Engr. Ebele Okeke, the First female Civil Engineer in Nigeria and the First female Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, graduated from the University of Southampton, England with BSc. Hons. in Civil Engineering.
She holds an MBA from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and an Honorary Doctorate degree in Technology Management by the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria.

She began her career as a Public Health Engineer with Sanford Fawcett Wilton and Bell, Consulting Engineers, London. In Nigeria she worked as Highways and Transportation Engineer with Obiukwu Okeke Associates and Gifford and Tolefe Consulting Engineers, before joining the Federal Civil Service of Nigeria. She became Deputy Director Water Supply in Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Director Rural Development in Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

On retirement she was appointed the Water and Sanitation (WASH) Ambassador, by the Water and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Geneva, 2010