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On-site Staff
Program Director
Mwangi Njagi has been the Program Director for our AU Nairobi programs since the spring of 2012. He is also the instructor of the Social and Political History of Kenya course for our Contemporary Issues in Kenya and Africa program. Dr. Njagi obtained his PhD in African history from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook. Before joining AU Nairobi, he worked as the Assistant Director for Stony Brook's Study Abroad in Tanzania where he developed the Kiswahili curriculum. He also taught courses in African history, politics and society at Stony Brook University. His research interests focus on the development of education policies and their interactions with political leadership in post-colonial Kenya.
Program Assistant
Victor Mwanza is the Program Assistant for AU Nairobi. He has over 15 years of experience working the security field – much of this related to foreigners living in Kenya. One of Victor's chief responsibilities is to mitigate security issues for AU Nairobi students and the programs as a whole. He has earned a BA in Management from St. Paul's University in Nairobi and is working on his masters at Daystar University in Nairobi. He has worked with AU Nairobi since 2006.
Assistant Director
Internship Coordinator
Elmah Moore-Morara has been theInternship Coordinator for AU Nairobi since Fall 2019. She is an experienced information manager and internship coordinator with over 10 years of professionalexperience withNGOs, CBOs, and private as well as public organizations for international students and volunteers in East and West Africa.
Prior to joining AU Nairobi, she worked as aRegional Internship Coordinator for Pangaya, a German organization based in Berlin; a Knowledge Manager and Database Development Adviser for Katiba Institute, a non-profit organization based in Nairobi, Kenya; an Information Specialist for the Library of Congress at the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya and as an Information Specialist at the University of Toronto Law School, Canada.Elmah obtained both her MA in Information Science and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Political Science and Information Communication Technology from the University of Toronto, Canada.
Homestay coordinator
Sabina is our Homestay Coordinator and has had an association with AU Nairobi since 2010 when she joined the orientation team to help our students acclimatize to Kenya. Her role has expanded to include being a liaison between homestay families and students. As a trained social worker, Sabina also volunteers at a small community project in Kibera that supplies sanitary towels to school girls and single mothers.
Facility manager
Mercy Kagiri is the facility manager and has been the “mama” to AU Nairobi students and staff since 2006. Mercy came to AU from the Centre for Domestic Training and Development where she trained as a cook and a housekeeper. She enjoys interacting with the students and making delicious food for all to enjoy – of which her ndengu samosas are a crowd favorite! In her spare time she enjoys reading in AU Nairobi’s library.
Wangui Kimari is an urban anthropologist who teaches classes on the politics of climate change in Africa, urban youth movements, and the internship seminar. She has taught at AU since 2019 and has also been affiliated to the African Centre for Cities (ACC) and the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA) at the University of Cape Town.
AU Abroad Centers Team
Associate Director, AU CentersAbroad
Assistant Director, AU Centers Abroad
Matthew Stifter is the Assistant Director for the for the AU Abroad Centers in Belgium, Kenya, and Spain.He earned his MA in International Training and Education from American University in 2018. Matthew also attended AU’s School of International Service and graduated with his BA in International Studies. As an undergraduate student, Matthew studied abroad in Berlin, Germany. Studying abroad not only improved his German language ability, but also allowed him to achieve new insights into who he was and how he related to the world. He can be your resource for LGBTQ life in Madrid, the quirkiness of language in Brussels, or where to visit the giraffes near Nairobi!
Senior Study Abroad Advisor
Emma is an AU Center advisor at the AU Abroad office in DC and supports students who are interested in studying abroad at AU Brussels, AU Madrid and AU Nairobi