Dr Adetola Salau is a social innovator and educator passionate about the application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills to break the cycle of poverty in Africa. She has a BSc in Chemistry (Fordham), an MSc in Engineering Management, with another MSc in Chemical Engineering (Syracuse University). She has a PhD in Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

She was selected to be a part of the 2018 MIT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp. She is part of an advisory board at the Smithsonian Science Institute relating to STEM Education for Sustainable Development (STEM4SD.) She is a Moving Worlds Institute Fellow.

She is also the recipient of several scholarships and awards including: International Internship University’s Africa Award for Excellence (2022), GSE Dean’s Scholarship for Educational Diversity and Excellence, 2019 -2020; Ambassador of STEM Award (2017); International Summit of Leaders, April (2018); Award of Excellence – Teachers are the Future Conference (2019).

She began her professional career as a public school teacher in New York, teaching Mathematics in 2001. In 2016, she founded Carisma4U Educational Foundation, as a way of advocating for STEM education. Her organisation organises STEM education programs such as boot camps and outreaches, to help young people embrace STEM subjects as critical tools for improving lives and driving development.

In January 2020, Adetola was appointed as a political aide to the Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria. In her role, she partners with stakeholders in a range of settings to solve challenges in the education space.