Leaders

• Changemakers
• Sustainability

Find out how the 2023 cohort created a non-profit committed to a sustainable future for Africa, one entrepreneur at a time.

• The Arts
• Chicago

Ahead of her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, hear how one Obama Leader leverages the power of music to educate, entertain, and heal her community.

• Michelle Obama
• Africa

We marked the fifth anniversary of the Leaders program where it all began.

• Alumni
• The Obama Administration

Meet an Obama Leader supporting Virginians in need.

• Education
• USA

Meet 2023 United States Obama Leader Ryan Pavel, veteran, and CEO of Warrior-Scholar Project.

• Youth
• USA

Learn how Ziad Ahmed built a successful company by listening to the next generation.

• USA
• Changemakers

Learn how Bethany Rivera Molinar is transforming her Texas neighborhood through community work.

• Equality
• Africa

Progress for LGBTQ+ people in Uganda has been hindered by the current cultural and political landscape.

• Event
• Global Reach

Get a look inside the week-long leadership and cultural experience.

• Sustainability
• Asia-Pacific

Obama Leader advocates for stronger climate policies

• Defending Democracy
• Global Reach

This week in Berlin, Germany, President Obama sat down with 18 alumni of our leadership programs from across Europe for a roundtable conversation about the importance of nurturing democracy.

• Sustainability
• Europe

Obama Leader improves sustainability policies in Europe

• Sustainability
• Africa

Obama Foundation Leader transforms aquatic weeds into biodegradable plastic.

• Education
• Europe

Find out how Elpida is making a difference for female entrepreneurs in Kenya.

• Equality
• Africa

Learn how Ireen is improving the livelihood of women and girls in Zambia’s rural communities.

• Equality
• Asia-Pacific

See how Emma uses the law and the power of community to help eradicate gender-based violence.

• Girls Opportunity Alliance
• Africa

Thuba’s story

• Defending Democracy
• Europe

• Presidential History
• Programs

Five years later, a look back at President Obama’s farewell address and the call to action that drives our mission at the Foundation

• Sustainability
• Barack Obama

After delivering remarks during COP26 in Glasgow, President Obama sat down with a group of emerging leaders from around the world who are doing their part to protect the planet. Check out what they discussed.

• Global Reach
• Changemakers

On President Obama’s 60th birthday, get to know 60 changemakers in our network who are paving the way for a brighter future

• Stories
• Health & Wellbeing

On World Cancer Day, get to know Obama Leader Bhavagaya “Bea” Bakshi, who is working tirelessly to save lives by detecting cancer in its earliest stages.

• Asia-Pacific
• Stories

The story behind how leaders Skye Riggs and Tim Middlemiss founded Ripple—an organization that empowers young adults in Australia to take action in their communities.

• Africa
• Changemakers

To mark the close of their program year, Obama Leaders from across the African continent volunteered to design and implement collaborative service projects that positively impacted their local communities.

• Africa
• Changemakers

We spoke to six of our Nigerian Obama Leaders to learn more about how they've come together to protest brutality and corruption in the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.

• Take Action
• Michelle Obama

In a candid conversation with Obama Foundation Scholars and Fellows earlier this summer, Mrs. Obama encouraged us all to address racial injustice in our own communities by having hard conversations at our own kitchen tables, in our workplaces, and in our s

• Watch
• Health & Wellbeing

Take a more detailed look at the Foundation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Watch
• Global Reach

It’s been a busy week for us at the Foundation! On Tuesday, we hosted a roundtable conversation in Bogotá with President Obama and a small group of Colombian changemakers who are working tirelessly to transform their communities.

• Event
• Global Reach

From Cali to Quibdó, Medellín to María la Baja, the 11 emerging leaders President Obama met with yesterday in Bogotá are carrying forward the hard work of change across Colombia.

• Newsletter
• Changemakers

This Mother's Day, we sent the message below to our full email list lifting up the incredible moms in our programs who are making their communities a better place for all—and raising the next generation of changemakers at the same time.

• Scholars
• Global Reach

When Robert Katende from the Leaders: Africa program met Vanessa Paranjothy, an Obama Scholar at Columbia University, at the 2018 Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, they discovered an opportunity to team up to help their communities.

• Asia-Pacific
• Event

Get to know the 21 leaders from 16 countries and territories across the Asia Pacific who are helping us design future programming in the region.

• Asia-Pacific
• Global Reach

With the help of Foundation supporters and other key stakeholders from the Hawaiʻi community, 21 leaders from across the Asia-Pacific will gather in Hawaiʻi to help design future Obama Foundation programming in the region.

• Europe
• Watch

President Obama heard from 11 emerging leaders working as civil servants, organizers and more from across Europe for a conversation on civic and engagement and to better understand how the Obama Foundation can can equip them with the tools and resources th

• Watch
• Africa

Today, Kofi Annan, pioneer and peacemaker, passed away at 80. As we mourn the passing of our friend, we wanted to share some of the wisdom he offered just one month ago at a panel during our Africa: Leaders convening.

• Newsletter
• Community Engagement

As the 200 emerging African leaders we brought together as part of our Leaders: Africa convening to exchange ideas on how to create positive change in their communities carried out a service project to celebrate Mandela Day, we did the same right here in C