Obiageli “Oby” Katryn Ezekwesili, an economic policy expert, served as a Jackson Senior Fellow during the 2021-2022 academic year. She is Senior Economic Adviser of the Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative and one of the co-founders and pioneer directors of Transparency International-TI, the Berlin-based global anti-corruption organization. Ezekwesili is currently also the Founder-CEO of Human Capital África working in the education sector across Africa. 

Ezekwesili is the Founder-Chairperson of the Board of SPPG- School of Politics Policy and Governance in Abuja, Nigeria. She was a candidate for office of the President of Nigeria in the 2019 election and became the Founder-Chairperson of #FixPolitics Initiative a research-based citizens-led initiative. 

Ezekwesili was a Vice President of World Bank- Africa Region in Washington DC between 2007 and 2012. She served in the government of Nigeria between 2000 and 2007. She was the Minister of Minerals and later of Education. She was a presidential aide and headed the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit which later became the Bureau for Public Procurement- BPP. She was concurrently the pioneer Chairperson of the Nigerian Extractive Industry and Transparency Initiative- NEITI in which capacity she successfully designed and implemented the global principles for Nigeria. Ezekwesili also worked as the Director of the Harvard-Nigeria Economic Strategy Project at the Center for International Development at the Kennedy School of Government, Massachusetts. 

A Chartered Accountant and consultant, she holds an MA in International Law and Diplomacy and an MA in Public Policy and Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. 

Ezekwesili was recognized as one of Time-100 Most Influential People and by New York Times as one of the 25 Women of Impact, 2015.  The PRIO- Peace Research Institute Oslo listed her as one of potential candidates for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. She was decorated with the national award of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) by her country.