Adrienne Jacobs is a senior program officer for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

In this role, she leads the planning and implementation of Fellowship events, such as the annual Summit, bringing together multiple facets of the Fellowship network for large and small-scale events, while continuing to engage external stakeholders like Members of Congress, regional experts, and corporate partners.

Prior to IREX, Adrienne worked for the United States Senate Committee on the Budget for nearly two years. She has since been able to translate this experience into supporting the advocacy efforts of the Fellowship’s Institutes and other partners. She is also happy to share her insights with projects and staff across IREX on best practices in informing government representatives about the important work IREX does. Adrienne has a M.A. in peace research and security policy from the University of Hamburg, and a B.A. in international relations and diplomacy from Schiller International University.