Speakers
Amaka Megwalu Anku, head of the Eurasia Group's Africa practice, helps clients understand the interaction of politics, policy, and markets across sub-Saharan Africa. She is a member of the firm's Global Macro practice, where she focuses on comparative global politics. Amaka is an adjunct professor at Georgetown's Walsh School of Foreign Service, and she teaches a graduate course on political risk analysis. She is also a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. Amaka often appears on major TV networks and is frequently quoted in the world's leading newspapers.
Prior to Eurasia Group, Amaka worked with various organizations across sub-saharan Africa. She also practiced law in the international arbitration and litigation group of global law firm Shearman & Sterling, LLP, where she represented multinational corporations in multimillion-dollar, cross-border disputes. She grew up in Enugu, Nigeria, and speaks Igbo and French. Amaka holds a bachelor's degree from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a doctor of law degree from Harvard Law School.
Michelle D. Gavin is the Ralph Bunche senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She has over twenty years of experience in international affairs in government and non-profit roles. She was formerly the managing director of The Africa Center, a multidisciplinary institution dedicated to increasing understanding of contemporary Africa. From 2011 to 2014 she was the U.S. ambassador to Botswana and served concurrently as the U.S. representative to the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
