Zaina Adamu
The Yonkers native has built a career spanning journalism, international development and public service. Now, she is bringing that experience to one of the world’s most prominent alumni leadership bodies.
Yonkers native Zaina Adamu has been appointed to the Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors, adding a new leadership role to a career spanning journalism, international development and public service within the halls of Congress.
A daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, Adamu credits her upbringing and family background as important influences.
“My mother and father moved to Yonkers from Ghana with hopes for a better future, and their example taught me that opportunity is something you work toward and create for others,” she said. “I carry those lessons with me wherever I go.”
After graduating from high school, Adamu attended Morgan State University, one of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism.
She then began her career in print journalism before joining CNN, where she spent six years covering major national and international stories.
In 2018, her career took an unexpected turn. She moved to West Africa and founded Ghana Girl Rising, an organization focused on expanding educational opportunities for young women in underserved communities. The initiative reflected a growing interest in international development and the role education can play in changing the trajectory of young people’s lives.
Her commitment to that work influenced her decision to return to school. In 2020, she was admitted to study at Harvard University, earning a master’s degree in International Education Policy the following year from the Graduate School of Education.
Her time at Harvard became more than an academic experience, she says. It introduced her to a global network of life-long friends and professionals who work across disciplines, countries and sectors.
Today, Adamu serves as Deputy Director of Communications for the Select Committee on China under the U.S. House of Representatives, where her work involves communicating complex foreign policy, economic and national security issues to the American public.
While her latest appointment places her in a new leadership role, the experiences that brought her there remain rooted in the city where her story began.
“Sometimes, the most important thing a community can give its people is the belief that their dreams are worth pursuing, and in knowing that they belong in rooms where decisions are being made,” she said. “That is what Yonkers has done for me.”