Abdul-Washeru Alhassan
Class of 2023
Washeru is from Ghana and is a Donald F. McHenry Global Public Service Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. As a second-year master’s student in the GHD program, he is pursuing a self-designed specialization in Environment, Climate Change and Technology for Development and a concurrent graduate certificate in African Studies in the School of Foreign Service. Washeru currently works as a Research and Strategy Analyst intern at the World Resources Institute where he supports research and analysis on issues related to low-carbon just transition and climate loss and damage negotiations and financing.
Prior to joining the World Resources Institute, Washeru was based in Dakar, Senegal where he worked with the International Organization for Migration—The UN Migration Agency as a Migration, Environment, and Climate Resilience Program Consultant. In that role, he led new business and proposal development, design of research strategies, and stakeholder engagement on projects related to humanitarian innovation; climate resilience and local development planning; and climate-smart community reintegration. He previously worked in Ghana on issues related to environmental pollution, public health policy implementation, and climate adaptation and mitigation. Additionally, he holds significant experience in business consulting and client engagement where he previously worked with several international partners from around the world to facilitate market access for critical information technology infrastructure into Ghanaian and other African markets.
Washeru holds a BSc in biochemistry and a master’s degree in climate change and sustainable development both from the University of Ghana where he researched and published an article on the regulatory landscape and experiences of small-and-medium enterprises in Ghana’s energy transition agenda. As part of his GHD capstone, Washeru is consulting for Grassroots Business Fund (formerly of the International Finance Corporation) on streamlining gender and climate considerations to support the organization’s new $3 million Fund for impact investing in SMEs in Mozambique and Eswatini in Southern Africa.
Washeru speaks English, French, Arabic, Hausa, and other African languages, and currently learning Swahili. In his free time, you will find him doing soccer commentary, listening to podcasts, or taking long walks.