Brian Mushana Kwesiga | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987 (age 37–38) [1] [2] |
| Other names | Mushana, Brian Kwesiga, Brian M. Kwesiga [4] |
| Alma mater | Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (GBA) [5] [6] Southern Methodist University (MS, BS, BA) [7] [8] [4] [9] Dallas College (AS) [4] [9] |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, Engineer, Civic Leader [4] [9] |
| Known for | Civic Leadership |
| Awards | Distinguished Alumni Award, [4] [9] Honos Civicus Inductee [10] |
| Website | www |
Brian Mushana Kwesiga (born 1987) is a Ugandan-born entrepreneur, engineer, and civic leader.
He served as the President and CEO of the Ugandan North American Association (UNAA) from 2013 to 2015 and was a 2024–2025 Africa Policy Accelerator fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. [9] [4] [11] [12]
He was appointed General Manager of the Uganda men's national lacrosse team in May 2023. [13] [14] [15]
Kwesiga was born in 1987 in Rujumbura County, Rukungiri District, Southwestern Uganda, into a family of civil servants. He lost both parents at a young age. [1] [2] [3] [4] [15]
He attended Rukungiri Kindergarten and Primary School, Boma Primary School in Mbarara, and St. Peters Primary School in Nsambya, Kampala, where he completed his Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) in 1998. [1] [2] [3] [4] [15]
Kwesiga completed his O-level education at Kibuli Secondary School in Kampala in 2002, before moving to the United States at the age of 15. [1] [2] [3] [4] [15]
After relocating to the United States, he earned an Associate of Science in Mathematics in May 2005 from the Brookhaven campus of what is now Dallas College, which later bestowed on him its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2020. [1] [2] [3] [4] [9] [15]
He transferred to Southern Methodist University (SMU), earning both a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from SMU's Lyle School of Engineering and a B.A. degree in international studies from SMU's Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences in May 2009. [8] [1] [2] [3] [4] [9] [15]
While at SMU, he participated in a study abroad program in São Paulo, Brazil as a student fellow, focusing on cross-cultural engineering leadership education and manufacturing for global security. He earned a M.S. in systems engineering from SMU's Lyle School of Engineering in December 2018. [7] [1] [2] [3] [4] [9] [15]
In May 2025, Kwesiga earned a Master of Global Business Administration at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy. [5] [6] He participated in the global immersion program in Athens, Greece, which explored themes of resilience and innovation in times of crises, and was inducted into the Honos Civicus Society for civic leadership. [10] [4] [9] [15]
Kwesiga has worked in engineering and program leadership roles with U.S. aerospace and defense companies including Raytheon Technologies, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin, where his work involved projects such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and collaborations with Korea Aerospace Industries on the T/FA-50 combat aircraft. [1] [2] [3] [4] [9] [15]
In 2024-2025, Kwesiga was selected as an Africa Policy Accelerator fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., a program focused on developing emerging African policy leaders. [9] [15]
He is an advocate for a National Diaspora Policy in Uganda and has publicly supported diaspora representation in Parliament, as well as extending voting rights to Ugandans abroad, arguing that political inclusion complements remittances, investment, and skills transfer. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]
On September 1, 2013, at age 26, Kwesiga was elected President and CEO of the Ugandan North American Association (UNAA), becoming the youngest person to hold the position. His tenure coincided with UNAA’s 25th anniversary celebrations and marked a generational transition in leadership. [11] [1] [2] [3] [4] [15]
During President Yoweri Museveni's September 2014 visit to Dallas, Texas, in a speech as UNAA President and CEO, Kwesiga requested increased funding, and President Yoweri Museveni agreed to quadruple the annual Government of Uganda sponsorship to UNAA fivefold, from $20,000 to $100,000. He also committed to the establishment of a diaspora desk at State House. [2] [3] [4] [20] [21] [15] [23] [16]
Under Kwesiga's UNAA reign, UNAA launched the $50,000 annual Chapter Development Program (CDP) fund, the Professional Interest Networks (PINs), the Emerging Leaders Scholarship Program, the Community Outreach Initiative (COI), and he successfully lobbied President Yoweri Museveni for a 50 percent reduction in dual citizenship and visa fees while coordinating with the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) and the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC) to allow National ID and dual-citizenship processing abroad. [2] [3] [4] [20] [21] [15] [23] [16]
His tenure tripled Association membership and achieved a more than 335% increase in corporate sponsorship to the organization. [15] [12] He also spearheaded the transition of payments and registration from Western Union and MoneyGram transfers to institutional bank accounts, and appointed a new UNAA Board of Trustees that instituted the first financial audit in UNAA's history; improving transparency and reducing member costs. [2] [3] [4] [20] [21] [23] [16]
These reforms are credited with increasing transparency, restoring fiscal discipline, eliminating chronic deficits, [2] [3] [4] [15] [9] [14] [25] and institutionalizing Uganda's diaspora engagement, including the establishment of a diaspora desk at Parliament, and the upgrade of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s diaspora desk into a fully-fledged Diaspora Services Department. [2] [3] [4] [15] [16] [17] [18]
In May 2023, the Uganda Lacrosse Association appointed Kwesiga as the General Manager of the Uganda men's national lacrosse team, making him the first native Ugandan to hold the position. [9] [13] [14] [26] In less than four months, he oversaw fundraising activities that raised more than $160,000, enabling Uganda to compete as the only African country at the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship held in San Diego, California. [27] [28]
While at Southern Methodist University, Kwesiga served as Chapter President of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and later as Vice Chair of its International Committee, where he helped establish the first NSBE chapters in Eastern and Central Africa. [4] [9] He also founded the Dallas Cranes F.C., a Ugandan soccer team that competed in the African Unity Cup, earning him the 2009 Outstanding Student Leadership Award from the DFW International Community Alliance. [4] [14] [13]
Kwesiga's articles and commentary on diaspora rights and policies have appeared in leading Ugandan newspapers, including the New Vision and the Daily Monitor . His notable articles include: