About Attorney Eunice Ukwuani
With a Degree in Law and a Master’s of Public Administration, Attorney Eunice Ukwuani is a practicing attorney in the area of criminal law, the Chairperson/President of Green World Business Holdings Corp and CEO of Property Rialto. She serves as Vice President, Policy and Advocacy and is a New York Peace Commissioner for the PeaceBuilding Commission.
As a diplomatic liaison, she possesses years of experience working with senior leadership across organizations and top diplomats across Africa and within the United States. She is recognized as one of the founding members of Daylight Africa Week and serves as its Lead Coordinator for Nigeria and Director of Programs & Community Engagements. She is also the Marketing Director/Public Relations of The Opializer Show.
Attorney Ukwuani is the President/Founder of the Princess Eunice Ukwuani Foundation (PEUF), which caters to girl-children around the world, especially in Africa. She serves as President of the New York Political Coalition (NYPC), has served as a Diplomatic Representative and Political Strategist for the Nigerian American Public Affairs Committee (NAPAC), and is Director at the African Democratic Club Inc. She is also one of the leaders of the NYC African Council.
Her numerous awards and recognitions include a Proclamation Award from Senator Brian Benjamin, a Doctorate Degree by a United Nations consultative status organization, a recommendation letter jointly signed by His Excellency Tijjani Mohammed Bande (President of the 74th United Nations General Assembly and Nigerian Ambassador to the UN) and Dr. Chris Nwanoro, a recognition award by the Nigerian Consul General in New York, and the Community Warrior Award by the African Immigrants Commission of New York & Connecticut Inc.
Interviewer: What inspired you to pursue a career in criminal law, and how has your experience shaped your approach to advocacy?
Attorney Ukwuani: What inspired me to pursue a career in criminal law was because I hate criminals with passion. I don’t like crime for example, fraud, thieves, especially when it takes the lives of innocent people. I always ask why they take a life they didn’t create? Pursuing a career in criminal law often stems from a deep-seated desire to fight for social justice, serve the community, and ensure the fair treatment of individuals within the justice system. Also, many are inspired by a wish to help those who are vulnerable, and facing unfair accusations in the society.
My experience shaped my approach to advocacy because gaining experience can lead to an approach that focuses on preserving the dignity and rights of clients at every stage of a case, emphasizing their humanity rather than just their role in the legal system.
Interviewer: As a Peace Commissioner, what’s your take on the role of community engagement in promoting peace and resolving conflicts?
Attorney Ukwuani: Community engagement is fundamental to promoting peace and resolving conflicts by building trust, fostering understanding, and empowering communities to find their own solutions. A Peace Commissioner views this role as crucial, as it allows for inclusive dialogue, ensures solutions are relevant to local needs, and creates sustainable peace from the ground up, rather than having peace imposed from the top down.
Key roles of community engagement in promoting peace include building trust and communication by engaging with community members, local leaders, and marginalized groups to build trust and open lines of communication between authorities and the public. Gaining context and awareness by involving communities helps us achieve a better understanding of local grievances, potential threats, and existing self-protection mechanisms. Supporting dialogue and mediation by facilitating dialogues between conflicting parties and supporting local mediation efforts can prevent disputes from escalating into violence. Promoting inclusivity ensures that peace processes are inclusive and address the root causes of conflict, rather than just the symptoms. Strengthening accountability by creating opportunities for dialogue between the community and state authorities promotes institutional responsiveness and accountability.
Interviewer: How do you balance your various roles, including your work with Green World Business Holdings Corp and Property Rialto, with your passion for advocacy and policy work?
Attorney Ukwuani: I was able to balance my various roles with Green World Business Holdings Corp and Property Rialto with my passion for advocacy work and policy by hiring a digital marketer staff who works with my company and Property Rialto business. He helps out with all the digital work like videos, flyers, and postings on our social media platforms while I still do my other work, from criminal law work to advocating for things etc.
Interviewer: Can you share some insights on the importance of building a relationship with elected officials and community leaders in driving legislative change?
Attorney Ukwuani: Building relationships with elected officials and community leaders is fundamentally important for driving legislative change. These connections create channels for communication and influence that are essential for ensuring a policy proposal is heard, understood, and ultimately, acted upon.
Strong relationships provide direct access to decision-makers and their staff. While general advocacy methods like writing letters or making phone calls are important, a pre-established relationship often means your calls are returned and meetings are scheduled more readily. This personal access allows advocates to clearly articulate the nuances, data, and human impact of their proposed legislation, ensuring the message isn’t lost in the volume of daily correspondence.
Trust is currency in politics. Officials are more likely to listen to and trust individuals or organizations they have a history with. By nurturing a relationship over time, advocates demonstrate their reliability, expertise, and commitment to their community. When officials trust you, they are more inclined to view your data and proposals as credible and rely on you as a valuable resource when considering related issues.
Regular interaction with officials and leaders offers insights into the political realities they face. You can learn about their priorities, the concerns of their constituents, potential opposition to your ideas, and the legislative calendar. This understanding allows you to tailor your message to resonate with their specific needs and pressures, making your proposals more politically viable and increasing the chances of gaining their support.
The ultimate goal of relationship building is to turn an official into a champion for your cause. A champion is someone who actively advocates for your legislative goal, introduces bills, speaks on your behalf in committees, and rounds up votes from their colleagues. Having an insider champion can navigate the complex procedural hurdles of the legislative process far more effectively than an external group can alone.
Community leaders serve as essential bridges between activists and the broader public. They can help translate a complex policy goal into a grassroots movement, activating voters and local stakeholders. When community leaders are on board, they can mobilize their networks to attend town halls, sign petitions, and contact their own representatives, demonstrating widespread support that officials cannot ignore.
Interviewer: What’s your vision for Daylight Africa Week, and how do you see it impacting the African community and beyond?
Attorney Ukwuani: I want to make it known first, that our candidate who won the Mayor of New York after we campaigned for him till he won, Mayor Eric Adams already Proclaimed Daylight Africa Week Day. Mayor Eric Adams Proclaimed September 2nd for Daylight Africa Week.
My vision for Daylight Africa Week like our team already started trips to African countries. We took people from New York, United States of America including some elected officials in New York to African countries to boost the African tourism economy as well. A lot of countries in Africa lacks that. We want to influence that through our Daylight Africa tourism trip. They assigned me to Nigeria because of my parents and they know that I can handle it. My vision is to take things like computers if I can get a lot of those to Nigeria to distribute to school students for learning. I also have a few high blood pressure machines donated by my brother Doctor Ricky. The high blood pressure machines are for the less privileged communities in Nigeria because high blood pressure is a killer. I had a program for some people coming to us to get their blood pressure checked out. A lot of them now know the importance of checking their blood pressure or visiting the hospital to make sure that they’re in good health. I gave out a lot of food items but besides food items, I love to empower people in Africa. I empowered a lot of girl-child in Nigeria by training them with my own money out of my pocket and after that, I gave them some money to start up their own small businesses out of my pocket as well. My foundation website is: www.princesseuniceukwuanifoundation.org
I collaborated with Daylight Africa Week with my foundation, Princess Eunice Ukwuani Foundation (PEUF).
The impact is to use our Daylight Africa Week tourism trip to empower people over there, influence and take more people from America to African countries for those who may want to invest over there. For example, I bought lands in both Abuja area and Enugu State area in Nigeria within 2 months after I visited Nigeria with my mom this year in 2025. I also built shops in Nigeria recently. When we take people to Africa with us, it will help the economy in Africa especially countries with no insecurity issues. We traveled at night from Senegal to Gambia when we visited Gambia and Senegal with our fellow New Yorkers without any problems. For example, here in America, we travel from New York to Washington DC by road without anyone jumping out from the bush. That is the beauty of a country to be able to travel by road without insecurity issues on the road.
Interviewer: As a diplomatic liaison, what’s been your experience working with senior leadership and top diplomats, and what advice would you offer to others looking to build similar connections?
Attorney Ukwuani: My core function is to facilitate clear, precise, and strategic communication between various high-level entities. Working with senior leadership and top diplomats emphasizes an environment where discretion, foresight, and clarity are paramount. The primary takeaway is that communication is rarely just about exchanging information; it is about managing perceptions, expectations, and relationships in pursuit of specific national or organizational objectives.
The most effective interactions I facilitate are built on anticipation and preparation. Senior leaders operate under immense time constraints. The liaison’s role is to anticipate their needs, prepare concise briefing materials that distill complex issues into actionable points, and be ready for highly dynamic scenarios. Precision and brevity are non-negotiable. The ability to communicate critical information clearly and quickly is essential. Ambiguity can have significant consequences in diplomacy. Cultivating trust through reliability in high-stakes environments is valuable currency. Consistent reliability and the ability to maintain confidentiality are the foundations of all successful top-level connections.
Here is the advice I would offer to others looking to build similar connections and thrive in high-level diplomatic environments:
Master the art of substantive preparation. Never enter a high-level interaction unprepared. Understand the leader’s mandate, the organizational goals, the political landscape, and the specific objectives of the meeting. Your value lies in providing them with the necessary information to make an informed decision quickly.
Prioritize discretion and integrity. Confidentiality is the bedrock of diplomatic trust. Demonstrating unwavering integrity and discretion is the fastest way to build credibility. Be a trustworthy conduit of information, never a source of leaks or gossip.
Cultivate emotional intelligence and situational awareness. Diplomacy is heavily reliant on understanding nuance, cultural contexts, and unspoken cues. Learn to read the room, understand non-verbal communication, and adapt your style to the personalities involved. Know when to speak up and, more importantly, when to listen.
Become a superb communicator. Focus on impactful communication. Eliminate jargon and get straight to the point without being blunt or disrespectful. Conciseness is a sign of respect for a senior leader’s limited time.
Be proactive, not just reactive. Anticipate potential friction points, emerging crises, or opportunities for cooperation. Offer solutions and context before you are asked. This demonstrates strategic thinking and makes you an indispensable resource rather than just an information broker.
Seek mentorship and observe. Identify respected professionals within the liaison or diplomatic corps and observe their interactions. Seek their guidance on navigating complex relationships and office politics.
Maintain objectivity. As a liaison, your role is often neutral. While you must advocate for your principal’s interests, maintain an objective perspective and provide balanced information, even if the news is unfavorable. Credibility is lost quickly when information is filtered or spun.
Building connections in these circles is a marathon of demonstrating professional competence, discretion, and strategic value. Success comes not from seeking a “seat at the table,” but from becoming essential to the operations that occur around the table.
Interviewer: How do you approach advocacy on legislative priorities, and what strategies do you employ to drive change?
Attorney Ukwuani: Approaching advocacy on legislative priorities typically involves a strategic, multi-phased approach that relies on building relationships, crafting compelling messages, and mobilizing support.
The process begins with research and message development by clearly identifying the specific legislative priority, its potential impact, and the desired outcome. Advocacy requires a strong evidence base, which involves collecting data, personal stories, and expert testimonies that illustrate the need for the proposed change. The evidence is then shaped into a clear, concise, and persuasive message tailored to different audiences including legislators, the public, and media.
Relationship building and direct lobbying are essential. Advocates pinpoint the specific legislators and their staff who have influence over the bill’s progress. This involves setting up meetings, calls, and written communication with officials to present the case directly, answer questions, and secure their support or commitment. Building alliances and coalitions with like-minded organizations and individuals amplify the message and provide a unified front, demonstrating broad support.
Grassroots and grasstops mobilization focus on mobilizing large numbers of constituents to contact their representatives through tactics like email campaigns, phone banks, social media drives, and local town halls, demonstrating that the issue matters to voters back home. Grasstops advocacy involves engaging influential community leaders, CEOs, or experts who can use their personal influence and credibility to persuade decision-makers.
Public awareness and media relations through earned media involves working with journalists to generate news coverage, opinion pieces, and editorials that inform the public and pressure legislators. When budget allows, paid advertising through TV, radio, digital, and print is used to shape public opinion and put further pressure on decision-makers.
Monitoring and tracking legislation is crucial. Advocates closely monitor the bill’s progress through committees, floor votes, and potential amendments. The process of legislative change is often slow, so successful advocacy requires ongoing engagement and consistent follow-up to ensure commitments are upheld and that efforts adapt to the evolving political landscape.
By employing these integrated strategies, advocates aim to influence public opinion, educate decision-makers, and ultimately drive legislative change.
Interviewer: What role do you see The Opializer Show playing in promoting advocacy and community engagement?
Attorney Ukwuani: The OPiALiZER Show is a platform for “change makers” to promote goals, inspire action and mobilize resources for goals of personal or public interest, thereby driving advocacy and community engagement.
The show is designed to foster advocacy and community engagement through agenda setting and public education. Guests of the show use the platform to set agenda, shape discourse and mold public opinion on diverse issues. This entails sensitizing, educating and enlightening humanity about goals that could lead to the attainment of sustainability.
Beyond raising awareness, a core objective is galvanizing action towards achieving goals. This involves translating ideas into live, actionable models and encouraging public support and involvement. The show provides a window for resource mobilization where guests can raise funds and other resources needed to achieve their goals, directly supporting community initiatives.
The initiative includes an “OPiALiZER Community” where users can network, meet like-minded individuals, and collaborate on shared goals, strengthening collective efforts. More information is available at https://opializers.com
The show allows entities to use their celebrations and anniversaries to promote varied goals and mobilize resources which helps to inspire others and build a culture of community involvement. You can find more at https://opializershow.com/celebration and https://opializershow.com/anniversary
The show is driven by enabling innovative tools including the OPiALiZER software, the OPiA Goals Model and Goals Sport, which are novel tools for setting agenda, modeling goals, designing, executing and actualizing community impact projects and engaging audiences in new ways through fitness and entertainment.
In essence, The OPiALiZER Show aims to move beyond traditional awareness campaigns by offering a dynamic, multi-faceted platform that combines media exposure, networking and innovative tools to inspire measurable change and support community efforts.
The platforms and rooms for our advocacy include Goals Lecture at https://opializershow.com/goals-lecture, Goals Interview at https://opializershow.com/goals-interview, Goals Challenge at https://opializershow.com/goals-challenge, and Voices for Goals at https://opializershow.com/voices-for-goals.
Interviewer: Can you share an example of a particularly challenging project or initiative you’ve worked on, and what you learned from the experience?
Attorney Ukwuani: My challenging project and initiative I have worked on is Daylight Africa Week initiative. After our candidate who won the Mayor of New York after we campaigned for him declared the Daylight Africa Week Initiative here in New York for September 2nd, they assigned Nigeria to me to visit and do the Daylight Africa Week activities there. I did it once before Nigeria became unmarketable for me. It became more difficult for me to market Nigeria. Even though I visited Nigeria with my mom, people in New York or other parts of the United States may not agree to visit Nigeria with me to go and see what they can invest in because of the insecurities like terrorists and kidnapping activities going on there. I don’t really know how to market Nigeria for now.
I learned to do more research before accepting a particular country. I accepted Nigeria because of my parents and the mother land or father land thing.
Interviewer: Let’s talk about your Realtor Business, can you share your experience and the various services you offer?
Attorney Ukwuani: For my Property Rialto Business, Real Estate Through Property Rialto, we offer sustainable real estate solutions and online marketplace for all realtors, investors, property managers, property lawyers, landowners, homeowners, and tenants. I hired a digital marketer who is helping with the business and sharing videos and flyers on our social media platforms. From my experience so far, people are contacting us with any questions they may have after they see our advertisement videos and flyers online. It’s a great experience having your own business and building the website.
We also offer ICT and Digital Marketing. Green World Technologies, a subsidiary of Green World Business Holdings, offers services in the areas of web and app design, webmastering, technical support, and digital marketing.
We offer Agriculture and Food Security. This is one of the key service areas GWBH offers. We help in setting up and managing vertical and urban farming business operation, and offer large scale mechanized farming system within the United States and around the globe, especially Africa.
Interviewer: What advice would you offer to young professionals looking to make a difference in their communities and pursue a career in advocacy?
Attorney Ukwuani: My first advice to them is to have patience in everything they do in life or else, they’ll leave that thing to try something else. Be consistent in that particular thing if they want to achieve. Secondly, to make a difference in your community and pursue a career in advocacy, the best advice for young professionals is to gain hands-on experience through volunteering, build strong relationships, and focus on developing key skills like communication, problem-solving, and strategic planning. I did the same thing and even till now, I still volunteer for people especially politicians because that’s how they see you and know what you can do.
For building a career in advocacy, gain hands-on experience. Volunteering is often the first step and provides practical learning and a chance to build a track record with non-profits. Look for volunteer opportunities with local organizations, food banks, shelters, or youth programs.
Build your network. Networking and relationship-building are essential in advocacy. Attend industry gatherings, join professional groups and seek out mentors who can provide guidance and open doors to opportunities. I did it myself already and am still doing it. I built my network and am still building it.
Develop key skills. Focus on developing soft and hard skills critical for the field, including active listening, conflict resolution, public speaking, grant writing, social media management, and data analysis.
Pursue relevant education. While not always required, a bachelor’s or master’s degree in fields like social work, community development, or public health can enhance your expertise and career progression.
Stay informed and curious. The landscape of community issues and policies is constantly evolving. Continuously learn about the issues you care about by attending workshops, reading books, and following news from reliable sources like The City for local issues.
For making a difference in your community, start locally. Engage in civic activities by attending public forums, town halls, or local school board meetings. Consider applying for a city board or commission to bring fresh ideas.
Amplify others’ voices. Rather than trying to give a voice to the voiceless, focus on amplifying the voices of those who are most impacted by the issues and may not be represented at the decision-making table.
Use your professional skills. Offer your specific expertise such as marketing, accounting, or graphic design to support non-profits or community initiatives through skills-based volunteering.
Engage with elected officials. Contact your representatives, organize email-writing campaigns, or request meetings with officials to discuss the issues you care about.
Practice self-care and prioritize. Advocacy work can lead to burnout. Focus on one to three key issues to start, set clear boundaries between work and personal life, and practice self-care to maintain your well-being.
