Leadership Impact Award

Ibrahima stands at a podium, holding a microphone, wearing traditional dress.
Ibrahima speaks at the Africa Ideas Summit at The Presidential Precinct.

The Leadership Impact Award annually recognizes the individual achievements of one outstanding member of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Network.  Ideal candidates for the Leadership Impact Award are Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni who have freely and consistently committed their time and expertise to the needs of others—whether inside or outside of work—by promoting inclusion, innovation, and access in their personal or professional communities.

Institute Partners, Reciprocal Exchange Awardees, U.S. Embassies and Consulates, and Professional Development Experience Host Organizations may nominate Fellowship Alumni for the Leadership Impact Award. Fellowship Alumni who are nominated for the Leadership Impact Award are invited to submit an online application. Nominees are evaluated on the impact of their work, their service as ambassadors for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the quality of their advice to current Mandela Washington Fellows, and their professionalism and English proficiency.

Selected based on their record of servant leadership and advocacy on behalf of the Fellowship, Leadership Impact Award recipients are invited to attend the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit to receive the Award and share a message of advice and inspiration with current Fellows. Travel, lodging, and per diem expenses are covered by the Fellowship.

2020 Leadership Impact Award Winner: Ibrahima Kalil Gueye

In 2020, Ibrahima Kalil Gueye, 2018 Fellowship Alumnus from Guinea, was selected for the Leadership Impact Award.  Since 2016, Ibrahima has led “Open and Transparent Guinea,” a program that has reached 10,000 citizens by promoting transparency in Guinea.  A good governance advocate, he is utilizing the skills and connections he gained during the 2018 Mandela Washington Fellowship to create strategic solutions to address corruption through grassroots citizen education and mobilization as well as national level policy advocacy and reform.

Corruption is the most common thing affecting my country… That is why I decided, as a young activist, to fight this issue in order to find equality in Guinean society.  Because wherever you find corruption there is no equality… By fighting corruption, you promote tacitly, peace and justice.”

Ibrahima Kalil Gueye, 2018 Fellowship Alumnus and 2020 Leadership Impact Award Winner

In 2019, Ibrahima coordinated the National Marathon of Governance, funded by an Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund grant from the U.S. Department of State.  Over 43 days, he traveled 5,500 kilometers through rural Guinea empowering 2,300 people through workshops, conferences, and discussions with authorities to inform citizens of their rights.

As YALI celebrates its tenth anniversary, Ibrahima is an excellent representative of the program’s impact, as an Alumnus of both the Fellowship and the YALI Regional Leadership Center in Dakar and member of the YALI Network.

Congratulations, Ibrahima, from your Mandela Washington Fellowship family.  We look forward to seeing you succeed and empower citizens across Guinea and the continent.

Read more about Ibrahima’s work in his own words

Black woman speaks at a podium. She is wearing an orange and teal patterned dress.

Past Leadership Impact Award Winners