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Elias Okwara

Africa Policy Manager

Elias Okwara, CIPP/E, CIPP/US, is Access Now’s Africa Policy Manager. He previously served Finland’s first female Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki and European Parliament Vice President Libor Rouček, where he developed security and defense policy and legislation, and was a speechwriter and spokesperson. Elias advised NATO and the African Union on issues ranging from peace and security, technology policy to cybersecurity and data protection. He notably spearheaded policy work for the 2012 NATO Heads of State Summit chaired by President Barack Obama and whose outcomes were implemented by, among others, the U.S. Department of Defense in 2016. Moreover, he led the review of the African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention). In the private sector, Elias founded LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ Data Privacy and Product Compliance Programs, paving the way for game-changing transnational expansion and unprecedented new revenues, and consequently headed Integrations at Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity company UpGuard where he was embedded in the full breadth of Critical Infrastructure Sectors. He was trained at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, international law firm Duane Morris LLP and the United Nations Association of USA (UNA-USA), and is a longtime State Leader of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC). Elias graduated from Drexel University in Philadelphia as a STAR (Student Tackling Advanced Research) Scholar with International Area Studies & Legal Studies-Business, and studied in Brussels at the Royal Military Academy of Belgium and Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB). Born in the port city of Mombasa in Kenya, Elias is passionate about using his experiences to uplift others. He loves reading historical accounts, and cannot get enough of Robert A. Caro.