Luopu Garmi-Blackie is a gender analysis and project management expert with strong academic leadership experience and a deep commitment to advancing gender equity, equality, and inclusion across development and educational initiatives.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Gender and Economic Analysis from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics, with a minor in Public Administration, from the University of Liberia. She has also earned professional certifications in gender equality, project management, research, and related fields.

Ms. Garmi-Blackie has served as a gender expert and consultant for several national and international organizations, including Plan International Liberia, CNFA/LADA, Oxfam, Liberian-Swedish Access Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the World Bank, UNDP, the Rural Renewable Energy Agency, and the Ministry of Gender. Her work has focused on gender mainstreaming, gender-responsive planning and budgeting, youth development, gender justice programming, and policy evaluation.

In academia, she served for nine years as an Economics Instructor and for three years as Chairperson of the Gender Department at the University of Liberia. She currently serves as Dean of the College of Gender Studies and Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Liberia and is pursuing a PhD in Gender and Security Studies at the same institution.