Akunna Cook is an accomplished diplomat, lawyer, strategist, and executive producer. Ms. Cook is the founder and CEO of Next Narrative Africa, a media production company telling African stories for global impact. In 2024, Next Narrative Africa launched the Next Narrative Africa Fund to finance the production of narrative shifting audio-visual content produced in Africa.

Prior to founding Next Narrative Africa, Akunna served in the Biden-Harris Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. In that role, she oversaw the U.S. bilateral relationships with the countries of Southern Africa. Additionally, she led a global State Department team responsible for economic, multilateral engagement, and democracy and governance policy for sub-Saharan Africa. Earlier in her career, Akunna was the founding executive director of the Black Economic Alliance, a non-partisan organization focused on driving economic progress in the black community through policy development, advocacy, and supporting candidates for office. Ms. Cook also practiced law at Covington & Burling LLP, where she advised a variety of clients on public policy and corporate governance. Before practicing law, Ms. Cook served for almost ten years as a career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State.

She is a graduate of the Yale Law School, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and is a summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Howard University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration.