Professor Jennifer Wanjiku Khamasi has held numerous significant leadership and management roles throughout her extensive career in education, both within Kenyan universities and in broader national and international initiatives. Her roles demonstrate a strong capacity for executive leadership, administration, strategic planning, and project management. 
Prof. Khamasi holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia, MEd from the University of New Brunswick, Canada, and a BEd from the University of Nairobi.
Here is an outline of her key leadership and management roles:
Current Leadership Role (since July 2022): Prof. Khamasi is the CEO and Ag. Principal of the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (Kenya-AIST). In this pioneering role, she is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Institute and serves as the Secretariat to the Institute Council.
In the process of operationalizing the Institute, she has led and coordinated the development of key policies which include the Institute Charter and Statutes, HR Instruments, Finance Management and Procedures Policy, Anti-corruption Policy, Procurement and Asset Disposal Policy, Academic Integrity Policy, Gender Mainstreaming Policy, Disability Mainstreaming Policy, Risk Management Policy, Waste Management Policy, and Climate Change Mitigation Policy, Curriculum Development and Review, Academic Integrity Policy as well as the Kenya-AIST Strategic Plan 2025-2028 among others.
Before joining Kenya-AIST, she held university administrative and leadership positions, key among them was the position of the Registrar Academic Affairs at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (May 2014-July 2022). In this role, she managed academic affairs functions, which included coordinating Senate committees, student welfare (admissions, teaching and learning schedules), examination processing, graduation preparations and certification, curriculum development and accreditation of academic programs. She also managed Senate secretariats. Other leadership and administrative roles in the higher education sector include: Director of the Institute for Gender Equity, Research and Development at Moi University (2005-2011); Associate Dean of the School of Education at Moi University (August 2002-2005); and Head of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Moi University (February 2003-March 2009).
Over the years, she has participated in many research projects and published widely. Three projects that have changed lives are: “Gender Equity Project under MU-K-VLIR-UOS-Programme” (2007-2012, funded by Flemish Interuniversity Council), “Building primary and secondary teaching capacities in the Daadab refugee camps” (2012-2017, a CIDA-funded consortium project); and “Living, Learning and Teaching in a Refugee Camp” project (2013-2018, in partnership with UBC & funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada). She is a member of Educational Leaders without Borders and a Co-Founder and Director of the Kenya Association of Educational Administration & Management (KAEAM), an affiliate of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration & Management (CCEAM) (2005-present).
