Jolly Acen

Vice President at Women Enabled International

Jolly Acen is a Programme Specialist and Head of Sub Office with UN Women Uganda, before joining UN Women, Jolly served as Executive Secretary of National Union of Women with Disabilities of Uganda (NUWODU); served as Senior Community Development officer in charge Gender and Disability with Lira District Local Government; served as Gender Advisor with Trocaire; and served as a field coordinator with Abeita Samaratia Bund(ASB). She provided strategic leadership on policy matters and development; partnership development; resource mobilization; program management and conducted several advocacies on women and girls issues in Africa with a focus on the most vulnerable and marginalized women and girls with disabilities and refugees and their inclusion in national and international legal and policy frameworks.

For the past 13 years, Jolly has worked extensively on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in Uganda and across East Africa, she has served at different portfolios in several organizations. She has experience working with Government and Non-Governmental Organizations. She was a member of the Expert Group that developed a strategy for inclusion of women with Disabilities in SDG implementation, a visiting lecturer at Makerere University School of Law on Intersectionality of Gender and Disability Rights, an alumna of Save the Mothers program of Uganda Christian University.

Jolly holds a master’s degree in Public Health Leadership of Uganda Christian University, a bachelor’s degree in Development Studies of Makerere University, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration and Management of Uganda Management Institute Kampala. Jolly is passionate about promoting the rights of women and girls with a focus on the most vulnerable and marginalized. She believes that every woman and girl have the power to enjoy their fundamental rights if they are informed and empowered.