Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE is the mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, where her revitalization plan ranges from environmental degradation to the creation of jobs. Prior to this, she was delivery team lead for the Sierra Leone President's Recovery Priorities program for sustainable socio-economic recovery following Ebola and was the National Ebola Response Center’s director of planning during the outbreak in 2014 and 2015. A finance professional with over 25 years of experience in strategic planning, risk management, and project management, Obe previously held senior management roles in the UK financial services industry and raising finances for property development in the UK and Sierra Leone. Earlier in her career, she campaigned against the blood diamond trade and co-founded the Sierra Leone War Trust. Vice chair of C40 Cities Global Group steering committee, Obe’s recognition includes being named to the Time100 Next 2021 and the 2020 BBC 100 Women lists.