Dr. Rikiatu Husseini is a motivated Senior lecturer in the Department of Forestry and Forest Resources Management. She attained a PhD in Development Studies with a focus in social forestry from the University of Cape coast at Cape coast, Ghana. She has about 18 years of professional working experience in Ghana at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale, since 2004. Prior to that, she had served in the same University as a Teaching assistant (National Service) and as a Senior Research Assistant (1999 to 2004). Her previous studies include BSc. Agricultural technology at UDS (1998) and MSc. in Wood Technology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana (2002).

Her career objectives include improving community-based forest management and assessment of forestry-dependent livelihoods for sustainable Savannah woodland vegetation and development of rural communities. Her current areas of research include Social Forestry, Agro-forestry, and Natural Resource Management and Conservation with emphasis on forest reserves and other protected areas. Dr. Husseini has had some research collaborations in teams with ICRA, CIRCLE and WIENCO Ghana Limited. She is currently the Head of Department of Forestry and Forest Resources Management in the faculty of Natural Resources and Environment of the UDS.

 Dr. Rikiatu Husseini who is currently the Head of Department of Forestry and Forest Resources Management at the FNRE, stands for resilience, honesty and accountability in collaborations and team works.

As a lecturer and an academic counsellor, she communicates to impart knowledge, to persuade towards building consensus and to inspire generations.