Melissa Juisi Simo is a development practitioner with experience in both civil society and the academic sector. She has served longest in the CSO space, working on different development themes like capacity strengthening, governance and policy, leadership, CSO financing, efficiency, peace, and security in the Lake Chad basin and currently in the Economic Community of West African States. She works with the Capacity Development Unit at WACSI. Melissa is a Fulbright Scholar and a Center for Development Economics (CDE) alumni. She has a growing reputation for enhancing youth leadership in Africa. She is a facilitator at YALI GIMPA, a Change the Game Academy trainer, and she sits on the advisory boards of youth-led/youth-focused organizations.