Presidential Lecture Series with Amina J. Mohammed

Speaker Biographies

Amina J. Mohammed

Amina J. Mohammed is the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations and chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.
Prior to her appointment, Mohammed served as minister of environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action and efforts to protect the natural environment.

Mohammed first joined the United Nations in 2012, as special adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the responsibility for post-2015 development planning. She led the process that resulted in global agreement around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mohammed began her career working on the design of schools and clinics in Nigeria. She served as an advocate focused on increasing access to education and other social services, before moving into the public sector, where she rose to the position of adviser to four successive presidents on poverty, public sector reform, and sustainable development.

Mohammed has been conferred several honorary doctorates and has served as an adjunct professor, lecturing on international development. The recipient of various global awards, Mohammed has served on numerous international advisory boards and panels. She is the mother of six children and has four grandchildren.

MICHELLE J. ANDERSON

Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson

Since 2016, Michelle J. Anderson has been the 10th president of Brooklyn College. Under her leadership, the campus established the Brooklyn College Cancer Center, obtained AACSB accreditation for the Murray Koppelman School of Business, initiated the “We Stand Against Hate” program, diversified the faculty and college leadership, opened the Immigrant Student Success Office, launched the Healthcare Career, enriched the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, earned top rankings for the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, and opened the state-of-the-art Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts and the Don Buchwald Theater.

As president, Anderson prioritizes mentoring across the campus. She launched the Tow Mentoring Initiative, which allows students to engage in transformative research opportunities with faculty mentors, and which has become a signature campus program. At the same time, under her leadership, the campus Alumni Affairs and Career Services offices have coordinated efforts to develop alumni mentors to help students enter the work world.

Anderson has stewarded Brooklyn College through the COVID-19 pandemic, working hard to protect the health and safety of the community. In development, she focused on student support, raising funds for emergency grants, completion grants, internship stipends, mental health resources, the food pantry, and other critical student services.

Anderson has led Brooklyn College through a time of excellent recognition, including: U.S. News & World Report: #1 “Most Ethnically Diverse College” in the region; 6th “Best for Social Mobility” in the nation; 15th “Best Public Regional University”; and 33rd “Best College for Veterans” in the north; Princeton Review: “Best Value College,” “Environmentally Responsible College”; Brookings Institute: 9th “Best College for Economic Mobility” in the nation; and Business Insider: 11th “Best College for Return on Investment” in the nation.

Anderson holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she earned the Chancellor’s Award for outstanding academic achievement. She earned a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was notes editor of the Yale Law Journal. Following law school, she clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for Judge William A. Norris. Anderson has been dean of the CUNY School of Law, professor at Villanova University School of Law, and a visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center and Yale Law School.

Anderson is a leading scholar on the law of rape and sexual assault. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including the New York City Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award. She has also been honored by the Feminist Press with the Susan Rosenberg Zalk Award and by the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society with a Public Service Leadership Award. In 2017, Brooklyn Legal Services gave her a Champion of Justice Award.