Omolara Balogun is the Country Lead for WACSI NODE, Nigeria, and Head of Policy Influencing and Advocacy at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI). With over two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, system building, and ecosystem development, she is an international development practitioner and advocacy strategist dedicated to advancing democracy, governance, gender justice, civic innovation, decolonisation, open civic space, and civic resilience. As Country Lead for WACSI’s Nigeria office, she leads initiatives to enhance civil society effectiveness through capacity development, knowledge building, policy influencing, and creating an enabling regulatory environment. A recognised thought leader and high-level convener, Omolara is a certified Master Trainer with the World Bank/IFC and Change the Game Academy. She serves on the boards of several nonprofit and corporate organisations, including Naymote Partners for Democratic Development, Redefined Africa, and KeySystem Technologies. An alumna of the Harvard University Executive Programme in Behavioural Science in Public Policy, she holds advanced degrees in Law and Development from the University of Ghana Law School, Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ibadan, and International Relations and History from Obafemi Awolowo University.