Dr Nancee Oku Bright

Dr Nancee Oku Bright is Chief of Staff of MONUSCO, the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Prior to this, she served in UNHQ New York as Chief of Staff of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, during which time she was appointed by the Secretary-General to his High-level Task Force on the UN Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.  She was Principal Officer in the UN Peacekeeping Department, overseeing operations in the DRC and Burundi, and she led the establishment of MINURCAT, the UN mission in Chad and Central African Republic as its Chief of Staff.

She has coordinated large and complex operations, including as Chief of Africa for OCHA, the UN humanitarian coordination office in New York, with overall responsibility for over 17 crisis-affected countries in Africa, including Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan. During the height of DRC’s civil war, she was Humanitarian Chief of the peacekeeping mission where her work involved negotiating for humanitarian access with rebel groups and government authorities, expanding humanitarian presence, and spearheading the establishment of a civilian-led emergency hospital in the country’s troubled northeast.

Dr. Bright sits on the Advisory Council of Last Mile Health – an entity which aims to save lives in the world’s most remote villages, providing access to comprehensive health care, including maternal-child health and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.  She has also worked as a journalist, directing and producing the award-winning PBS Documentary, “Liberia: America’s Stepchild,” which examined the cause of Liberia’s long-running civil war.  She holds a BA from Wesleyan University, an MA from Georgetown, as well as Masters and Doctoral degrees from Oxford University.