Awa K. Saidy

I am currently associate director for the African Studies Initiative. My role involves directing, facilitating, and strategizing to build programming that enhances African Studies content in University-wide curricula; creating academic and scholarly events (webinars, workshops, symposia, institutes, conferences); and providing outreach to K-16 educators, media, businesses, and general audiences. A key part of my duties includes institutional relationship building both internally (within the University) and externally (engaging and collaborating with local communities and stakeholders at the regional, national, and international levels. I also serve as affiliate faculty in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. In April 2025, I was appointed as affiliate faculty in the Department of African American and African Studies.  

I worked as an analyst and risk management consultant in the institutional banking sector in corporate America for 16 years prior to transitioning to academia to pursue a doctorate in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. I am passionate about volunteering in local immigrant communities and at the global front. I work with high school-aged students in immigrant and low-income communities mostly in the Twin Cities area to help them prepare for college as well as with the college application and admission process. At the global level, I was currently the serving as the executive director of Global Africa Comparative and International Education Society. I work closely with the President of Global Africa Comparative and International Education Society in preparation to convene the XIX World Congress of Comparative Education Societies in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in July 2027. Previously, I served as a part-time volunteer for the World Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) for two years. During my tenure, I worked directly with the Executive Director of WCCES to provide support for publication of books under the Brill-WCCES Series. I was also part of the planning committee for the XVIII World Congress of Comparative Education jointly convened by WCCES and UNESCO at Cornell University, July 22-26, 2024.