March 10, 2022
A member of the Jury since 2019, Wanjira Mathai has over 20 years of experience advocating for social and environmental change on both local and international platforms. She is currently the vice president and regional director for Africa at the World Resources Institute (WRI), and previously served as co-chair of WRI’s Global Restoration Council and senior advisor to the Global Restoration Initiative. Mathai is the current chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation and the former chair of the Green Belt Movement, which was founded by her late mother, Wangari Maathai (1991 Goldman Prize winner and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) in 1977.
Over the years, Mathai has also served in important strategic and advocacy roles raising the prominence and visibility of global issues such as climate change, youth leadership, sustainable energy, and landscape restoration. She has held various roles with Women Entrepreneurs in Renewables and currently serves on the board of the World Agroforestry Center and as a Leadership Council member of the Clean Cooking Alliance. Mathai was named one of the 100 Most Influential African Women in 2018 and 2020.
