The Ivory Club of Tampa Bay will hold its Annual Lecture Series and Gala night on May 4 2019.
Please join us as we celebrate the 15th anniversary of our signature charity event.
Venue – Westshore Grand Hotel, 4860 W Kennedy Blvd, Tampa
Time – 6pm (Silent Auction), 7pm (Dinner, Lecture, and entertainment)
Theme: “The state of Africa’s economic Emergence – United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) engagement in Africa”.
Keynote Speaker – Mrs. Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie, United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary General, Regional Director for Africa
The Ivory Club of Tampa Bay, a non-profit organization, has been a mainstay in the Tampa Bay area for more than 20 years. An “Evening in Africa” is a charity event that serves as a key fundraising vehicle the Ivory Club of Tampa Bay relies on to support its key programs such as:
- ⇒ University of South Florida (USF) Endowed Scholarship. Since 1999, the Ivory Club has awarded need and merit based scholarships annually to deserving students.
- ⇒ International Student Exchange Program where recipient USF Students are sent to an African university for a semester
- ⇒ Disaster relief and social assistance – Donations to Haiti earthquake and West African Ebola relief efforts, Tampa Bay Boys & Girls Club, and more
We invite you to come and experience the night with us.
About the Keynote Speaker
Mrs. Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie officially began her role as United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa in August 2018. In this role, she leads UNDP’s work supporting 46 countries in Africa to achieve Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
With over 20 years experience covering UN development activities all over Africa, she is a regular guest speaker on the continent and has firsthand knowledge of how economic emergence is taking shape all over Africa.
Prior to her current role as regional head for Africa, she most recently served as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Ethiopia since 2015. Before that, she served as Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Uganda and Lesotho. She has held several posts with the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as Chief of the Africa Section in New York, and in duty stations in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Her many years of experience both outside of and across UN systems – including extensive experience at country level – are not only an asset for UNDP’s work in Africa, but also in helping craft the organization’s next generation offering.
Before joining the United Nations, Mrs. Eziakonwa held a series of senior positions with civil society organizations in Africa. She holds a Master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, with a focus on Economic and Political Development.