Dr Chao Mbogho is a multi-award-winning computer scientist, educator, and mentor whose work intersects supporting educators to build responsible tech curricula, and upskilling tech students with globally-competitive skills. Her innovation-oriented approach, academic excellence, and leadership expertise have seen her receive nearly 30 awards, scholarships, and fellowships. For instance, in 2020, Chao was the first Kenyan awarded the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Women Scientists in the Developing World for their outstanding work in engineering, innovation and technology. In 2022, she was awarded the Inspiring Leader of the Year Award, the highest recognition at East Africa Com, a premier regional event in ICT.
Dr Chao currently works at Mozilla Foundation, where she leads the inaugural Responsible Computing Challenge in Kenya that supports faculty from local universities to redesign their curricula towards ethical AI and Innovation. She is the founder and Program Lead of KamiLimu, a non-profit organization whose mission is to upskill tertiary-level tech students with 21st-century industry-relevant competencies using structured mentorship, an initiative that has impacted over 200 students from 24 universities so far. Chao has also been an instructor at Coursera, where she has designed and delivered 26 courses on computer programming and data structures, with an average course rating of 4.7 out of 5. Dr Chao Mbogho holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cape Town, an M.Sc in Computer Science from the University of Oxford, and a B.Sc in Mathematics and Computer Science from Kenya Methodist University.