Our Alumni Spotlight event series shines a light on talented and passionate alumni from our global community. Each event features an exceptional Imperial alumnus who will share their career journey, expertise in their sector and thoughts on leadership and making an impact. They’ll also share their passions and motivations and take questions from the audience.

The next alumnus in the Spotlight will be Ambassador Yvette Stevens (MSc Electrical Power Systems and Machines 1974), Winner of the Distinguished Alumni Award 2021.

About Ambassador Stevens
After finishing her studies at Imperial in 1974, Yvette returned to Sierra Leone where she was the country’s first woman engineer. She has experienced many other ‘firsts’ since that time;  she spearheaded the first-ever energy policy for Sierra Leone, and was later invited by the President to represent Sierra Leone at its first permanent mission to the UN in Geneva. 

Yvette’s success is undoubtedly inspiring, she achieved all this and more while single-handedly raising five children. This is your chance to hear her keys to success and take away inspiration from this glass ceiling-shattering alumna. 

“My main project for 2021 is to finally write my memoir,” she shares. “The main reason I want to do this is I’ve come a long way from being a little barefoot girl fetching water from a street tap. Every time I tell my story, people encourage me to put it down. People want to know how I did it all and raised my five children single-handedly.”

We are grateful that Yvette will be joining us to share her experiences and wisdom in conversation with Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng. 

We invite the Imperial community to register today and join the conversation.