Attiya Waris Has Over the past 18 years has been involved in the founding of numerous organizations including the African Tax Researchers Network, Tax Justice Network Africa and The capabuild foundation(Netherlands). She has been instrumental in building up the capacity of young researchers across the world and opened up the space for more thinkers in order to grow the academic space through her role as founding chair committee on fiscal studies and as director of research University of Nairobi. She is also regularly called in for closed door discussions and advisories to global leaders. She is currently setting up the first ever southern led global think tank on the international fiscal architecture. She has lead teams of over 2000 people and a student body of 35,000.

Her engagements have already had a global impact and she sits on numerous boards and advisory groups on: diverse aspects such as climate finance, tax, debt, illicit financial flows and human rights.

Some of her other roles are:

2023 Chair of Working Group on Finance and Governance in Health, Lancet Commission

2023 Masterclass on Leadership

2021 to date UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and other related international Financial obligations of States on Human Rights (member of Consultative Committee 2022-2023)

2021-2022 Chair, University Legal Restructuring Committee

2019-to 2022 Director, Research and Enterprise, University of Nairobi 2021 FFWD Leadership Training Course

2020-2021 Acting Deputy Principal College of Humanities and Social Sciences (member of University Management Board)

2020 Led on Rolling out UoN COVID interventions, policy, research and grant response (Member of VCs Taskforce on COVID)

2018 Strategic Leadership Development Programme successful completion

2016-2020 Member of University Council, International Islamic University of Kenya

2018-2021 University of Nairobi Representative on Centre for Public Finance and Tax Board (ICPAK)

2017 Founding Chair, Committee on Fiscal Studies, University of Nairobi

2016 to date Board Member Capabuild Foundation (Chair since 2021)

2016 Committee Member, Government of Kenya Technical Committee on Islamic Wing of Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC)

2012-to date Senior Advisor Tax Justice Network

2007-2009 Founding Board Member Tax Justice Network Africa

2007-2009 Vice Chair Tax Justice Network International