Professor Judi Wakhungu EGH

Professor Judi Wakhungu EGH is Kenya’s former Ambassador to France, Holy See, Portugal, Serbia, and Monaco. From 2013 to 2018, she served as Kenya’s Minister (Cabinet Secretary) of Environment and Natural Resources. Her legislation during her tenure as Minister is globally unmatched. It includes banning single-use plastic bags in Kenya in 2017; leading the burning of Kenya’s ivory and rhino horn stockpiles in 2016 to curb illegal wildlife trade; enacting the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013, Climate Change Act 2016, and Water Act 2016; amending the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act 2015 and the Forest Conservation and Management Act 2015; leading the Waste Management Bill; and establishing many other key environment and conservation regulations.  

Professor Wakhungu is a recipient of many awards, including an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Reading, the Oceans Award in 2018, the Clark R. Bavin Award in 2016, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Pennsylvania State University and St. Lawrence University. As Kenya’s first woman pioneer in geology, she has mentored many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students.