Lucy Lake, global organisation leader committed to education for social justice

We are wonderfully fortunate to have such an inspiring alumna join us for the ‘Notable alumni in conversation with…Wadham students’ series. Lucy joined CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education ) in 1994 and served as its CEO until very recently. CAMFED’s model has been scaled in five countries of sub-Saharan Africa, supporting more than 7 million young people including 1.6 million girls to complete secondary school. One of the most profound outcomes of CAMFED’s model is its graduate Association of women leaders – more than 250,000 strong – among them doctors, teachers, lawyers, business leaders and government officials, now at the forefront of a pan-African movement for girls’ education.

Under Lucy’s leadership, CAMFED has been awarded the Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, and has been recognized by the OECD for best practice in taking development innovation to scale. In 2020, Lucy was awarded the Yidan Prize for Education Development for her contribution to gender equality in education. In 2023, Lucy stepped aside as CEO and passed the reins to Angeline Murimirwa, one of the first girls to be supported through school by CAMFED, and Lucy’s focus is now on building the global movement of individuals and institutions in support of gender equality in education. She is a founding member and former Chair of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, and a member of the High-Level Steering Group of the global Education Commission’s Workforce Initiative.