Laura Mugeha

Experience

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  Geomatics and Civil Engineering Surveyors Limited

  May 2016 - Sept 2016

  GIS Intern

  - Participated in spatial data collection and cartographic map production, and data creation through digitization. - Conducted topographical and engineering surveys using RTK-units, handheld devices, and total stations.

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  YouthMappers

  Jan 2017 - Jan 2023

  Played a leading role as a Regional Ambassador for the Everywhere She Maps program, which aims to increase women's participation in the YouthMappers network and the geospatial industry and ensure women's perspectives are represented on maps and spatial data.- Mentored and coached YouthMappers chapter leaders on strategies to increase women's participation and leadership within chapter activities.- Hosted technical training sessions and mapathons and supported YouthMappers chapters in implementing remote and field mapping projects.- Initiated the collaboration between YouthMappers and Digital Earth Africa, where four chapters in Uganda, Sierra Leone, Malawi, and Tanzania received a field microgrant for community projects.- Worked with Map Kibera to plan, launch and run a 1-year technical mentorship program for Kibera Girls Soccer Academy.- Served as a navigator for the promoting equity and inclusion track during the 2023 YouthMappers Summit. Show less As an outreach regional ambassador, I supported student-led and faculty-mentored university clubs in East and Central Africa by providing technical training on open geospatial data and free and open-source geospatial software. - Worked with university student leaders and faculty advisors to create, launch, and onboard new chapters in Kenya(7), Tanzania(4), DRC(1), and Zimbabwe(1) to the network.- Organized and hosted mapping events in person and virtually to equip chapters with geospatial technology skills for humanitarian mapping and community development.- Represented YouthMappers at regional and global conferences by facilitating workshops and presenting on various topics about our work. Show less

  • Regional Ambassador: Everywhere She Maps

    Dec 2020 - Jan 2023

  • Regional Ambassador: Outreach

    Jan 2019 - Dec 2020

  • Leadership Fellow

    Jan 2018 - Jan 2019

  • Chapter Lead

    Jan 2017 - Jan 2018
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  Moringa School

  Jul 2017 - Jul 2018

  Campus Ambassador

  Created brand awareness of Moringa School, therefore generating new leads among the campus population by:- Identifying and actively introducing Moringa School to various campus groups.- Hosting and planning technical workshops on software development.- Participated in the planning and hosting of the annual Nairobi Tech week conference.

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  Map Kibera Trust

  Jul 2017 - Nov 2017

  GIS Intern

  - Conducted field mapping exercises with the help of local community ambassadors from the Una Hakika project.- Designed, created, and updated the security map of the Kibra constituency. This included the mapping of areas at risk of post-election violence during the 2017 national elections.- Participated in the distribution of the updated map and training of local administrative officials, law enforcers, and various organizations in Kibra.

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  Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

  Jan 2018 - Jun 2018

  Deputy Lead Commissioner

  Served as the Deputy Lead Commissioner for the Jomo Kenyatta University Students Organisation (JKUSA) Electoral Commission. For this role, I was:- Responsible to the University administration through the Chief Returning Officer for the good conduct and administration of the 2018 JKUSA elections.- Led the planning and scheduling of all election activities: election dates, debates, and meetings with delegates and contestants.- Responsible for communications from the electoral commission to students via memos and meetings.- Responsible for conducting civic education to other electoral commissioners in satellite campuses.- A member of the appeal's committee whose purpose was resolving reported complaints regarding the elections. Show less

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  African Women In Tech - AWIT-

  Jun 2018 - Dec 2020

  Community & Programs Coordinator

  - Responsible for the planning and implementation of all community programs.- In charge of the conference program for AWIT's annual conferences across Africa in 2019 & 2020. This included: getting conference speakers, screening applications, conducting selections, and preparing speakers before the conferences.- Hosted the 2020 'How To' web series and several technical & personal development webinars with community partners.- In charge of communications for AWIT's community through newsletters & social media. Show less

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  Soliton Telmec

  Sept 2018 - Dec 2018

  Project Intern: GIS Analyst

  Worked with the planning department to support network planning and design for the Safaricom Home Fibre service based on building footprints, customer demand, and the existing fiber network.

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  The Sanergy Collaborative

  May 2019 - Aug 2023

  Regen Organics is revolutionizing the agricultural industry by fostering a thriving and environmentally conscious sector through a circular economy approach. As an operations analyst, I played a crucial role as chief of staff to managers, enhancing their effectiveness and optimizing their associates' time by providing timely and synthesized information using data analytics.My responsibilities included:- Maintaining all aspects of the team's database and ensuring accurate data reporting through user-friendly dashboards and scorecards.- Led and managed the team's data engineering efforts and implemented an effective data collection process and the adoption of a CRM.- Providing advice on territory planning, definition, sizing, and alignment and supporting managers in forecasting and pipeline management.- Serving as the liaison between departments, ensuring seamless alignment between the team and other key functions such as IT, operations, production, procurement, admin, finance, and maintenance.- Taking the lead in the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of partner programs in collaboration with esteemed organizations such as Acumen and Open Capital. Show less Fresh Life works with municipalities and urban residents to design, develop and scale safe, citywide inclusive, and financially sustainable sanitation solutions in fast-growing cities.In my role as a GIS Coordinator at Fresh Life, I was responsible for the following:- Creating comprehensive map analyses of the organization's operational areas, primarily focusing on informal settlements in Nairobi.- Conducting training sessions to educate staff members on mapping techniques, covering the fundamentals of reading maps and demonstrating how different teams could effectively utilize GIS for their specific purposes. - Performing analysis for resource distribution to support the fight against COVID-19 as part of the Safe Hands Kenya initiative. This initiative involved a partnership among private sector organizations in Kenya, pooling resources to aid communities most affected by the pandemic. Through GIS analysis, I provided crucial insights into the allocation of resources, optimizing their distribution, and ensuring their effective utilization. Show less

  • Operations Analyst: Regen Organics

    Mar 2020 - Aug 2023

  • GIS Coordinator: Fresh Life

    Aug 2019 - Mar 2020

  • Geospatial Analyst Fellow: Fresh Life

    May 2019 - Jul 2019
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  Women in Analytics

  Jun 2019 - Jun 2020

  Regional Ambassador

  Served as the regional ambassador for Women in Analytics in Africa. This involved:- Building and engaging the WIA community regionally.- Creating awareness while promoting WIA's mission to enhance the visibility of women making an impact in the analytics space. Served on an advisory role by: - Contributing to all aspects that affect the organization of the annual WIA conference and the WIA community in general.

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  Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)

  Mar 2022 - Aug 2022

  Program Coordinator - Tech4Impact

  Technology for Impact is an initiative by the Children's Investment Fund Foundation dedicated to supporting women-led and women-impact tech innovators in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.As the Program Coordinator, I successfully supported the lead consultant in implementing program activities. - Coordinated various program components, particularly hosting training sessions that prepared participants for the pitch contest. These sessions ensured that selected innovators had the essential skills and knowledge needed to excel in the competition.- Supporting the screening and scoring of applications, meticulously evaluating each submission to identify the most promising and impactful tech and digital innovations. This rigorous assessment process enabled us to showcase groundbreaking ideas and solutions.- Organizing and hosting community webinars, fostering an environment for knowledge-sharing and networking within the tech community. These webinars provided valuable opportunities to exchange insights and inspire further innovation. Show less

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  Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team

  Nov 2022 - Oct 2023

  Consultant: Open Mapping Technical Training - Caribbean

  Worked with the Caribbean School of Data to develop open mapping curriculum content within a comprehensive and sustainable digital & data literacy program to strengthen access to and an appreciation for the use of open data within the Caribbean.This included: - Developing OpenStreetMap and GIS training content to update an open mapping curriculum to include remote mapping, field mapping, quality assurance with OpenStreetMap data, and community engagement.- Conducting ‘Training of Trainers’ training with selected community members from the region on open mapping tools and procedures so they can train others and conduct field mapping projects.- Supporting the development of a selection process and criteria for microgrant projects.- Promoting the open data and OpenStreetMap community in the Caribbean by organizing events and mapathons, supporting the setting up of mapping communities, and supporting a community of practice. Show less

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  Code For Africa (CfA)

  Aug 2023 - Aug 2024

  Community Coordinator - africanDRONE & sensors.AFRICA

  Worked with Code for Africa to launch and manage africanDRONE and sensors.AFRICA community initiatives. These initiatives pioneer the use of drones and sensors for climate change and deforestation monitoring, water and air quality detection, and pollution detection in African cities, as well as open data collection and mapping.

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  Caribou Space

  Jun 2024 - now

  Technical Fellow

  Working with Caribou Space & the FCDO-backed UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub to design, develop, pilot and advocate for using AI-enabled tools and processes that will support the humanitarian community to better use available geospatial data and insights for their decision-making processes.

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  Ushahidi

  Aug 2024 - now

  Implementation Officer

  - Technical Support Officer & Capacity Building Lead for the African Civic Tech Fund(AUCTF 2.0).- Implementation support for partner projects, including data management & analytics, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting.

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  OpenStreetMap Foundation

  Oct 2024 - now

  Member - Board of Directors