Nathaniel Nyok

Nathaniel Nyok is the founder and president of the Ambassadors for Change: The Nathaniel Chol Nyok Foundation—a not-for-profit organization dedicated to building a high school in South Sudan. Mr. Nyok, who is a diplomat, a humanitarian and a motivational speaker, holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia and a Master’s degree in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

In 1987, at eight years old, the Sudan civil war separated Mr. Nyok and family. Mr. Nyok, along with a group of young boys, fled Sudan and trekked barefoot for thousands of miles to seek refuge in Ethiopia. During a journey that took about two months, Mr. Nyok encountered hunger, thirst, wild animals and crocodile-infested rivers. Becoming one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Mr. Nyok registered as a refugee—living in two refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya for almost fifteen years before migrating to the United States in 2001.

A former legislative intern at the United States Senate with the Office of Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and a former humanitarian and advocacy intern at Save the Children, Mr. Nyok is an activist on the Sudans, refugee rights, human rights and Africa in Washington, D.C.