AYV News, January 7, 2025
The William Averette Anderson Fund, United States, recently featured Amidu Kalokoh for his Academic and Practitioner Prowess.
On December 6, 2024, many Sierra Leoneans expressed pride in a publication by the William Averette Anderson Fund in the United States, which featured Amidu Kalokoh, recognised as one of Sierra Leone’s finest security practitioners and educationists.
This publication highlighted Amidu’s accomplishments as a scholar and public safety expert, marking yet another acknowledgment of his systematic evolution and achievements as an academic, security professional, and community development advocate. Following the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone, Amidu played a crucial role in advancing security sector reform initiatives. He served in the Office of the President, implementing notable security and development programs.
Driven by a passion for coordinating disaster and emergency response and recovery, Amidu focused on addressing the vulnerabilities of Sierra Leone, particularly in the face of climate change and natural disasters.
In his community, Amidu also dedicated himself to advancing community development programs. As highlighted in the William Averette Anderson Fund publication, he is a founding member of the Franziska Agriculture Farmers’ Association and Sierra Leone Unites, two nonprofit organizations aimed at enhancing food security, education, youth and women’s empowerment, human rights, and civic engagement.
Additionally, he has led community-engaged research in Sierra Leone and the United States, addressing critical issues such as natural hazard preparedness and recovery, corruption, and security governance.
For his outstanding contributions to academia and nation-building, Amidu has been recognized by various eminent organizations and institutions, including the William Averette Anderson Fund, the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), the Public Administration Theory Network.
His accolades include numerous awards and fellowships, such as the Black History in the Making Award (VCU), Development Advocate of the Year (Bai Burreh Heritage Foundation), the 2024 Outstanding Public Policy and Administration Doctoral Student Award (VCU), ASPA Founders’ Fellow, Public Administration Network Fellow, and the Association for Public Policy and Management’s Equity and Inclusion Fellow.
Currently, Amidu is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in Public Policy and Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in Peace and Conflict Studies, a Master of Science in Security Strategic and Development Studies from the University of Sierra Leone, and a Master of International Studies from North Carolina State University.
His dissertation aims to enhance public policy and administration by examining the intersection of homeland security, emergency management, and criminal justice, with a specific focus on natural hazard preparedness for correctional facilities in the United States.
This research seeks to ensure the safety and welfare of correctional officers, inmates, and the public in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Amidu represents the individual Sierra Leone needs to advance the country and the region’s security, peace, and sustainable development.
