2008 Fellowship Outcomes & Program Summaries
Chak Hee Ahn |
Chief Anchor and Manager …will apply strategies she observed on her team diversity visit to try to open the culture of her newsroom to different approaches to core issues, especially those of young reporters. She will also incorporate expert assessments, including some provided by her fellow MNP Fellows, into her programming. |
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Dr. Khalid Al-Ruwaihi |
Dean, College of Information Technology …will collaborate with a number of leading institutes, including the Keck Graduate Institute, Rose-Hulmon Institute of Technology, Harvard University, UC-Berkeley, and Microsoft. In addition, a delegation from MBIA has already visited Bahrain to explore business opportunities in the region and will return again in October. |
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Dr. Suaad Al-Harthi |
Assistant Professor, Consultant, and Dean of Female Community Colleges in Saudi Arabia …is collaborating with Microsoft to publish articles in Arabic and English about the dramatic changes taking place in higher education. In addition, she has been invited to participate in an international conference being organized by several U.S. institutions of higher education. |
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Irina Anghel |
Private Equity Lawyer & Law Professor …will work with US universities, NGOs and private equity funds to support entrepreneurial activity in Romania. Is organizing Global Entrepreneurship Week - Unleashing Ideas, the first-ever of its kind in Romania. Utilizing information gathered during her visits to business schools and law schools to design negotiation courses to be included in the curricula of Romanian MBA programs. Finally, is planning to invite US professors and attorneys to speak at events organized in Central and Eastern Europe by the International Association of Young Lawyers. |
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Deema Bibi |
CEO …is exploring the possibility of developing cooperative education programs for university students similar to those she observed at Drexel and Northeastern Universities. INJAZ will also be nominating students for the Global Fellowship Program of the International Youth Foundation in Baltimore, and is collaborating with Vital Voices of Washington DC in organizing a regional conference to be held in Jordan in 2009. |
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Dr. Chen Yulu |
Vice President & Professor …has completed a report on the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and submitted it to the China Monetary Policy Committee. He is also promoting the establishment of a Princeton - Renmin Center for Economics and Finance. Finally, is organizing an international conference on China’s “New Countryside Development” in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University. |
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John Della Volpe |
Director of Polling, Institute of Politics ….will advise Korean Internet companies about U.S. market and business opportunities, consult with U.S. and Korean elected officials and NGO leaders on best practices for government and campaigning 2.0. Will extend Harvard youth research of U.S. population to Korea with collaboration with Seoul National University. |
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Nia Dinata |
Writer, Director, Producer …anticipates future collaborative with the Global Film Initiative. Is considering writing a screenplay about the Indonesian immigrant community in Philadelphia and how they are striving to achieve the “American Dream”. Will promote the establishment of a robust NGO sector devoted to educating about and preserving film in Indonesia. |
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Christian Garcés Aljure |
Member …will strengthen the Public Policy program of ICESI University by establishing institutional relationships with think tanks such as the Center for Hemispheric Policy; North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research; Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness at Duke University; and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington DC. He will also develop a school meals program for students of low-income families in his region and intends to help re-invigorate the network of Eisenhower alumni Fellows in Colombia. |
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C.V. Madhukar |
Founder and Director …will initiate a “policy dialogue series” for state legislators across the country with the goal of reaching 1000 state legislators over the next 5 years. He will also set up a resource center to provide research support for state legislators on key policy issues. Finally, he intends to establish a national association of state legislators to act as a platform for peer contact and learning amongst state legislators across India. |
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Iyad Masrouji |
Vice President …will reformulate the strategy of his company before the end of 2008 to introduce better practices in the area of HR management. Also plans to establish a biotech initiative in the Middle East and invest more in research. He will use the North Carolina Research Triangle approach lead by the NC Biotechnology Center as a successful example to follow for the development of the Palestinian pharmaceutical industry. |
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David McConnell |
Managing Director …key goal for his business is becoming world-class in customer service and project planning, which will require investment in people and technology and a cultural shift. Via the Visitor Economy project will work with local government to develop a long term investment plan to meet the "Bringing the World to Auckland" objectives, including funding an international Convention and Exhibition Center. |
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Dr. Miriam Meckel |
Professor and Managing Director …developed an idea for a new book which was nurtured by conversations and experiences during her fellowship. It will be about openness and privacy and how we can enter the communication networks of the internet age without fear of living in a “surveillance society.” She will also start a website along the lines of what the Huffington Post offers in the US and will combine it with some quarterly printed editions on specific issues. |
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Albert Mitchell |
Vice President & General Auditor … has connected the Kudung Community Communal Property group, a Soweto based organization who has received land, with Monsanto’s Johannesburg Marketing and Sales Manager, who is responsible for programs aimed at assisting small landholders and emerging farmers, will collaborate with the President of Monsanto’s philanthropic arm to obtain additional funding in support of training initiatives to assist the beneficiaries of the land reform policies, similar to the Buhle Farmer’s Academy. Plans to join Mentor St. Louis organization and hopes to collaborate with others in St. Louis to address the issues facing the St. Louis Public School System. |
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Antonia Mochan |
Head of Media …introduced Columbia University faculty to the work the EC is doing in support of energy-related social science research; proposed the holding of an event in US showcasing European advances in energy technologies, perhaps to be held with Columbia. Started a blog to give a “human face” to the Commission and provide a forum for debate (euonym.wordpress.com). She is writing a proposal for the European Science and Research Commissioner and his staff with her thoughts on replicating the AAAS fellowship scheme to involve scientists in public policy. Maintains Yahoo! Group for MNP 2008 Fellows. |
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Omar Mustapha |
Managing Principal and Director ...will promote a national dialogue among political parties, academics, and NGOs on constitutional and electoral reform to address increasing ethnic, religious, regional and economic diversity. He will encourage greater participation by his firm’s leadership and employees in voluntary associations and pro-bono consulting efforts to instil a sense of “greater purpose” in their daily lives. Finally,will accelerate his private equity firm’s collaboration with their US investors and partners. |
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Rajeev Narayan |
Associate Director …will help to facilitate a visit of faculty from Brazilian Universities including UNICAMP, UFRJ, USP and UFSCAR to NC State University and the Golden Leaf Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) in an effort to promote interdisciplinary collaboration between faculty at Brazilian universities and NC State University. |
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Gil Pereg |
Principal …is working to arrange, along with his fellow MNP Fellows from the Middle East, a professional development conference for educators from their region to be held in Turkey in the spring of 2009 and to be sponsored by the EF. The conference will focus on professional topics such as: integrating technology into schools, budgeting, and management and leadership skills. |
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Stephanie Pope |
Director of Finance …having built strong connections with Irish alumni, plans to organize St. Louis alumni and has already started planning for Eisenhower Day of Fellowship on October 14. Also plans to engage with St. Louis University and some key members of the METS program to pursue establishing a pilot program like the Step Up Program in Londonderry, focusing on increasing 12 – 14 year olds’ interest in science. |
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Dr. Nafeesur Rahman |
Director …has invited Very Special Arts of PA, a disability project in Philadelphia, to the National Disability Fair in Dhaka in December. Will liaise with the Harvard Disability Project In drafting new national legislation on disability in compliance with the UN Disability convention. Also, with the support of the UN, intends to host an expert group consultation at Dhaka in the second half of 2009 to promote a SAARC Disability Fund and cross-border exchange of ideas. |
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Peter Rohonyi |
Campaign Manager – Energy and Climate ...has already sent names of contacts to U.S. leaders in renewable business he met on his fellowship, and shared with them Greenpeace’s Energy Revolution reports. Will also collaborate with UNDP and UNEP personnel involved in environmental issues. |
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Jackie Saettone |
Managing Director, Stromboli s.r.l. …is raising consciousness about the importance of innovation and intangibles at a country and company level. Also creating value through innovation and other intangibles. |
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Nona Sonjani |
CFO …will encourage the use of retired professionals to mentor others in developing entrepreneurial skills. Will also continue to work with the “Men Stopping Violence Because We Have Daughters” program for curbing violence against women and children in South Africa. She will also work with KMJ Group while they are setting up a facility in East London, Eastern Cape, where she originated. KMJ will be using the upcoming ABASA conference in August to come up with concrete joint NABA/ABASA programs aimed at addressing the issue of advancing black accountants. |
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Dr. Somkiat Tangkitvanich |
Research Director …is setting up a voluntary program to audit NGOs and disseminate information to potential donors and the public. Will also set up a training and advisory institute for NGOs; create an internet platform and contractual infrastructures for exchanging radio programs; set up a unit to analyze budget bills for members of parliament, media and the general public; and conduct research and organize international seminars utilizing connections with US scholars. |
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Dr. Samuel Thenya |
CEO …starting construction of the new Women’s Wellness campus with support from the James Jordan Foundation amongst other contacts he made while in the U.S. Working with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dr. Paula Johnson at the Center for Excellence in Women’s Health on training and research in gender-based violence, with a plan for her to visit Kenya. Finally, plans to set up exchange programs for students, residents and consultants at the new Wellness Center in Nairobi; participating institutions include Morehouse School of Medicine, UCLA, and Bryn Mawr College. |
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Dr. Bolormaa Tumendemberel |
Head, International Cooperation Department …hopes to establish a connection between Mongolian and American health institutions and individual professionals. Also plans to mobilize the EF Alumni Fellows in Mongolia to get organized around establishing an EF alumni association to synergise efforts for the prosperity of the country and around the world. |
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Hassan Usman |
Managing Director/CEO ...plans to develop a working paper on accelerating the development of the housing finance sector in Nigeria. Now that his firm, ASO Savings and Loans, has issued it’s IPO he will work to streamline and ensure effective operations. |
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| Zuzana Wienk SLOVAKIA |
Executive Director …will institute strategic reforms in the next two years at Fair Play Alliance to ensure stability and sustainability for its mission, work and capacity. She will use the knowledge gained during her fellowship experience to push through a reform of political culture in Slovakia. She will seek ways to cooperate with prestigious journalism schools from the USA to establish exchange of faculty and students and enhance professional standards of Slovak journalists. |
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