Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya
Tom is the Co-Founder and CEO of Shamiri Institute and Shamiri Health. He is a 2021 TED Fellow, Forbes' 30 under 30 (global) Fellow, and Echoing Green Fellow. He has written >20 peer-reviewed articles published in leading journals including JAMA Psychiatry. Born and raised in rural Kenya, he graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor’s in Psychology (High Honors).
Shamiri means "thrive"—and our mission is to build a world where young people can thrive by providing effective mental health care at scale, starting from Africa and reaching worldwide.
The Harvard Club of Kenya is the premier Harvard alumni association, network, and programming body in East Africa. We aspire to be one of the connecting and programming sources on the continent for Harvard alumni and for the citizens of Africa more generally.
Cultural Agents is a platform for academics, artists, community leaders, and active citizens in general. It is an invitation to revive a long humanistic tradition that combines arts and research in the service of civic development.
The Williams/Lodge International Government and Public Affairs Research Fellow is a competitive research fellowship given by the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. In this role, I conducted research on developing and disseminating school-based mental health interventions in Kenya.
Led a pre-registered clinical trial of Shamiri – a four-week group intervention for adolescent depression. Completed IRB protocols, grant applications, and study design. Managed a team of 7 researchers, 13 research assistants, 5 sites and 2173 participants. Developed and trialed a single-session digital intervention for adolescent depression and anxiety. Conducted field work on the local representations of depression and anxiety in the Luo tribe of Western Kenya. Co-wrote 5 research manuscripts published in leading international journals including JAMA Psychiatry.
Consulting on doing business in Africa and on product development varying from strategy through implementation. Clients include Safaricom (Kenya's largest telecom).