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Our Founder

Bria Okonkwo is the founder of Young Lives Trust. She is a successful Entrepreneur and a prolific IT consultant with an in-depth foundation in innovation and technology.

Her son (Zitel) was diagnosed with cancer at the tender age of 5+ years old. She had to deal with this dreadful illness alongside two other kids under the age of 8 years old which was a daunting experience. We had to list working and studying at the prestigious London Business School for an EMBA program, she also managed her son’s ill health. Upon completion of his treatment protocol Zitel was declared cancer-free after 11 months of sleepless nights and hospital admissions, she then decided to make her son’s wish come true by starting a charity to help other families who have found themselves in the deep blue sea. Her real-life experiences and research in and out of hospitals have helped the vision and mission of Young Live Trust. She is a strong advocate for the utmost care, support, and research for children with cancer worldwide.

With over 14 years of engineering and consulting experience for major UK and international companies across various industries, she has been instrumental in making valuable contribution to the diaspora community in the UK. Bagged to her name is a BSc in Electrical/Computer Engineering, an MSc in Communications Engineering from the University of Plymouth, and an EMBA from the prestigious London Business School in addition to professional qualifications such as Prince 2, Business Analysis, and ITIL amongst others.

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Family Bonding
She is a powerful advocate for the strategic role of the government in the redesign of children care pathway in Nigeria and provides honest, real-world advice that helps to translate strategy into action. A strong innovator abreast with new technology solutions and ideas she has championed and helped various start-ups. She currently sits on the board of various companies as CEO, CTO, and COO. She is happily married with three beautiful children.

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Meet Our Members

Get to know our members nurturing young lives with kindness and care.