Iry Irene

Dr. Irene Olumese is a Nutrition Scientist with a Doctoral degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, who has worked with UNICEF for 15 years in three countries. For two decades, she lived with chronic respiratory disease (Bronchiectasis) and debilitating neuromuscular disease (Myasthenia Gravis), which resulted in bilateral lung transplantation in April 2013.

Following a complication from the surgery, she had bilateral mid-leg amputation in May 2013. She established the Feet of Grace Foundation, a charity organization that raises funds to provide prosthetic limbs for amputees in poor communities. She manages her bead jewelry-making business, Hands of Grace Creations, which supports the fund-raising efforts of the Foundation.