Martin brings close to two decades of nonprofit experience, leadership and professional expertise in youth empowerment, strategic planning and organizational development. Since rejoining AYDL after a 4-year absence in 2018, he has spearheaded the development and implementation of the organization’s new strategy and rebranding process, established a mission-driven culture, and adopted data-driven practices and systems for program delivery, monitoring & evaluation, as well as organizational growth.
As Executive Director, Martin provides strategic leadership and oversight on all aspects of AYDL’s operations, with the vision of achieving better empowerment outcomes for all youth every day. Part of his focus is building a ‘culture-first’ establishment that attracts the best talent, fosters an environment where all employees have a sense of belonging and embrace AYDL’s values wholeheartedly. Under his leadership, AYDL has made substantial progress in establishing itself as one of the most prominent youth advocacy organizations, with ambition to extend operations in more territories across the region.
His commitment to youth movements and the empowerment of girls and women began during his time as an undergrad student at Makerere University Kampala, volunteering for a couple of youth organizations targeting marginalized population groups in Uganda. Inspired by the awful circumstances he witnessed firsthand growing up, Martin helped co-lead the formation of AYDL to deliver impactful solutions to youth marginalization in Uganda’s governance and development process. He supported the creation of the Green Light Movement – GLM (a youth social movement purposed to define and chart issue-based non-violent paths to positive change for youth).
Most recently, Martin had the overall responsibility for leadership, strategic planning and organizational development as CEO/Team Leader of Allied Youth Initiative, a youth-led nonprofit he co-founded that empowers young people’s feminist and rights-based leadership for health equity, human rights, gender justice and sustainable livelihood in Uganda and beyond. He also co-chaired the inaugural Steering Committee of RHSC’s Youth Caucus. Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum (UMYDF) – an entity whose mandate is to address the root causes and effects of violent conflict.
Earlier in his career, Martin was part of the Parliamentary Performance Scorecard project team at Africa Leadership Institute (AFLI), where he augmented his skills and knowledge in participatory planning and research, community dissemination, training and facilitation in a variety of roles. He also served as a Program Officer, Communication & Advocacy at Youth Plus Policy Network (YPPN), which empowers and connects youth so they can be active in the communities where they live and work.
He is a past Fellow of Young4Policy and the prestigious WD Young Leaders Program, and a founding member of the Family Planning Budget Advocacy Group (FP BAG).
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences (Gender & Development major) from Makerere University Kampala, and a Master of Research & Public Policy (in view) from Uganda Martyrs University.
