Dr. Annette Witherspoon is a Liberian scholar and educator whose career spans over twenty years and crosses continents. Currently based in Germany, Saijue Annette serves as Head of Program for the Bachelor’s in International Social Work and as a Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at Friedensau Adventist University. Her academic journey is distinguished; she earned her PhD in Development Sociology from Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, graduating summa cum laude, and was awarded the Faculty of Social Science Dissertation Prize in 2021.
Dr. Witherspoon’s expertise is grounded in both international academic research and practical experience. Her professional path shows a strong commitment to social change, development studies, and education, with key roles in academia, international NGOs, and humanitarian initiatives. She started her career in education and community development in West Africa before progressing into programme management and research. Her roles include serving as Rapid Research Manager for the “Ebola Community Action Platform (ECAP)” with Mercy Corps in Liberia and acting as a consultant and emergency coordinator for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). Dr. Witherspoon has been an affiliate of FIFE since 2015.
She has been involved in monitoring, evaluation, and compliance activities across Guinea-Conakry, Uganda, Norway, Greece, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Liberia, managing projects funded by USAID, the EU, the African Development Bank, and private organisations.
In academia, Dr. Witherspoon’s research and teaching cover topics such as Conflict and Peace, Power and Sustainability (Social), Rural Livelihoods, Value Chain Governance, Gender and Intersectionality, and Project Management for International Development. Her experience includes serving as a research associate at the Diversity Research Institute at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, guest lectureships at the University of Vienna, Austria, and ongoing roles at Friedensau Adventist University, where she has taught for over eight years in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Her international experience is extensive, including work and study placements in countries such as Liberia, Guinea, Ghana, Uganda, Mali, Burkina Faso, Norway, Germany, Ukraine, Romania, Greece, Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, and Madagascar. She is fluent in English, speaks good French, and has intermediate proficiency in German.
Dr. Witherspoon combines academic rigour with a profound practical understanding of social issues, international development, and higher education—qualities that have established her as a respected figure in her field and a valued mentor to students and colleagues alike.