Ms. Chidi Blyden, an alumna from our undergraduate program was awarded the Aggie Impact Award at the Aggie Impact Weekend. The Aggie Impact Weekend is organized by the Black Former Student Network (BFSN) at Texas A&M.
Chidi Blyden is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an appointed position. Before joining MCC, Ms. Blyden served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs, where she managed the Department of Defense’s (DOD) relationships with 53 African nations. Across 4 Presidential Administrations, she has held various roles, honing her policy, national security, and practitioner skills throughout her career in the government, academia, and non-profit sectors. Ms. Blyden is an expert and socio-cultural advisor on Africa’s conflicts, security, and development issues. Her work has focused on the impact of culture in developing policy and community-centric approaches to security challenges in African nations. She was the first Africa Director at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, where she led the design and implementation of culture-specific training for the Nigerian Armed Forces on civilian harm.
Ms. Blyden has over 15 years of government service and served in the Obama Administration as a Special Assistant in DOD’s Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy - African Affairs and as the Africa Peacekeeping Advisor in DOD’s Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy - Stability and Humanitarian Affairs. She served as a Professional Staff Member in Congress on the House Armed Services Committee, advising on Africa and South America’s defense equities. She has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a lecturer at various universities. She is an alumnus of Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University in addition to being an alumnus of Texas A&M University where she received a B.Sc. in Sociology (minor in Psychology) and Certificates in Women's Studies and Race and Ethnic Studies.
Ms. Blyden is affiliated with the Leadership Council for Women in National Security and the Truman National Security Project and serves on the Leadership Council for Memunatu Magazine, a nonprofit that promotes literacy and leadership for teen girls in Africa and a member of the Board of Directors of the Sitar Arts Center, a nonprofit that promotes equitable performing arts education for youth in Washington D.C.
The Sociology Department is very proud of the work Ms. Blyden is doing and how she is using her sociology degree. This gives us strength to continue! Congratulations!