The team
Dr. Rose M. Mutiso
Founder & Executive Director
ATFL is led by Dr. Rose M. Mutiso, a Kenyan scientist, thought leader, and social entrepreneur. With extensive expertise in technology policy and energy transitions, she has a proven track-record of bridging research, policy, and action in Africa and globally.
She is also the co-founder and former CEO of the Nairobi-based nonprofit Mawazo (“Ideas”) Institute, which provides doctoral research funding and professional development support to early-career African women scientists. Previously, Rose served as the Research Director of the Energy for Growth Hub, and as a Senior Fellow focusing on energy and innovation policy in the U.S. Department of Energy and Senate. She currently holds joint appointments as Science Advisor to the Energy for Growth Hub and Senior Fellow of the Conceptual Investigations Unit at Stanford University.
Rose holds a BA and BE in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Her TED talks on African energy and climate futures have been viewed over 3.6 million times, and she is a contributor on these issues across major media platforms. She writes Kibao, a Substack focused on energy, climate, tech, and Africa. Learn more at www.rosemutiso.com.
Naima Kane
Climate Tech Fellow
Naima holds a Dual BA from Sciences Po and Columbia University. She recently completed an MSc in Development Management at the London School of Economics, with a specialism in African development. Her dissertation examined the political economy of energy policy and industrial transformation in Morocco and Ethiopia. Naima’s academic and professional background bridges development economics, climate governance, and the role of technology in shaping structural change.
With international experience across tech startups, market strategy, and sustainability, she is especially interested in how AI and climate tech can be leveraged to support inclusive, locally embedded innovation ecosystems. She is committed to research and policy work that interrogates how 4IR technologies—particularly AI and climate tech—are reshaping governance, industrial policy, and development pathways in emerging economies.
Adam Salzman
Research & Strategy Associate
Adam Salzman is a Research & Strategy Associate at the African Tech Futures Lab (ATFL), where he focuses on emerging technologies, energy transitions, and policy in Africa. His work at ATFL is supported by a Lombard Fellowship from Dartmouth’s John Sloan Dickey Center. He is also a Sullivan Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks, where he researches the security implications of climate change. Beyond his work in energy and technology, Adam studies strategic communication and persuasion, with a particular interest in inoculation theory—a framework for building resistance to misinformation. He has held strategy and research roles at Penta Group, TD Cowen, Radia, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Adam holds a BA in Government & Economics with a minor in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College, graduating magna cum laude. He received the Class of 1866 Prize for Oratory, was a featured speaker at Dartmouth’s MLK Multifaith Celebration, and served as Editor-in-Chief of World Outlook, Dartmouth’s Journal of International Affairs.