KCEP - Who We Are
Executive Board
Ooko John - Founder and Managing Director
|
Ooko John is the founder and managing director of Kenya Citizenry Empowerment Programme (KCEP). He has over 20 years’ experience working as an IT consultant. He has been engaged in business process project management roles that spanned the continents of Africa, Europe, North America and South America. He has worked with industry leaders including Comcraft (K) Ltd, Utell REZsolutions, Lockheed Martin, VoiceStream, Virtual Vision, Boeing, IBM, Deloitte and Cognizant Technology Solutions. At the turn of the century, he was part of a critical team of DNS engineers that contributed to the development of mobile phone SMS technology. His current professional engagements are mostly within the business data mining and analytics domain. He worked on the Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill claims’ project as a data warehouse analyst. In 2015, he wrote a 30-page online technical paper discussing The Future of Business Intelligence in the Age of Big Data and Cloud Computing.
Ooko’s long involvement in socio-economic programmes led to writing a 557-page book discussing and correlating a global history of the African peoples – Reflecting on America’ First Black President: An African Perspective of Global Events Critical to the Overall Black History. His upcoming book discusses the ongoing socio-political discord in the US. He also has other numerous online articles that include the subjects of politics, healthcare management, social science, project management and sports analyses. Much of the contents of these writings form the basis of KCEP’s mission. Away from IT and authorship roles, Ooko is a former international football player for Kenya and is a Union of European Football Association (UEFA) licensed coach. In 1993, he became the first Kenyan player to formally seek trials with Manchester United FC and Arsenal FC of the then English First Division league. From a pool of over 450 ideas, his 2018 sports consulting business proposal was rated as one of the Businesses Most Likely to Succeed across Africa by the African Entrepreneurship Award. He holds an MSc degree in business analytics (data science and analytics), a BSc degree in electronics engineering, and three post-graduate diplomas in computer system design, business management and French. While he is pursuing another MSc degree in health care informatics, he is certified in Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR). A singer and a moderate guitarist, he often finds time to appear in concerts with colleagues. His languages of communication are Dholuo, Kiswahili, English, Lingala, French and Spanish. 
Judy Mwai - Operations Director
Dr. Judy Mwai is a public health scientist. She is a seasoned researcher with over 10 years’ experience in implementation research. She is currently working with a major research institution in Kenya. She has led programmes and policy changes that directly impact the future of community health practice in Kenya. Having worked and consulted for both public and private sector organizations, she has viable experience in programme development, design and management, peace building initiatives, youth and women economic empowerment programming, humanitarian work touching on advocacy, governance and leadership. Her other roles have centred on health research ethics, monitoring and evaluation, gender integration and training.
Judy possesses good analytical skills for gathering data on the latest health trends and effectively determining the relevant action plans. She is a great communicator with great interpersonal skills to present and disseminate findings on different fora. She has a great ability to build team-oriented game-changer strategies, planning, implementation and reporting, that maximize human and financial resources for key results and impact. She has facilitated numerous long-term community development projects that empower individuals to take charge of their future through organized community efforts. She holds a PhD in public health from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and an MSC degree in public health from the same university. Her bachelor’s degree is in the field of sociology from the University of Nairobi (UON). She also has a diploma in healthcare management from the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM). 
Felix Owaga Okatch - Marketing Director
Felix O. Okatch is a current Chairman of the Association of Professional Societies in East Africa (APSEA). He also serves as a council member at Karatina University as well as one of the board members at Outward Bound Trust and Kenya Reinsurance Corporation. He also serves as a member of Institute of Directors (IOD), Kenya chapter, and the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM).
He has published many articles on corporate governance and finance. His latest book on marketing is entitled Marketing Management, Integrated Perspectives (2017), and published by the Kenya Literature Bureau. He is a multilateral trade expert and has travelled widely in Africa, Western Europe and South East Asia. He is currently completing research for his Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) studies at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He holds an MBA from Assam Don Bosco University and a BComm (Hons) degree from the University of Nairobi. 
Josephine Okwirry - Finance Director
Josephine is a CPA (K) graduate with BA in accounting. She also has a diploma in social studies. She has vast experience in accounting and auditing totalling to 20 years of corporate experience.
Her professional responsibilities have included the analysis of financial information and preparation of financial reports for maintenance of assets, liabilities, profit and loss, and taxes. She has led accounts payable process improvement projects that eliminated duplications. While employing Quick books and Pastel accounting tools, she has also helped drive to completion a project that optimised monthly accounting processes within a corporate setup. Josephine’s professional integrity and commitment earned her a promotion to the role of a senior accountant with one of the leading research institutions in Kenya. In this role, she directed project accounting procedures on internally-generated revenues as well as donor funds’ management. Josephine is an active participant in voluntary services. She has volunteered her professional services in the US and in Kenya. In 2014, she volunteered her services in Kenya as business advisor for a USAID programme managed by CUSO International. Her direct responsibilities touched on skills planning and development of micro- enterprise services for the target communities in the coastal region of Kenya. Her other voluntary service experience has been in the assistance of development and implementation of alternative income generating activities for women in micro credit and business management. 
Edith Knight Owido - Project Coordinator
Away from being one of the project managers for the Kenya Citizenry Empowerment Programme (KCEP), Edith is a start-up entrepreneur in the fashion and modelling industry. She is the owner of Knighty Collections. She is also an accomplished model, currently holding the title of Miss Tourism Kenya Migori County. In her capacity as Miss Tourism Kenya Migori County, Edith runs the Nisomeshe Initiative that mentors the youth in their educational pursuit and excellence.
In year 2015 as Miss Eldoret, Edith ran a cancer awareness campaign which led to the establishment of a Cancer Centre in Eldoret city. Currently through her role as the face of Migori County gender empowerment initiatives, Edith is one of the upcoming leaders actively engaged in tackling one of the most traumatic cultural rights affecting young girls in Kenya - female genital mutilation (FGM)! Edith is a graduate from the University of Eldoret with a bachelor degree in environmental science. She also holds a certificate in environmental impact assessment. 
Jean Mbayi Owenga - Project Coordinator
Jean is a current student at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education. Her majors are in English and literature. She is a member of the peer educators club at the institution.
She is the youngest member of our executive team, and a model for our youth capacity development initiatives. Her passion is entrepreneurship, thanks to the skills she gained from junior achievers club in high school. She has worked over the years as a pivotal member of the operational unit in a family business that includes facility management services and clothing sales. Her dream is to grow her family business by consolidating its base through additional investments as well as expansion into additional service lines. |