Edidiong Obot

I am a proud first-generation Nigerian-American who impacts the community by connecting the dots in the community through cultural awareness, community advocacy, and policy engagement. As a proud alumna of Texas Southern University, I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Master of Science in Environmental Toxicology. My career has taken several monumental shifts that not only expanded my own capabilities but have given me room to evolve. As an Environmental Professional for the past nearly 15 years, I have been afforded the opportunity to work in the private, academic, and public sectors and it’s been a rewarding experience thus far. Additionally, my career has allowed me to transfer my scientific background into community advocacy and cultural spaces where I can make an impact both at the micro and macro levels. I love connecting the dots from technical-scientific research methods to the broad scope or the “bigger picture” that impacts communities.

As a servant leader, I have had the opportunity to apply this in various leadership roles and now, my focus is on cross-cultural and social justice organizing with the intent to mobilize the African Diaspora intergenerationally in social change movements. My goal is to increase the number of people in the African Diaspora involved in community activism, public policy input, and engagement at the local, state, and federal levels. One of the monumental shifts in my career was working in local government in Harris County, Texas where my career was focused on community impact from a policy awareness, community engagement, and coalition-building standpoint. To further my passion and impact of this work, I was selected as a National Urban Fellow (NUF) to study Policy Management at Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy with the goal of impacting both domestic and international policy. As a National Urban Fellow, I am afforded the opportunity to
participate in a residency program with the National League of Cities which allows me to explore what urbanization looks like in cities nationwide and explore how immigration integration in the African Diaspora economically impacts US cities nationwide.

My research focus aligns with the Global Scholars program goal of promoting research focus on cities and global urbanization. This allows me to apply my career experience and academic learning experience in the McCourt Policy Management Program to explore policies that can promote and create a cultural shift around urbanization and immigration integration. I look forward to using this opportunity to explore and address the internal and external barriers of equity and inclusion impacting the African Diaspora community as a correlation of policy and decision-making projects on a local, state, and federal level. Specifically, I plan to explore the domestic and international economic impact immigration integration has on the African Diaspora based in the US. Through participation in this program, I hope to create a framework that embodies equitable principles that lead efforts in advancing cross-cultural and social justice to create a cultural shift in how we perceive and discuss global urbanization and immigration integration in the African Diaspora.