KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Erna Grasz

“Educating Children | Transforming Worlds”

“Educating Children | Transforming Worlds”

Erna Grasz refers to herself as a Systems Engineer turned Systems Entrepreneur for Global Impact. Trained initially as an Electrical-System Engineer ( BS and MS EE), she spent her early career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and then in Silicon Valley as a Medical Device Executive. She left her 25-year-long corporate career after co-founding the Asante Africa Foundation with two visionary African women from Kenya and Tanzania. Erna began managing Asante Africa full-time in 2012 and is the visionary behind many of the organization’s innovative programs and practices. She strongly believes in local  staff, local partnerships, and developing local talent for long-term sustainability. 

Erna has won countless awards for her work with Asante Africa, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service, a “Distinguished Engineering” Award for Innovation in Developing Countries, the Gratitude Network Fellowship and Award, 2020 Medaling for Reimagining Education in Sub Sahara Africa, and was a finalist for the Drucker Institute for Education Innovation. Most recently, King Charles met 20 top student talent from rural Kenya.