Governance, execution, and the people accountable for both
Donors do not just fund projects; they fund teams. This is the board that governs the network, the executive team that runs it, and the advisory bench it draws on.
Statutory oversight for the whole network
Four governors hold the executive team to account on compliance, academic standards, and pedagogy. Each carries a live post inside Kaduna State's education system, so oversight is informed by the regulators and institutions LinkEdu Impact and Empowerment Initiative answers to.
Alh. Abdulkareem Ismail Amao
A veteran educational proprietor and seasoned administrator, Alh. Abdulkareem brings over two decades of leadership as Founder and Director of Kai New Era International School and New Era High School in Zaria, Kaduna State. As Chairman, he provides overarching strategic direction, institutional governance, and high-level community leadership to guide LinkEdu Impact and Empowerment Initiative's expansion and sustainable development.
- Executive Leadership
- School Administration
- Institutional Growth
Mrs. Fasilat Usman
Serving as Desk Officer for Lower Basic Education at the Sabon Gari LGA SUBEB office, Mrs. Fasilat brings deep expertise in public primary standards, state educational compliance, and early-grade literacy frameworks. Her role ensures that Darul Matolib Academy maintains full alignment with Kaduna State educational regulations while delivering high-quality basic schooling.
- SUBEB Compliance
- Primary Curriculum
- Public Policy
Engr. Awe Michael Gbenga
An accomplished lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) and Director of Awesons Academy Zaria, Engr. Awe bridges tertiary technical knowledge with practical youth training. He oversees academic quality assurance and provides technical oversight for the skill-building programmes at the Vocational & Tech Academy (VTA).
- STEM Integration
- VTA Vocational Curriculum
- Quality Control
Dr. Halima Mohammed Lawal
A distinguished lecturer in the Department of Arts and Social Science Education at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Dr. Halima brings advanced academic expertise in pedagogy, curriculum design, and teacher capacity development. She leads the board's focus on teacher training quality, instructional strategies, and social science research to ensure impactful, student-centred learning.
- Teacher Training
- Pedagogical Design
- Educational Research
The team running the network day to day
Programmes, finance, technology, infrastructure, media, and vocational training each have a named owner reporting to the Executive Director.
Abdulhakeem Abdulkareem
A visionary social entrepreneur dedicated to rewriting the narrative of rural education in Northern Nigeria. At 25, he has designed, funded, and launched a two-campus school network from scratch, scale-managing a student body of over 300 pupils. By pioneering LinkEdu's dual-track academic and vocational system, he specialises in community mobilisation, financial engineering, and building resilient partnerships with local traditional leadership and global development boards.
Yuguda Muhammed Shamsudeen
The technical anchor of the LinkEdu Impact and Empowerment Initiative, overseeing the structural deployment of the LinkEdu Innovation Lab. With deep expertise in visual programming, systems administration, and emerging AI frameworks, they design our offline-server digital ecosystems, digitise campus management tracking, and build the custom coding and practical AI literacy curriculums that prepare rural students to compete directly in the global digital economy.
Mubashir Mukhtar Muhammad
The educational backbone of the initiative, ensuring learning standards are identical and high-performing across all campuses. They oversee teacher training, roll out early-grade reading and numeracy frameworks, and organise unified exams.
- Teacher evaluation
- Curriculum implementation
- Performance tracking
Nafisat Usman
Manages the incoming micro-fee revenues from all campuses and handles payroll for teachers, transit staff, and management. They ensure grant funds are spent exactly according to budget and maintain clean financial records for future audits.
- Financial transparency
- Fee collection
- Budget tracking
Abdulkareem Abdulkabir
Handles photography, video, and storytelling for the initiative — producing the field media archive that documents campus construction, student milestones, and community programmes for partners and grant reviewers in the social enterprise and global development space.
Arch. Mubarak Abdulsalam
Leads the physical planning and spatial design for LinkEdu Impact and Empowerment Initiative's campus development, including the permanent Katanga campus facility. With expertise in functional and sustainable architectural design, he ensures all classrooms, VTA vocational workshops, and community spaces are safe, scalable, and built for optimal learning.
Umaimah Abdulmojeed
Directs the practical trade workshops across LinkEdu Impact and Empowerment Initiative's vocational initiatives, including fashion design, leatherwork, catering, and creative media. They equip youth and community members with market-relevant craftsmanship skills and entrepreneurial guidance to drive local economic self-reliance.
The technical bench behind the board
Academics, education officers, and finance professionals who advise on curriculum, state policy, and capital — without sitting in the reporting line.
