The Team
Meet our Founder
Felicia is the Founder and Director of The Black Economists Network (T-BEN).
As director, Felicia has overseen the meteoric growth in membership of T-BEN and formed strategic alliances with reputable private and public sector organisations both national and internationally, including The Royal Economic Society, Government Economic Service (UK), the Sadie Collective (USA) etc.
She is also an Economist at the Resolution Foundation and was previously a fast stream Economist in the UK Government’s accelerated leadership development programme for talented graduates.
Felicia is an accomplished public speaker who has sat on numerous panels and shared insights in discussions and debates. In 2019, Felicia was appointed by the UK Government Economic Services (GES) as Ambassador for its Civil Service fast stream recruitment scheme.
Felicia is passionate about using economics to drive investments and positively impact society and communities. She believes this will support equitable distribution of global resources to improve lives and living conditions of people in developing countries with emphasis on the continent of Africa.
Felicia Odamtten
The OPERATIONS team
The Operations team are the core team supporting the CEO and the organisation's operations.
For general inquiries, contact Jeri at Jeri@tben.co.uk.
For Ambassador Programme-related questions, contact Natalie at Natalie.whitmore@tben.co.uk.
As the Executive Assistant at TBEN, Jeri Houston manages day-to-day operations and coordinates team projects and meetings. She supports the CEO and volunteers in achieving their mission and works to enhance organisational communication and efficiency.
Jeri Houston
Natalie serves as a Programme Coordinator at TBEN, supporting the team across a spectrum of projects and partnerships, with a key focus on spearheading TBEN’s University Ambassador Programme, set to launch in the summer of 2024.
With a rich background in crafting and implementing diversity-centred and social mobility initiatives, Natalie is deeply committed to empowering individuals to enhance their confidence, visibility, and access to opportunities within their chosen domains.
Her expertise extends from her academic foundation in journalism coupled with hands-on experience in the field. Drawing from her journalistic background and advocacy acumen, Natalie leverages the power of storytelling to drive meaningful social impact and catalyse change Natalie’s passion for racial and gender equality fuels her involvement in media engagements, event participation, and strategic community-building efforts aimed at effecting positive change on a global scale.
Natalie Whitmore
There are three TBEN Teams staffed with volunteers passionate about improving diversity in economics.
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TBEN Collaborations
The Collaborations Team drives and manages TBEN’s relationships with key partners, carries out outreach and oversees sponsorships.
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TBEN Engage
The Engagement Team is the first point of contact with TBEN members, developing strategies and activities that align to what they want to get out of the network. They also execute TBEN events, campaigns and workshops, supporting us to reach new audiences and members each time.
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TBEN Voice
This TBEN Voice Team creates content that expresses the TBEN values and goals via social media, including overseeing our all-important podcast.
The COLLABORATIONS team
Our Collabs team is mainly responsible for managing all our relationships with key partners & collaborators of the network. They can be reached directly at: collabs@tben.co.uk
Crystal Byrd Ogbadu is the TBEN Collaborations joint co-ordinator.
She is an economist with USAID, and serves as a thought leader on the use of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the impact of innovations. She provides research support to Dr. Michael Kremer’s Nobel Prize winning work surrounding social rates of return. Her research interests include capital market development and macroeconomic issues in developing economies.
Crystal Byrd Ogbadu
Tega Akati- Udi is the TBEN Collaborations joint co-ordinator.
She is an economics consultant at Keystone Strategy based in London. She holds a master’s degree in Economics from Tilburg University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cambridge. She is passionate about increasing the representation of Black professionals in the field of economics. Outside the work place, you’ll often catch her running, reading or cosying up with Netflix.
Tega Akati-Udi
Chikondi Phiri is a Principal Economist in the Government of Malawi’s Economic Common Service. She is currently studying a Master of Public Administration in Economic Policy Management at Columbia University. Her interests in the field of economics are macroeconomics and financial development. She is passionate about promoting the professional lives of black economists and believes TBEN is the best platform to share knowledge of economic issues within the black diaspora and African continent. Outside of work she enjoys reading and she is on a challenge to read a work of fiction and non-fiction across all 54 African countries by 2025.
Chikondi Phiri
Joseph Oyegoke joined T-BEN in 2019 shortly before its launch and is passionate about increasing the representation of Black professionals within economics-related fields.
Joseph graduated with a BSc in Economics and MSc in Finance and Economics at the University of East Anglia. He currently works as an Economist at the Bank of England within Monetary Analysis.
He enjoys macroeconomic research and analysis and spent several years doing that prior to the Bank at the Office for Budget Responsibility and at Capital Economics.
Outside of work and TBEN activities, you'll probably find him playing football, bouldering (#Clmbxr) or on the athletics track.
Joseph Oyegoke
Immanuelle Agyare is a recent graduate of the University of Brighton where she studied BSc Economics. She has a particular interest in international development and focused her dissertation on the Impact of Foreign Aid on Development. Some extra-curricular activities included founding the Economics Society, competing with the choir and running a half marathon.
Immanuelle Agyare
Ibukun Ibitoye is an economist currently working within the UK Government Economic Service. Her tenure in the UK civil service spans over ten years, where she has focused on public spending issues. During this time, Ibitoye has provided economic analysis to inform policy decisions on a broad range of topics, including rail transport, law enforcement, energy, and climate change. Prior to her current role, she worked in the international development sector, where she produced and oversaw research related to the economics of small states, international trade, and urban development. Ibitoye is passionate about leadership and its influence, particularly regarding the advancement of career prospects for black economists.
Ibukun Ibitoye
Benjamin Njila Tchakounte Fields is a Ph.D. student in Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley and an intern for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. His current projects are working on understanding the impact of counselors on high school educational outcomes in Oklahoma, and he is working on beginning his doctoral research that will look at the cultural and social institutions of diet in Cameroon. Benjamin's interests in the field of economics are in development.
Benjamin Fields
Bomi Okuyiga currently a Master’s in Public Policy Candidate at Yale University, and also holds a BSc in Government & Economics from LSE. Prior to her Masters, Bomi was an economist in the Government Economics Service, and has produced economic advice across a range of high-profile departments and public policy issues, including the 2017 Lammy Review. She is passionate about using evidence and economics to improve public policies, particularly for marginalised groups in society.
As part of the Collaborations and Partnerships team, she has the goal of solving the challenge of representation of Black students and professionals in economics, through our relationships with external partners.
Bomi Okuyiga
Daniel Olayemi is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Economics at the University of Greenwich. He balances his studies with his role as Casual Event and Bar Staff at Shack Events. Previously, Olayemi served as the M.Sc Economics Programme Representative and actively participated in economic conferences. Outside of academia and work, he enjoys unwinding by watching YouTube, playing football, and exploring new music. Olayemi's academic interests lie in development economics, international trade & economics, environmental economics, and the practical application of economic principles to real-world situations.
Daniel Olayemi
The ENGAGEMENT team
Our Engage team are mainly responsible for helping members get the most out of the network. They run the TBEN events, workshops, and campaigns to keep the network growing. They can be contacted at hello@tben.co.uk
Nedson Ng’oma is the TBEN Engage joint co-ordinator.
He is a graduate student of International Development at Maynooth University. He is also a holder of M.A. Economics and B.A ( Hons ) Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Delhi respectively. In the meantime, He also does part-time editorial work for the Exploring Economics group. He is interested in everything development related.
Nedson Ng’oma
Ryan Harding is the TBEN Engage joint co-ordinator.
He is a senior economics consultant with experience working with both public and private sector clients. His role involves discussions on policy development and impact assessment. Harding is enthusiastic about joining the TBEN team, where he will contribute to expanding the network of Black economists and share his passion for the field with others.
Ryan Harding
Nathaniel graduated from Brunel University London with a BSc(Hons) in Economics and Business Finance and works on various projects in the Government Economics Service as an Economist.
His interests include foreign aid, development and he is extremely passionate about inclusion.
Nathaniel Befekadu
Maphali Xinwelo is a BCom Economics graduate, currently carrying out her honors degree with Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa.
TBEN is her first professional organization to be part of, and she is looking forward to working, learning and connecting with the team. Maphali is excited to see the world economy advancing for the betterment of the future society and the economics field.
On a daily basis, her favourite thing to do is update herself with the latest reading in economics. Her interests are in Public Finance and Environmental Economics.
Maphali Xinwelo
Pamela Botsala Mpulubusi is a final year BSc Financial Economics student at Coventry University. During her time at Coventry University she was the Secretary of the economics society where she helped host events to educate students on different topics in Economics. She also undertook the role of Mentorship Director of WhatNext Coventry which focused on empowering young people from minority groups.
Pamela Mpulubusi
The VOICE team
This TBEN Voice Team creates content that expresses the TBEN values and goals via social media, including overseeing our all-important podcast. They can be contacted at hello@tben.co.uk
Joseph Oyegoke is the Podcast lead.
He joined T-BEN in 2019 shortly before its launch and is passionate about increasing the representation of Black professionals within economics-related fields.
Joseph graduated with a BSc in Economics and MSc in Finance and Economics at the University of East Anglia. He currently works as an Economist at the Bank of England within Monetary Analysis.
He enjoys macroeconomic research and analysis and spent several years doing that prior to the Bank at the Office for Budget Responsibility and at Capital Economics.
Outside of work and TBEN activities, you'll probably find him playing football, bouldering (#Clmbxr) or on the athletics track.
Joseph Oyegoke
Beti Baraki is a Research Fellow at The Policy Institute, King’s College University. Beti works across a wide range of policy areas, and specialises in policy analysis, qualitative research, evaluation and impact assessment.
Previously she worked in policy and practice at the New Economics Foundation. Her work relates to economic research and analysis focusing on areas such as local economic development, poverty and inequality, social security reform, debt, wellbeing economics, and women’s economic wellbeing, including policy development around tech abuse and VAWG. She has experience working with local government to develop economic strategies that address poverty and various forms of inequalities.