Wanida Lewis, Ph.D. is a food scientist focused on creating outreach programs that will enhance women’s participation in agriculture through developing economic empowerment opportunities. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry at Saint Augustine's University, a Master’s degree in Analytical Chemistry from North Carolina Central University and a doctoral degree in Food Science from North Carolina State University. Wanida is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (NSF HBCU-UP), North Carolina Louis Stokes Alliance Minority Participate (NC-LSAMP) Bridge to Doctorate Fellowship, DSM Nutritional Young Minority Investigator Award, the American Peanut Research and Education Society’s (APRES) George Washington Carver Award, German Marshall Fund of the United States Marshall Memorial Fellowship and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellowship. Upon completion of her doctoral degree in 2013, the Dr. Wanida E. Lewis Food Science Fellowship Program Endowment was announced in her honor at North Carolina State University for her groundbreaking doctoral research in peanut science and her dedication to mentoring students of color in the sciences.
Prior to joining the Department of State, Wanida worked as an R&D scientist at General Mills, Inc. in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dr. Lewis resides in Washington, DC where she completed her fellowship as an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow working in the Economic and Business Affairs Bureau (EB), Office of Agricultural Policy at the Department of State. In EB, Wanida contributed to the policy making process by advocating for science-based decisions to create efficient and effective agricultural policies. During her fellowship, Wanida collaborated with Embassies Accra, Addis Ababa and Pretoria to develop outreach workshops connecting African women in agriculture. Dr. Lewis served a three-month tour as an Embassy Science Fellow at Embassy Accra where she worked on biotechnology and environmental policy and continued her work developing outreach programs for women in STEM and agriculture. While in Accra, again on her own initiative, collaborating within and outside the Embassy, Wanida conceived of a program that would capture the imagination of youth. She founded and launched the program Young, Gifted, & Brown, LLC a pipeline program targeted for young women and entrepreneurs in STEM. Young, Gifted, & Brown fostered the spirit of entrepreneurship for local youth to stimulate the local economy and increase global prosperity. Currently, Dr. Lewis is continuing her work in women's economic empowerment in the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues at the Department of State. Her work has been recognized in the New America.org article entitled "Black American National Security and Foreign Policy Next Generation Leaders".
As a long time practitioner of yoga, Dr. Lewis completed her 200 hour yoga instructor certification. She is certified to teach restorative and yin yoga.
Currently, Dr. Lewis resides in Accra, Ghana.