Lydia Obi

Lydia serves as the Program Coordinator for the Cafritz Awards program. In this capacity, she assists in the oversight of the marketing and management of the Cafritz Awards program cycle through a dynamic mix of strategic planning and creativity to achieve the program goals. Working closely with cross-functional teams and stakeholders, she assists in the reviewing and refining of the application process, serves as a primary point of contact for the publicity of the awards, and spearheads outreach to potential awardees and key stakeholders in alignment with the program’s vision. With the Center, Lydia is a key player in the orchestration of events ranging from intimate gatherings to larger-scale receptions using her sharp eye for design, creative attention to details and meticulous planning. She supports the team in creating content for social media that maintains brand visibility and coordinating communication, logistics, and operational details for their various programs.

At her core, she is a storyteller. Her goal is to use her creative practices to tell stories that go beyond the cameras and into the hearts of viewers — of others, of events, of places, etc — because she believes every person has a story to tell.

Lydia self-taught herself Adobe Premiere Pro at 12 years old when she fell in love with video editing from creating videos for her school's volunteer club. This skill then led her to a curiosity for graphic design using Canva and Adobe InDesign, as well as an interest in photography. During her undergraduate career, she refined her skills and experience through her work in the African Development Initiative, AIESEC DC, and TEDxFoggyBottom, building and diversifying her creative portfolio through videography and photography projects, with roles in the fields of Creativity and Communications.

She is a graduate of George Washington University holding a degree in Business Administration, having concentrated in Marketing and Innovation & Entrepreneurship and a minor in Communication.