Leadership Impact Award

The Leadership Impact Award 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.

2019 Leadership Impact Award Winner: Adepeju Jaiyeoba

2014 Fellow Adepeju Jaiyeoba of Nigeria received the inaugural Leadership Impact Award at the 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit in Washington, D.C.

In 2019, 2014 Mandela Washington Fellow Adepeju Jaiyeoba of Nigeria received the inaugural Leadership Impact Award at the 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit in Washington, D.C.

Adepeju Jaiyeoba was inspired to found Mother’s Delivery Kit, a social enterprise that develops and sells birth kits to midwives, hospitals, and delivery assistants across Nigeria, in 2013 after a close friend died during childbirth.  These affordable kits contain sterile supplies to improve basic hygiene and prevent infections during births. Additionally, Mother’s Delivery Kit provides valuable education and training on safe delivery practices to traditional birth attendants and community health workers.

In 2014, Adepeju attended a six-week Leadership Institute at The University of Texas at Austin during the first year of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.  From the start of her Fellowship, Adepeju was committed to leveraging the knowledge, partnerships, and skills she gained during her time in the United States to help build and scale her social enterprise in Nigeria. 

Before the Fellowship, Adepeju had sold a few thousand birth kits.  Since the Fellowship, Mother’s Delivery Kit has scaled up dramatically and has sold over half a million kits across Nigeria.  Adepeju is on a mission to help women and children stay alive and reach their full potential.