Agnes Zani was born in Mombasa though she lived in Golini, Kwale County, in her early years where she attended her education.
Dr Zani, born to renown educationists Zacharia and Teresa Zani, is the second-born daughter in a family of three children.
In 2013, she ran in the senatorial race with a clear motivation to steer forward the county which had been marginalised since Independence.
Her aim was to enhance education and development alongside other spheres of life in the Coast counties.
She attended Star of the Sea Primary school and a secondary School in Mombasa until she got to Form Three. She later transferred to Moi High School Nairobi after her father who was a commissioner with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was transferred to the City.
Dr Zani later pursued her A-levels at the same school after which she proceeded to The University of Nairobi in 1987 to pursue Bachelors of Arts in Sociology and Philosophy in the first year but later majored in Sociology.
She later enrolled for a Masters Programme in the same institution and graduated in 1993.
After lecturing for about nine years, Zani advanced her studies by joining Oxford University in the United Kingdom for a PHD in Sociology courtesy of a scholarship from the Ford Foundation.
“I came back and joined the University of Nairobi’s Sociology department in 2008 and worked until my nomination into the Senate in 2013,” said Zani.
The former University of Nairobi’s Sociology lecturer is well versed with the real meaning of marginalisation having lived in Kwale, which she says is highly neglected.
She was nominated as the senator for Kwale, a county which is among the country's poorest counties with high marginalisation levels.
“The Coastal region is still underdeveloped and the sole solution of bringing a change is to empower the locals, especially the women, through education,” said Zani.
The senator said she also aims to tackle backward cultural practices like early marriage, gender imbalance and violence against women.
“While I was growing up, I did not see my father discriminate against women or girls and that taught me to treat people equally. He was just different from most men out there,” she said.
Her political career grew as she continued to address the plight of her people. She got involved in community projects and gender issues to improve her people’s lives which increased her nomination chances.
In 2014, she competed with Budalangi lawmaker Ababu Namwamba for the Secretary General post in an abortive election which saw her become Namwamba's interim deputy.
However, Dr Zani was appointed the party's secretary general after Namwamba ditched ODM and resigned from his SG post to form the Third Force Alliance,.
She advised youth and women to “Never let opportunities that come your way slip away; instead make the best out of such opportunities because they might never come again. After all you do not know where your capabilities will take you,” she said.