As the Executive Director, Martin provides strategic leadership and oversight on almost all aspects of the organization’s operations. He is a strong advocate for youth empowerment and development with keen interest in sexual and reproductive health, human rights, livelihood, gender equality, democratic governance and youth participation.
He holds a Bachelors degree in Social Sciences majoring in Gender and Development from Makerere University, and is currently pursuing a Master of Research & Public Policy degree from Uganda Martyrs University. He has also undergone several trainings in: Transformational Youth Leadership with British Council, Policy Engagement and Advocacy, Gender Analysis, Human Rights, NGO Management, Financial Management, Resource Mobilization; monitoring and evaluation and Election Observation.
Martin is a leading youth change maker and community organizer in Uganda. He brings more than 10 years of experience designing, implementing, and providing technical assistance on youth empowerment for participation in democratic governance processes in politically sensitive environments; seven years of which he has worked in Northern Uganda. He was key in setting up the Green Light Movement Uganda (a youth social movement that defines non violent paths to socio-political change) and organizing TEDx Youth@Bukoto- the most successfully organized TEDx Youth Event in Africa.
Additionally, his work advocating for youth and dismantling the taboo around reproductive health in Uganda was born out of his natural leadership and concern for his fellow Ugandans. Growing up in the countryside, Martin witnessed, firsthand, the challenges and inequities rural Ugandans faced. Many did not have access to basic facilities such as water, education and access to reproductive health supplies. Inspired by these circumstances, he co-founded African Youth Development Link (AYDL), to ensure every youth in Uganda had the power to address the problems their community faced.
Martin has worked with and for youth and adolescents in Uganda and beyond since 2009. His policy analysis and advocacy skills have been horned and strengthen in such spaces as the Young 4 Policy Programme; the prestigious Women Deliver Young Leaders Fellowship; the Family Planning Budget Advocacy Group (FP BAG) in Uganda; as well as the Youth Coalition on Electoral Democracy in Uganda (YCED).