Fortunate Kelechi Ekwuruke is a Graduate Associate at Perry World House and a dual-degree graduate student in Education, Culture, and Society and Nonprofit Leadership at Penn. Her research interests include the politics of education (sub-Saharan Africa), housing insecurity and educational systems, NGO’s and government relations, socioeconomic inequality, and ethnic culture and youth identity. As a child of Nigerian immigrants who experienced homelessness at an early age, Ekwuruke’s research interests are very much informed by her own personal history. During her undergraduate studies, Ekwuruke completed her senior thesis titled ‘The Effects of Immigration on the Culture of Igbo Nigerians in America.’ She also worked as a youth development specialist for a nonprofit organization that served underprivileged and homeless youth in New York City for three years.
Expertise: Africa, Democracy, Populism, & Domestic Politics, Development, Urbanization
