Sister Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF, Ph.D., is a member of the institute of the Little Sisters of Saint Francis, Kenya. Wakahiu provides leadership and direction of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s program department operations budget, contracts, consultant management and policy implementation. She also oversees the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of the Catholic Sisters Initiative. Responsibilities include advancing the vitality of congregations of women religious globally, enhancing global capacity building, and enabling sisters to contribute more profoundly to sustainable human development, as well as to enhance the effectiveness of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She also contributes to the Foundation’s strategic planning. In her previous role, Wakahiu led the Foundation’s grantmaking program department in an interim capacity.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Wakahiu was the executive director of the African Sisters Education Collaborative(ASEC), where she implemented many programs by working closely with leadership conferences, major superiors, religious congregations and institutes, twenty-three partner colleges and universities in the United States and Africa, and major foundations. Wakahiu has extensively taught at the undergraduate and graduate level, and has a breadth of teaching and administrative experience from leading a high school in Kenya and as a leader of women’s organizations.

An accomplished author and editor of two books, “Transformative Partnerships: The Role of Agencies, Church and Religious Institutes in Promoting Strategic Social and Sustainable Change in Africa,” lead editor of, “Voices of Courage: Historical, Sociocultural and Educational Journeys of Women Religious in Africa,” and co-author of, “Fundamentals of Research Methods in Education: A Students’ Handbook.”

Wakahiu’s peer-reviewed articles are published in national and international journals and a contributing writer for the Global Sisters Report and her peer-reviewed articles have been published in national and international journals. Wakahiu serves in several university several boards and advisory boards.  

Wakahiu holds a Ph.D. in human development and higher education administration from Marywood University, a Master of Arts degree from Saint Bonaventure University, and a Bachelor of Education from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.