Prior to co-founding Teach For Uganda, CEO James Kassaga Arinaitwe gained eight years of international development experience working with The Carter Center in the United States, the non-profit organization founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He was also a 2012-13 Global Health Corps Fellow in New York, and a School Partnerships Manager at Educate! In 2014, James was selected as an Acumen Global Fellow, and spent a year in India working with a social enterprise providing education and livelihood skills to two million underserved youth. James is an Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow, and his op-eds on ethical and effective development solutions have been featured in Al Jazeera, NPR, Devex, The Guardian, and The New York Times. Kassaga James Arinaitwe is a visionary leader and global advocate for equitable access to education, healthcare, and leadership development. As Senior Advisor at Teach For All, a global network spanning 64 countries, Kassaga supports organizations worldwide in cultivating leadership and systems change to ensure every child can achieve their fullest potential. Previously, as Co-founder and CEO Emeritus of Teach For Uganda, he led the organization to enable over 75,000 children to access quality education while developing 500 emerging leaders who are now delivering impactful solutions across Africa and beyond.
In the healthcare sector, Kassaga is the Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of ACHI Healthcare, a groundbreaking initiative addressing gaps in preventive primary care for under-resourced families across Uganda and East Africa. Under his leadership, ACHI Healthcare now provides care for over 2,500 patients monthly, blending technology, home-based care, and community-driven solutions to create sustainable health outcomes. Kassaga also founded the Madiba Leadership Collective (MLC), which helps individuals and organizations overcome ethical and adaptive challenges to foster personal and professional growth, advancing impactful leadership and systemic change.
Kassaga holds an MPH from Florida State University, an MA in Sustainable Development from SIT Graduate Institute in Washington, D.C., and a Certificate in Strategic Fundraising for Non-Profit Leaders from the Harvard Kennedy School. His thought leadership has been featured in esteemed publications such as The New York Times, Al Jazeera, NPR, The Guardian, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. A devoted husband and happy father of two sons, Kassaga currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland. Through his diverse roles and global advocacy, he remains committed to building a world where every individual can thrive with dignity and opportunity.
