George Kogolla is a Kenyan development practitioner with 20 years of progressive development experience, having served across several local and international development and cultural relations organizations. George’s expertise lies in strategy, youth development, organisational development, project management, partnerships and business development.
Currently serving the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) as its Bilateral Funding Lead for IREX, George manages funding relationships with non-US government funding agencies. Prior to IREX, George worked for the British Council in Kenya, serving as the Director Programmes and Partnerships, providing programmatic oversight to a portfolio of programmes across education, skills development, and social enterprise.

George is also the Executive Director for Carolina for Kibera an international NGO based in Nairobi affiliated to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was tasked with providing leadership and strategic direction at a point of rapid growth for the organisation. George’s development career started when he co-founded out of university, a youth empowerment organisation Youth Alive! Kenya (YAK). George served as the Executive Director of YAK between 2001 and 2009 transforming the organization into a powerhouse in youth empowerment in Kenya and the wider East African region.

George is fascinated by the intersection between public sector and business in the notion of public interest; a middle ground where both public resources and private efforts can work together for public good.

He holds a Master of Public Administration – International Development (MPA-ID) from the University of York, UK and serves in voluntary capacity as a trustee for the CHANGE Trust a local children’s charitable trust and as the Vice Chair to the Board of Directors for Empower & Serve Kenya, a national youth-serving non governmental organization working in Kenya.