Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg (M.A '05, Ph.D. '08) knows firsthand what it's like to be a promising scholar with limited financial and social resources. That knowledge–and her graduate research in political science at the University of Minnesota on obstacles to African women's access to decision-making positions in public life–has led to her life's work asm a scholar and activist straddling two continents.

When Kamau-Ruthenberg was 14 years old, she left her native Nairobi, Kenya, to live in Denver with relatives she had never met. "There was very little hope on the horizon," says Kamau-Ruthenberg of her native country, which was at the time under the rule of dictator Daniel arap Moi. Her relatives offered her the opportunity to attend a public high school in hopes of securing a college scholarship, which she eventully did. 

Now an assistant professor in the Department of Politics at the University of San Francisco, Kamau-Ruthenberg is also founder and executive director of Aliki Dada, a nonprofit based in Nairobi that serves as a leadership incubator by investing in young women from underprivileged Kenyan families. In Swahili, akili means intellect and competence; dada–sister–is a term of familiarity among women. 

Kamau-Ruthenberg vividly recalls the constant financial hardship she experienced as a graduate. Her stipend as a eaching assistant barely covered living expenses, let alone the costs of moving to Minneapolis and setting up an new life. "I remember running home in tears one day afer a professor realized I hadn't done my readings. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I coildn't afford to pay for the books," she says. That experience informs how Kamau-Ruthenberg structured Akili Dada's fully comprehensive scholarships, which also include mentorships, peer interactions, and leadership opportunities.

Last January, Kamau-Ruthenberg was one of 14 Americans with roots in the Horn of Africa to be named a Champion of Change by the White House's Office of Public Engagement. "As a Kenyan who finally became a U.S. citizen last year, it was amazing for me to think about President Obama's Kenyan heritage and to share the stage with the other Champions," she says. Wheter raising funds for scholarships or leading a classroom seminar, Kamau-Ruthenberg says, "I bring a passion for African women's empowerment and a desire to tell a different story about Africa from what is commonly shared in the West."

Originally published by Minnesota Alumni.