Kenisha Arora

Kenisha Arora is a Forbes-recognised speaker and systems-change leader transforming global education and health. At just 16, she was elected as a Student School Board Trustee in the Greater Toronto Area, where she successfully led a policy to provide free menstrual hygiene products in school washrooms, an initiative that later informed province-wide change. Since then, she has served on the Board of Governors at Western University, where she upheld fiduciary responsibility for an $896 million institutional budget.

Kenisha was selected from nearly 10,000 candidates to serve as the Youth Representative on the United Nations High-Level Steering Committee on Education, working alongside global
leaders—including the Prime Minister of France, the President of Sierra Leone, the Executive Director of UNICEF, the World Bank’s Managing Director, and the UNESCO Director-General
—to guide global education governance and shape the SDG4 framework. She successfully advocated for the adoption of digital and environmental indicators within the UN’s education
agenda.

A skilled communicator, Kenisha has co-authored global education policy with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and formally launched it at the United Nations Headquarters
with the UN General Assembly President, calling on all UN Member States to increase investment in education to reduce inequality and build sustainable futures. Kenisha also led the campaign on LeadingSDG4, mobilising youth from 120+ countries and reaching over 77 million people. She has presented at the G20 Education Working Group in India and the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, engaging with high-level policymakers, including India’s Minister of Finance.

Recognised by the World Health Organization, Kenisha joined WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus in Geneva to launch WHO’s first global campaign on Adolescent Health. Currently pursuing her Master’s at Johns Hopkins University, Kenisha is training to become a physician who integrates science, equity, and public policy to advance justice in health and education.