foundation, co-designed Uganda's largest secondary and post-secondary school scholarship program, awarded to 5,000 Ugandan youth for the next 10 years
Education
Master of Arts - Sustainable Development And International Policy
School For Int. Training (SIT) Graduate Institute
Washington, DC 01.2011 - 08.2013
Master of Public Health - Health Policy and Administration
Florida State University College of Social Sciences & Public Policy
Tallahassee, Florida 01.2009 - 05.2011
Bachelor of Science - Biomedical Mathematics
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida 01.2006 - 05.2009
Associate of Arts - General Business Transfer
Tallahassee Community College
Tallahassee, Fl 08.2004 - 05.2006
Skills
Strategy Development
Publications
Nile Post. Sept 2023: Unleashing Uganda's Digital Potential Empowering Learning for the 21st Century Bright Magazine. Feb 2019: "Want to Fix Education in Africa? Build African Leaders" NPR Aug. 2016: "I Ran 8.8 Miles to School each day. Barefoot. And it was worth it" Devex June. 2015: "Education Matters but Skills Matter More" New York Times. May 2014: "Uganda's Ticking Bomb" Find more Articles about James Kassaga Arinaitwe on his Aspen Institute New Voices Fellows' Page
Accomplishments
Awarded the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities Rising Start Award; Nov. 2018
Awarded the Reubin O'D Askew Distinguished Alumni Award at Florida State University in Nov. 2017
Inducted into the Tallahassee Community College's Hall of Fame Sept. 2017
Software
Powerpoint
Word
Digital Media
References
1. Mr. Tony Otoa
Chief Executive Stanbic Bank Ltd Business Incubator
Board Chair; Teach For Uganda
+256 783 676 088
otoaokao@gmail.com
2.Ms. Elisabeth Mason
Founding Director, Stanford Poverty & Technology Lab
US Board Advisory Chair, Teach For Uganda
+1(917) 821 0249
elisabethmason@icloud.com
3. Ms. Betty Jensen
Current Immigration Advisor at Florida State University
Former Director of International Student Services at Tallahassee Community College
+1 (850) 933 0683
bjensen@fsu.edu
Timeline
Chief Strategic Officer (CSO) & Cofounder
Accompanied Health Initiative (ACHI)
04.2021 - Current
Executive Director and Co-founder
Teach For Uganda (TFU)
02.2016 - Current
Global Fellow | Manager, Special Projects, Labournet
Acumen
11.2014 - 12.2015
Senior New Voices Fellow
Aspen Institute New Voices Fellowship
03.2014 - 03.2015
School Partnerships Manager
Educate
08.2013 - 10.2014
Program Assistant, Single Stop
Global Health Corps
01.2012 - 01.2013
Research Fellow, Social Innovations in Microfinance & Education
BRAC
01.2012
Master of Arts - Sustainable Development And International Policy
School For Int. Training (SIT) Graduate Institute
01.2011 - 08.2013
Global Health Fellow
The Carter Center
01.2011
Master of Public Health - Health Policy and Administration
Florida State University College of Social Sciences & Public Policy
01.2009 - 05.2011
Bachelor of Science - Biomedical Mathematics
Florida State University
01.2006 - 05.2009
Associate of Arts - General Business Transfer
Tallahassee Community College
08.2004 - 05.2006
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