Raquel Wilson

With a practice spanning almost two decades, Raquel Wilson is an outspoken advocate for more equitable and sustainable communities. She is CEO of the Wesley Group, a global advisory helping companies accelerate a just climate transition, and Co-founder of Gather, a leadership development program for women disrupting the world.She has provided strategic communications support to the African Development Bank's Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund and, as part of the Bank's External Relations and Communications Department, led online engagement for the Africa Climate Summit, African Emergency Food Production Facility and the 16th replenishment of the African Development Fund.A former Diplomat with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Raquel steered the deployment of the first online platform for monitoring hate crimes, and as a Strategic Communication Advisor with Speak Up Africa helped Senegal's National Office of Sanitation increase visibility and investment for critical infrastructure projects.Specializing in assisting organizations in developing communication strategies that both inform and inspire behavior change, Raquel contributed to the Federal Government of Somalia's reconciliation efforts as Head of Strategic Communications for the Somalia Stabilization Initiative, designing and launching a USAID-funded radio program that connected women in rural areas of Somalia to government services, and, for IOM Somalia, drafted a Covid-19 fundraising campaign targeting the Somali diaspora. Since 2006, she has remained on UNICEF's global consultant roster, providing digital and strategic communications for offices across Europe, the Middle East, West Africa and North America.

As Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Dakar Farmers Market, Raquel created a community-focused approach to promoting economic growth for local food producers. She is a founding member of Slow Food International's Dakar community and joined the official Senegalese delegation to Terra Madre 2016, a biennial convening of global food actors working to establish systems of clean and fair food.The Co-Editor of No Tees Please: Why Africa Aid Campaigns #FAIL, a crowdsourced inquiry into the practices of inventing disadvantageous aid campaigns, Raquel managed Social Media Week Lagos’ #55FORWARD initiative, bringing together ambassadors from fifty-five African nations to discuss how they use social media to meet the needs of a rapidly increasing youth population.She has worked with Roselake Ventures, a Hong Kong-based investment fund, sourcing and evaluating opportunities in the African tech ecosystem, was Co-Founder of Jetstream Africa, a supply chain platform simplifying export logistics for African suppliers, and served as an adviser to technology startups with the pan-African business accelerator MEST Africa, preparing emerging entrepreneurs for investment into their new companies.Raquel holds a Bachelor of Science in New Media from Indiana University and completed the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa's training for African Women Investors. Currently an MBA candidate at Imperial College London, she is focused on the redistribution of wealth and creating pathways to capital for historically underfunded communities.She is committed to introducing more diverse voices into culturally considerate climate change conversations and mentoring young women in discovering themselves unapologetically.