Uber’s new public policy manager for West Africa is Allderdice graduate
Natalie Jones is one proud mom.
The Pittsburgh resident and Baptist Temple Church of Homewood member doesn’t get to see her daughter, Jacquelyn Omosunbo Omotalade, as much these days, because Omotalade is making magic happen in West Africa.
Omotalade was recently named Public Policy manager for Uber, West Africa.
“In this role, I focus on the development and implementation of Uber’s policy agenda across all of the West African markets,” Omotalade told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an exclusive interview. “I started with Uber in March 2017.”
Jones told the Courier her daughter was known as “Kia” in her earlier days in Pittsburgh and was an ardent member of Baptist Temple Church. Omotalade graduated from Allderdice High School in 1996, but “attended my last year of high school at Edertal Gymnasium in Frankenburg, Germany as part of the prestigious Congress-Bundestag Exchange Program,” Omotalade said.
She grew up between the U.S., Nigeria, and Germany. “I have a passion for tech, law/advocacy, communications and environmental and public health. I am also a qualified attorney, having completed a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.”
Omotalade told the Courier that most of her professional career has occurred outside of Pittsburgh, but “I was a law clerk for the Honorable Justin M. Johnson, Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the Executive Director of Global Outreach for Addiction Leadership and Learning (GOAL). In my capacity as executive director, I led an organization that worked in Kenya and reached over 68,000 people with messages promoting HIV/AIDS education.”
Mario Browne, director of Health Sciences Diversity Programs at the University of Pittsburgh, said on Omotalade’s LinkedIn page that “Jackie is an exceptional and energetic leader whose passion is only supplanted by her intellect.”
Elizabeth L. Hughes, Assistant Counsel at UPMC, also recommended Omotalade on the Uber employee’s LinkedIn account, stating: “Jackie is a fantastic resource, particularly in the fields of political management and public health initiatives. Jackie is a trailblazer, an innovator and has a boundlessly brilliant mind. She has had experiences which have immersed her in other cultures, working to solve problems and coming up with creative solutions to challenges facing communities both in the United States and abroad. Jackie speaks several languages and has the energy, knowledge and drive to assist communities, individuals and organizations in finding new and better ways to operate in an increasingly global arena.”
Omotalade, among other positions, previously worked as the former President of the San Francisco Commission on the Environment. According to her LinkedIn page, Omotalade said she transformed training for public health professionals in California, Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Islands at the California Pacific Public Health Training Center (CALPACT). She “energized the training landscape for public health professionals by using new technologies including social media, podcasts, webinars, radio broadcasts and online courses.”
Omotalade, or “Jackie O,” as she sometimes is called, “was instrumental in improving hospital management practices, including reducing patient wait time by 50 percent, in all 13 public hospitals in Ethiopia. She worked with hospital management teams and the Ministry of Health to identify problems and implement new systems.”
No surprise here…Natalie Jones is one proud mom. And Omotalade returned the sentiments, when asked about the origins of her work ethic. “Definitely comes from my family and my mother, Natalie Jones, in particular,” she said. “She is the hardest working person I know. She is truly dedicated to making her community a better place.”
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