Emerging Leaders
Mentors
Host Companies
Impact Stories
Fellow(s): Ayeni Olamide
Country: Nigeria
Region: SSA
Cohort: 2017
Project/Action: Fellow returns to UNEP as a Change Maker
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development
Fellow Ayeni Olamide (Nigeria, 2017), founder of circular economy company HOPCYKU, was recently invited to the North America Office of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Washington, D.C., as a recognized Change Maker in sustainability. The invitation followed her participation as a panelist at the 2025 WWF Plastic Summit, where she spoke alongside policymakers, academics and global sustainability leaders.
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Ayeni’s journey with UNEP began in 2019, when she was awarded a fellowship to attend the 79th UNEP/UNESCO/BMU International Short Course on Resource Efficiency, Circular Economy, and Waste Management in Dresden, Germany—her first formal education in environmental sustainability.
Reflecting on the milestone, Ayeni shared, “Visiting the UNEP Office was a full-circle moment. I got to share our journey, how we started, what we’ve achieved and where we’re headed.”Report Date: 05/05/2025
Fellow(s): Raushan Nurdillayeva
Country: Kazakhstan
Region: SCA
Cohort: 2020-2021
Project/Action: Fellow & Mentors publish international research paper
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability
Fellow Raushan Nurdillayeva (Kazakhstan, 2020–2021) and LBNL mentors Virginia Altoe and Carolin Sutter-Fella have co-authored a recently-published materials science paper, “Humidity Disrupts Structural and Chiroptical Properties of Chiral 2D Perovskites”. Featured in the ACS Nano journal, the publication is the result of a global research collaboration spanning institutions in the U.S., Kazakhstan, and Europe—including the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), where Raushan completed her TechWomen professional mentorship.
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The study explores the effects of humidity on a promising class of materials known as chiral 2D perovskites, which have potential applications in advanced electronics such as spintronics. Their cross-border collaboration included researchers from Akhmet Yassawi University, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Eindhoven University of Technology.
Raushan’s participation was supported by the Bolashak “Internship for 500 Scholars” initiative under Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education.Report Date: 05/05/2025
