Carmen Attikossie, is a young professional who holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations from St. Catherine’s University in St. Paul, MN. She currently works for Local First Arizona (LFA) as the Sr. Small Business Development Manager, leading the We Rise Business Accelerator. Prior to joining LFA, Carmen worked for Uber Technologies as a Learning & Development Specialist in Phoenix, AZ. At Uber, Carmen was in charge of learning initiatives for Uber’s Risk & Compliance businesses in community operations. Prior to working for Uber Technologies and LFA, Carmen spent 2 years living and working on the African continent for the African Leadership University (ALU), a company that was listed in 2019 as the #1 innovative company in Africa and ranked #39 globally by Fast Company - Most Innovative Companies. During her time at ALU Carmen was part of the founding team that was mandated to build the African Leadership University Rwanda in the country’s capital Kigali. At ALU Rwanda Carmen designed, built, and was head of the Student Ventures Program (SVP), an initiative designed to expose young Africans to entrepreneurship and doing business in Africa. During her tenure as the lead for SVP Rwanda, she coached and mentored a group of students to win $30,000 for the Hult Prize national competition along with coaching a group of students to win $10,000 through the Tony Elumelu foundation for emerging entrepreneurs in Africa.