Adenike Akinsemolu

Dr. Adenike Akinsemolu is a passionate environmental educator and author of numerous studies, which have appeared in reputable publications. Her passion for the environment propelled her to study Environmental Microbiology at doctoral level.

A former intern at Clinton Foundation, Adenike’s work and enthusiasm for youth and the environment have taken her all over the world. In order to make environmentalism a part of the everyday experience of Nigerians, Adenike started the Green Campus Initiative. This initiative began at the Adeyemi College Campus, a college of Obafemi Awolowo University, where she is a lecturer. By creating Green ambassadors on college campuses across Nigeria, Adenike’s movement aims to positively impact the ways in which Nigerian youth incorporate green living into all elements of their lives – from riding bikes to taking shorter showers. In 2016, the Green Campus Initiative transitioned into the Green Institute, the first Nigerian research institution that subsidizes college tuition costs through a waste management program while training leaders that will systematically transform attitudes about environmentalism in Africa’s most populated and polluted country.

Additionally, Adenike founded the Girl Prize, which provides financial and mentorship support for young Nigerian secondary school girls with an interest in the sciences. She is currently an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society and a Robert Bosch Stiftung Young Researcher Awardee.