A boy who built a windmill to power his family home. A girl who took over as the mathematics teacher at her high school. The top performer on Rwanda's national examinations. A Moroccan girl who changed perceptions of the Arab world during a year studying in the USA. A Sudanese boy who made his way from a refugee camp to Kenya's top high school. These are just a few of the 106 young leaders admitted into African Leadership Academy's inaugural class.

With an acceptance rate of just 6.2%, African Leadership Academy was more selective than Harvard College in 2008. The inaugural class consists of impressive young leaders from a wide range of backgrounds across North, East, West, and Southern Africa who have demonstrated ALA's five selection criteria: academic achievement, leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit, passion for Africa, and commitment to service. Some are winners of national or international math, science, debate, writing, and civics competitions. Others are young entrepreneurs who have started innovative businesses and public service organizations. Many have overcome incredible odds.

The ALA selection process was exceptionally rigorous, with Finalists submitting seven essays, two teacher recommendations, school reports and national examination results.  They then went on to "Finalist Weekends" in which they interviewed with ALA staff and supporters, participated in group activities, and sat an entrance examination. ALA Finalist Weekends were greatly enjoyed by these young leaders and earned extensive media coverage, including a 30 minute radio segment on WADR-FM in West Africa. You can listen to this radio segment, including interviews with ALA founder Chris Bradford, student finalists, and some of our guest speakers here.

South Africa had the most students admitted to ALA, with thirteen young people offered admission. Kenya followed with twelve admitted students, and nine students were admitted from Nigeria. Eight students were admitted from both Senegal and Tanzania, and six young leaders from Morocco were offered places in the class. The oldest student admitted is currently 19 years old, while the youngest student admitted is 15 years old.

For profiles of students and more information on the composition of the inaugural class, click here. We also encourage you to watch this video about one of these young leaders. All students will report to campus on September 3, when they will begin a two year journey designed to prepare them for transformational leadership roles on the African continent.

African Leadership Academy has announced the first members of the inaugural faculty that will be joining Dean Chris Khaemba on campus this September. The inaugural faculty members join ALA from leading schools and institutions across Africa and around the world. All faculty share a passion for Africa and a common belief in the power of young people to change the world.

ALA will bring world-class science and technology faculty from three of the leading schools on the African continent. Michael Gyampo, currently head of Science at the renowned SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College in Ghana, brings a long track record of success to ALA's Chemistry department. Sani Iliyasu joins ALA from his role as a teacher of physics and director of ICT at Loyola Jesuit College, the top secondary school in Nigeria. Scott Rubin joins ALA's Physics and Mathematics faculty from Hillcrest Secondary School in Kenya.

In the humanities, Alexandra Holland joins African Leadership Academy from Sha Tin College in Hong Kong, where she served as Vice Principal, teacher of History, and Director of the International Baccalaureate "Theory of Knowledge" program. A UK citizen who was born in Zambia, Alex is a passionate international educator and has extensive experience traveling and working across Africa and around the world.

Outstanding faculty have also been named to lead African Leadership Academy's unique programs in Leadership and Entrepreneurship. Peter Myers joins African Leadership Academy from Leadership High School in San Francisco, CA, where he has led the school's leadership curriculum for the past several years. Jessica Hastings joins African Leadership Academy from IDEO, the internationally renowned design firm. At IDEO, Jessica initiated a group at her company that tackled entrenched challenges like clean water transport and crop irrigation in countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, India, and Cambodia. Since 2007, Jessica has played a key role in the development of the unique entrepreneurship curriculum at African Leadership Academy.

For longer biographies of these and other African Leadership Academy faculty, click here. There are still faculty roles to be filled in English, Geography, Economics, and French, and ALA is actively recruiting and interviewing candidates. If you know a truly world-class teacher who might be a fit for one of these roles, please encourage them to apply!

African Leadership Foundation will be hosting two ALA fundraising events in the United States that we hope our supporters in the USA will be able to attend!

Our first-ever San Francisco event will occur on Friday evening, May 30 at Apartment 24. It will be an amazing evening in which supporters will meet ALA founders, learn more about the inaugural class, and connect with friends. If you will be in the Bay Area on May 30, we hope you will attend and invite your friends to learn more about ALA!

Our annual New York event will happen at the Prince George Ballroom on Thursday, June 5. The event will include an exciting auction, the announcement by ALA founders of the inaugural class, and a speech by one of the young leaders in the class. If you are in New York City on June 5, we hope you will attend and invite your friends to learn more about ALA!