Her Excellency Ambassador Dr. Antoinette Carole Grace Mbarga is an award-winning human rights advocate and community activist with a visible and sincere commitment to serving the world at both the local and global levels. She is currently a United Nations Global Ambassador for Peace. Born and raised in Cameroon, she has lived in the Washington metropolitan area for several decades. She is currently Senior Consultant, Member of the Global Advisory Board and U.S. Liaison for the Diaspora Innovation Institute. As an entrepreneur, she is the CEO and Founder of Afiri Consulting International and The Mbarga Project. As a community leader, she has more than 20 years of professional experience working with people from disparate socio-economic backgrounds, including Latin American and African immigrants, at-risk youth, low-income families and people with disabilities. As a community activist, she often uses her social media to raise awareness about domestic violence, human trafficking, the rights of women and girls, and flagrant human rights violations in the international community.
She played a decisive role in publicly exposing the recent racial discrimination suffered by African immigrants fleeing the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. In 2017, as a fervent advocate for the empowerment of women and girls, she founded the Miss Africa USA Internship Program with the full support of the Miss Africa USA pageant. The internship focuses on girls’ education, with the aim of encouraging Black girls to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). She also interned in Congress for the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee (D), and successfully organized a community demonstration called “Don’t Cancel the DV Lottery” in front of Congress and the White House.
Here are some of her awards and nominations for outstanding service to the community:
- Member of the Order of the Most Excellent International Experts (FOIE) as an expert in the field of education.
- U.S. President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 and 2022 (Joe Biden Administration).
- Woman of the Year – Top 50 Most Industrious Women in Africa in 2023.
- U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award Gold Medal in 2016 (Barack Obama Administration).
- Official Citation from the Governor of Maryland during the 2022 Women’s History Month celebration (Larry Hogan Administration).
- Official Citations from the Office of the Mayor of Washington DC (Administrations of Mayors Muriel Bowser, Vincent Gray and Adrian Fenty).
- African Diaspora Champion Award in 2023.
- EPRA Ambassador Award for Leadership and Entrepreneurship in 2023.
- WHOPE Global Humanitarian Award in 2023.
- WETATi Academy Award for Achieving the Impossible in 2022: Women Empowered.
- Mentor of the Year for Maryland/DC women in 2022.
- Founder’s Award of the Global Good Ambassadors Foundation for “Fighting Hunger Together” in 2022.
- Transformational Leader Award from the Embassy of Cameroon in the United States in 2020.
She has been nominated for several other prestigious honors, a testament to her considerable impact and her commitment to the well-being of the community, both locally and internationally.
