Rita Ezenwa-Okoro is a leading voice on play, performance, and human development emerging from the Global South. A dynamic creative culturist, performance activist, and visionary leader, she harnesses the transformative power of play and the performing arts to raise and nurture leaders.
 

She is the Executive Director Emeritus of the Global Play Brigade, a global movement that uses play to soften borders and barriers between people across the world. She is also the Founder of Street Project Foundation, a United Nations and BMW Group Intercultural Innovation Award-winning organization that has empowered over 10,000 young people through creative arts-led leadership development. 

As a thought leader, speaker, author, and creative strategist, Rita’s work reframes play as a developmental tool—not just for wellbeing, but for innovation, leadership, and socio-economic advancement. Her first book, Doing. Being. Becoming., earned her speaking engagements at platforms such as the United Nations Global Forum and the Association for the Study of Play.

Her forthcoming book, Exercise Your Imagination: For Leaders Who Want to PLAY a Head Taller (2026), explores how leaders can use play, performance, and imagination to unlock new possibilities in complex and changing environments. 

A Mandela Washington Fellow, Rita is also a three-time global fellow of the International Society of the Performing Arts (ISPA), and the first Nigerian to serve on its board. When she is not on a mission to change the world, Rita makes music, explores the world, and indulges in the guilty pleasures of a good RomCom.