Esther Ngumbi

Dr. Esther Ngumbi is a distinguished Post-doctoral researcher with the Entomology Department and African American Studies Department at The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She is a native of Kwale County, Kenya. Esther is very passionate about issues of agriculture, food security, innovations surrounding soil, education, hunger, gender and sustainability. She is a thought leader and has authored over 70 opinion pieces on these issues in outlets ranging from Scientific American to Time Magazine, CNN, NPR, Reuters, AllAfrica, World Policy Blog, The Conversation and Los Angeles Times. She is a senior fellow with The World Policy Institute, a Food Security Fellow and an Alumni Council member with Aspen Institute New Voices. She is a Commitment Mentor for Agriculture and an Alumni Ambassador with the Clinton Global University Initiative. She is the recipient of many national and International awards including 2018 Society of Experimental Biology Presidents Medal and the first to be awarded 2017 Emerging Sustainability Leader Award. She serves as a board member for the Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund, Development in Gardening and Paths Education. She is a member of the Entomological Society of America Science Policy Committee. She was a finalist for President Clinton's Global Hunger Leadership Award and was named by One World Action as one of the 100 Powerful Women Who Change the World.