This 24-Year-Old Kenyan Woman is now Working at the White House

Joy Ngugi is a Kenyan-American who works at the White House where some of the critical decisions affecting the US and the world are made.

The 24-year old works in the Office of Digital Strategy and was recently listed among the future power players in US President Joe Biden’s administration by Business Insider.

Ngugi, who describes herself as a visual-storyteller, was born in Kenya before immigrating to the US. She was raised in Southwest Michigan. She has done film work in the United States, Kenya and Honduras.

“I am a Kenyan born visual-storyteller who was raised in Southwest Michigan. Growing up as a third-culture-kid has greatly shaped the way I see and understand the power of each person’s individual story. I have always been incredibly drawn to social issues and that has translated in both my early work and current work,” she writes in her profile.

“I have done film work in places such as the United States, Kenya, and Honduras. My passion for film excites me and pushes me to grow in ways I will always be grateful for. Currently, I am a producer at PBS Michiana and will be graduating with my BFA in Documentary Film May of 2020,” she adds.

Currently she is a full time Producer at the White House where she started working at in January 2021. She recently directed the first official White House musical performance under the Biden administration.

Before she took over the White House role, Ngugi worked as a full time producer in the Biden/Harris Presidential Transition team. She held the role for three months from November 2020 to January 2021.

She also worked in the Biden for President presidential campaign where she held the position of an associate producer for three months before she was she was promoted to the role of a producer.

She had also worked as a Digital Content Intern in the Biden for President campaign.

She credits her passion for pushing her to grow in many ways that she is grateful for.

“Growing up as a third-culture-kid has really shaped the way I see and understand the power of each individual person’s individual story. I have always been incredibly drawn to social issues and that has translated in both my early work and current work,” Ngugi’s LinkedIn bio reads.

She is a graduate of Andrews University, Michigan, where she studied Bachelor of Fine Arts – majoring in Documentary Filmmaking.

In 2018, she worked as a volunteer videographer and photographer for Reach International UK.

The program was done in Honduras and while there, they spent most of the time at orphanages and helping the community children.

In April 2019, she won a trophy for her short film “Bridge The Gap” at the SonScreen Film Festival. The film is about the socioeconomic divide between Benton Harbour, MI and St. Joseph, MI and it won the Best Art Experimental Film category.

She also has various accomplishments in advanced cinematography, advanced photography and web design.