Professional Overview
Faculty
- Dr. Alapo currently serves as an Adjunct Professor within the City University of New York (CUNY) system and as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Africana and Latinx Studies Department at SUNY Oneonta, and a Visiting Scholar at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile – Ife, Nigeria. She teaches across the Humanities and Social Sciences. Her teaching and scholarship focus on Africa and the African Diaspora, migration and displacement, race and ethnicity, gender and leadership, global cultures, and social justice.
- Dr. Alapo is deeply engaged in curriculum innovation, including COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning), DEI-centered and trauma-informed pedagogy, and the development of a zero-cost textbook (ZTC) and open educational resources (OER) adopted across multiple CUNY courses. Dr. Alapo is also a Visiting Scholar at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, where she conducts collaborative research and advances COIL-based international academic partnerships.
Research Interests
- Dr Alapo earned her Doctorate in Organizational Management and Leadership from the University of Phoenix (2011), an M.A. in African Studies from the State University of New York at Albany (2007), and a B.A. in French with minors in Political Science and Africana Studies from SUNY Albany (1998). She also earned a Doctorate in Ministry from UTS – The Interfaith Seminary [HJI Seminary] in 2023 in the Administration of Peace and Justice.
- Dr. Alapo’s research interests include international and cross-cultural leadership, African and Afro-diasporic studies, women’s leadership, migration, peace education, and decolonial and Ubuntu-informed pedagogies. Her current and ongoing projects examine diaspora governance, gender and decision-making, ethical and faith-based leadership, collective and community-centered leadership models, and the role of education as a tool for peacebuilding and social transformation.
- A significant dimension of her work bridges academic scholarship with policy-oriented submissions and expert inputs to United Nations mechanisms, including the Human Rights Council, Special Procedures mandate holders, and the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
- In 2016, Dr. Alapo published Generation X: The Role of Culture on the Leadership Styles of Women in Leadership Positions, a scholarly examination of culture, gender, and leadership. She has since authored and co-authored numerous academic publications, UN-facing policy submissions, and educational resources, including widely adopted OER materials supporting equitable access to higher education.
- Her forthcoming and in-progress publications include peer-reviewed journal articles, edited book chapters, and policy-oriented manuscripts on decolonizing knowledge systems in African education; Ubuntu-informed and collective leadership frameworks; African women’s political and cultural authority; migration, displacement, and diaspora governance; ethical preparedness and peacebuilding; and faith-based and interfaith approaches to social transformation.
- Several of Dr. Alapo's works are being developed for academic journals, international conference proceedings, and UN-aligned policy platforms, including contributions linked to COIL pedagogy, women, peace and security, and global justice frameworks.
International Public Service
- Her earlier professional experience includes teaching Business Ethics and Social Responsibility at Quisqueya Christian School in Haiti, alongside training and supporting start-up business leaders in Port-au-Prince and Jérémie through Haitian Partners for Christian Development (HPCD), as part of a service-learning initiative with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC).
- Dr. Alapo worked at Hague Appeal for Peace [Peace and Disarmament Education] in addition to co-representing the organization on the NGO Committee on 1325 - Women, Peace and Security. She worked briefly at the United Nations: Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries and Landlocked Developing States [OHRLLS]; and the Department of Public Administration and Development Management [DPADM].
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Life Outside of Academia
- Dr. Oluremi “Remi” Alapo is an interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner, educator, and global civil society leader whose work operates at the intersection of education, gender justice, peacebuilding, and transnational policy engagement. She is the Director of the Institute for Peace and Leadership USA (IPL USA), a Brooklyn-based organization advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), through applied research, international policy advocacy, leadership development, and community-centered education initiatives.
- Dr. Alapo is an Ambassador for Peace with the Universal Peace Federation and a Global Interreligious Ambassador with Global Education for All Initiatives (Nigeria). Her extensive civil society and interfaith engagement includes service as a United Nations civil society representative, participation in women, peace, and security advocacy linked to UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and leadership roles across faith-based, youth, and diaspora organizations.
- As an Interfaith Minister, Dr. Alapo regularly contributes to interfaith dialogue, peacebuilding initiatives, and UN-aligned advocacy on education, gender equality, racial justice, and human rights. She is a member of Women in Ministry [WIM] of the American Clergy Leadership Conference [ACLC].
- She currently serves as a Trustee and UN Representative of African Views Organization, Vice President of the New York African Studies Association (NYASA), Trustee of All Faiths Seminary International (AFSI), UN Representative and Advocate with the Women’s Federation for World Peace International (WFWPI) UN Relations Office, and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the International Human Rights Commission, New York (IHRC-NY).
- Dr. Alapo is also Associate Director of the Diaspora Innovation Institute (USA), where she has moderated the Diaspora Monthly Virtual Speaker Series since 2020 and supports global partnerships connecting diaspora knowledge, policy innovation, and community leadership, including annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence programs at York College, CUNY, in partnership with the Women’s Center for Gender Justice.
- Across her academic, policy, and civil society engagements, Dr. Alapo advances an integrated, globally grounded approach to education, leadership, and peacebuilding that bridges scholarship, experience, and multilateral action in pursuit of inclusive, just, and sustainable societies.