Maryam Uwais MFR is Special Advisor for Social Protection to the President of Nigeria. A legal practitioner and human rights activist based in Abuja, she has previously served on the National Job Creation Committee and consulted with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the British Department for International Development. She founded the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative in 2009, which targets the conditions of women and children in education, healthcare and empowerment. She is a fellow of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.