Class 21

Yuleidy has over six years of experience in nonprofit, health-related communication, journalism and marketing. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the Catholic University Saint Antony (Murcia, Spain) and a Master in Media and Communication from City University London (London, UK). Merida Gonzalez’s former job was at the National Centre for Sexual Education in Cuba, where she became Head of the Communication and Public Relations Department after 8 months working as a Communication and Marketing Manager – Senior Specialist. During that time, she was in charge of the communication, external relations and editorial teams. Her previous professional experience also includes working as a science journalist for almost 2 years and as a communication and marketing specialist for over 3 years at a nonprofit clinical research organization. Yuleidy Mérida González is mainly interested in public health, gender equality, sexual and human rights, politics and democracy.

Host Organization: International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region

 Role at Host Organization: Yuleidy will be making institutional data processes more efficient and improving data quality. She will be making data more accessible through visualization to support organizational learning, decision-making, and strategy development with the ultimate goal of improving access to sexual and reproductive health services. In addition, she will support the planning, implementation and follow up of a conference related to NGO-academic collaboration conducting research on topics of sexual and reproductive health in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Umer has served for over 8 years in the humanitarian sector in a very progressive manner, dedicated to moving up the ladder with each passing year. He has been working in this sector since 2006 with national and international organizations such as; WHO, UNHCR, USAID, World Bank Funded Southern Areas Development Project, Provincial Disaster Management Authority and Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS). He has earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Kohat University of Science and Technology, Pakistan and another Master’s degree in Project Management from Abasyn University Peshawar, Pakistan. In his current role as a Provincial Campaign Control Room Officer for the World Health Organization (WHO) Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI), he has gained extensive experience in working with communities and partner organizations. He has monitored polio campaign activities in the field, analyzed data, and generated reports at a provincial level. Umer received a certificate of recognition from the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) for his vital role in the program. Previously, he worked as a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer with the World Bank funded Southern Areas Development Project aimed at supporting the recovery and rehabilitation needs of people in the Southern districts of Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa province in Pakistan. Umer has also worked in various positions in the sector of infrastructure development, relief activities, and with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Refugees. He loves focusing on the areas of research, poverty/homeliness, economic development, peace/conflict resolution, public/community health, refugee/humanitarian relief, data analysis and monitoring and evaluation.

Host Organization: InterAction

 Role at Host Organization: Umer will play an instrumental part in InterAction’s 2016 Self-Certification- Plus process, during which the 190 members self-certify their compliance with our Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) Standards. He will be the main line of communication between InterAction and the member organizations during the submission and review process. He will also provide assistance with the analysis of the data that comes in.

Umair has nine years of experience in journalism, and earned a Master’s Degree in International Relations from University of Karachi, Pakistan and Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan. Being a career journalist he has worked in print, electronic and online media and has vast experience in news reporting, editing, script writing, researching, interviewing and broadcasting. He has been working for Voice of America (Urdu Service) as an Assistant Editor/Reporter since 2010 where he contributes to and oversees content development and editorial work for different platforms including Radio, TV and Web. He received VoA’s Annual Award for Outstanding Contribution in 2012. Previously, Umair worked as Copy Editor-Web at ARY NEWS, one of the leading news channels in Pakistan; as Staff Reporter at Daily Business Recorder, the most reputable financial daily in Pakistan; and as Staff Reporter at Pakistan Press International, Pakistan’s largest news agency. He has extensively covered international relations, politics, culture, terrorism, conflicts, and government affairs in his career and has written hundreds of original news stories, features, and TV and radio scripts. He has interviewed many foreign and Pakistani dignitaries and celebrities; and developed content and coverage plans for various newsworthy events, occasions and incidents. He is currently enrolled in the Master of Philosophy for European Studies program at Area Study Centre for Europe (ASCE), University of Karachi, Pakistan, and briefly served the Centre as Research Associate before arriving the U.S.

Host Organization: Voice of America

 Role at Host Organization: Umair will learn about the VOA, its unique news gathering and broadcasting operations around the world. He will gain experience in new production and broadcasting techniques, U.S. journalism, and its code of journalistic ethics. He will participate in producing multimedia reports and programs, and he will write and edit scripts and conduct interviews.

Sunha has more than three years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Myongji University in Seoul, South Korea. She is currently pursuing her MA in the Distribution Industry in Sejong University. Sunha worked at an international development NGO called the World Channel Sharing Foundation (WCSF) as a manager of the international cooperation team. She was sent to Cambodia to manage two charity schools from 2014 to 2015. As the Director of Cambodia Foreign Language School(CFLS), she managed the overall school system, including administration, finance, and cooperation with the headquarters in Korea in order to organize and implement a number of seminars and relief aid activities. She developed a new charity school and a community library, and also helped poor children in rural areas to be educated at the school. Previously, Sunha consistently participated in volunteer work in developing countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia while she was working in the for-profit sector. She was selected from Myongji University Volunteer Service Center to work at Workcamp in France through the International Workcamp Organization (IWO) in order to restore cultural heritage in 2008. Sunha is particularly interested in Children, Education, Project Management, and Gender Equality in third world countries. She is passionate about learning new things, and loves a new challenge.

Host Organization: World Vision

 Role at Host Organization: Sunha will be working on project management and research support to several early grade reading programs in a number of national offices. She will also support the build out of our Literacy Boost model in Uganda, Ghana, Malawi and Nepal and help
develop tools and resources that support improved teacher training, community action and reading assessment processes.

Qaisar is brought up and schooled from Lasbela Balochistan, and he has been active doing social and volunteer work since the age of nine, He is the founder and CEO of several initiatives including Welfare Association for New Generation (WANG), a Balochistan based NGO which struggles for fairer society through it’s different intervention with young people. He is also the Chairman of Chanan Development Association (CDA-Pakistan) one of Pakistan’s leading youth focused organizations, At 25, Qaisar’s work has already been recognized by organizations in his native Pakistan and globally. Qaisar recently launched MeriReport.com® which is a platform enabling voices from grassroots levels to reach the mainstream through participatory approaches. MeriReport.com® is an idea to centralizes the news that matters to local people in rural areas and areas where mainstream media has no direct outreach, to further democratize media.Qaisar is leading Youth Peer education network (Y-PEER Pakistan) as the national focal point In charge, Y-PEER is a youth peer education network initiated by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Its membership includes thousands of young people working in the area of Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health.Qaisar’s work runs the gamut – from grassroots development work to advocacy to policy, His development work includes community workshops and trainings in issues including: Leadership, Change, Conflict resolution, Civic Education, Countering Violence and Extremisms, citizenship, communication skills, , Social Media Activism, girls’ rights, sexual and reproductive health, human rights, social enterprise, micro-entrepreneurship, youth engagement, cross-cultural understanding and safe motherhood. His advocacy work has focused largely on these same issues, and working with agencies including USAID, UNFPA, Rutgers World Population Foundation, Do School Global and Soliya, In addition to his activism, Qaisar is a regular contributor to various local and national newspapers and he blogs at www.roonjha.com He has been recognized for his work by the British Council, as a Global Changemaker by British, as Global creative art winner by Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, and more.

Host Organization: Girl Rising

 Role at Host Organization: Qaisar will be involving in managing various Girl Rising campaigns. Girl Rising is in the initial stages of launching a Pakistan campaign and Qaisar will be crucial in this effort. This will include formative assessment of education issues in Pakistan, particularly as they relate to girls, engaging and managing partners across sectors and in general assisting in the development of the Pakistan campaign. In addition, he will also be working on multiple global campaigns.

Masooma has 6 years of experience in the non-profit sector with the United Nations (UN) in Pakistan. She has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Karachi, Pakistan. During her tenure with the UN, Masooma has worked with the World Food Programme as a Food Aid Monitor looking after the planning, implementation, and monitoring related to food assistance in emergencies (2010 floods in Pakistan) to recovery projects including Cash for Work, Food for Work, and Nutrition-specific interventions. Masooma has specific expertise in Cash and Voucher Programming and has also worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN as a Cash Working Group Coordinator. During this time she worked to promote efficient response analysis, implementation, and harmonization in cash and voucher projects during emergencies, early recovery, and social protection by bringing together humanitarian organisations and Government to the CWG coordination platform. Cash and vouchers are considered as ways to address basic needs and to protect and re-establish livelihoods, especially when the local market system is functioning during or post disasters.
Over the years, Masooma has been able to develop specific knowledge and skills in the Food Security and Livelihoods Sector, Coordination in Emergencies, and Cash and Voucher Programming. Masooma is passionate about playing an active role towards the betterment of society, continuously developing her knowledge and skills across the various Humanitarian and Development sectors, and applying them to support communities build resilience and sustainable livelihoods.

Host Organization: American Red Cross

 Role at Host Organization: Masooma will support the design and implementation of a new disaster preparedness and business continuity initiative, with the opportunity to leverage and enhance skills in disaster preparedness, knowledge management, data analysis, and stakeholder outreach. The primary aim of this initiative is to build disaster resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises, and in turn help make safer communities as the two continuously rely on one another.

Lina has three years of experience in the nonprofit sector working on public-private strategic alliances. She earned a Bachelor´s Degree in International Relations from the Rosario University, and a Specialization in International Cooperation and Development Projects. With a deep interest in the development field and corporate social responsibility, she worked to build alliances with companies and institutions to promote health, education, and economic development projects, and also worked on a fundraising plan. As a specialized professional in the international cooperation field, she contributed in the completion of strategies to achieve the NGO mission: Overcome Poverty in Latin America. Previously, Lina worked to promote the private sector’s contribution to the community in coordination with a IT recycling company that works for inclusion of the recyclers community, building bonds between them and big companies.After finishing college, Lina helped to create a NGO that promotes de volunteering programs and education projects for tribal communities in Amazonas, Colombia.

Host Organization: America Solidaria

 Role at Host Organization: Lina will support the Executive Director in activities related to raising funds and contributing to the sustainability of the organization. America Solidaria currently operates with a very small team and Lina will be key in making sure crucial fundraising and communications tasks are accomplished as the organization becomes more established in the U.S. She will be focusing on developing corporate partnerships, supporting grant-writing endeavors, and managing communications related to donor and partner cultivation and maintenance.

Anesu has 7 years of experience in technology for development in the nonprofit sector, and earned a Bachelor’s of Science Honors Degree in Computer Science from the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe. He is a young social purpose leader who believes that young people and technology play a critical role in development. Taking this passion forward, Anesu has been involved in a number of youth initiatives in Zimbabwe and around the world. He is a co-founder of Zimbabwe’s foremost internationally convened platform by young people, TheSpace Zimbabwe. He consulted for Wings Learning Centres, an edtech social entreprise in Kolkata and Bangalore in India, where he was responsible for digital marketing and partnerships. In 2015 he was awarded a scholarship to be an IDEX global fellow in India. He worked for Janaagraha Center for Citizenship and Democracy as a Product Associate where he coordinated and managed I Paid a Bribe International (IPAB), an online tool which seeks to expose and understand retail corruption by capturing data through crowdsourcing. He managed to expand IPAB’s operations to more than 10 countries worldwide including Serbia, Sierra Leon and Egypt. In 2014 he was selected to represent Opportunties for Zimbabweans at the International Youth Forum Seliger in Russia where he was responsible for reporting and addressing the key social critical issues affecting young Zimbabweans. He has also done a lot of volunteering work in marginalized societies in Zimbabwe, helping young talented people to get access to global resources and opportunities. Apart from bringing along the experience of having worked in developing countries and understanding their needs, Anesu is also a skilled web applications developer as well as a social media analyst. His skills also include public speaking, youth engagement and mentoring.

Host Organization: Atlas Corps | American Express

 Role at Host Organization: Anesu will support the overall strengthening of leadership development in the nonprofit sector by helping to expand the American Express Leadership Academy franchise. Building on the American Express role in supporting best-in-class leadership practices and capacity building, he will coordinate and grow the alumni network; manage and coordinate the global Alumni Summit, help develop and improve communication and dissemination of best practices and provide overall project support for the American Express Leadership website.

Duha is a global changemaker with four years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She earned a bachelor’s degree in NGO Management from The National Ribat University in Khartoum. Duha seeks to create a positive impact both locally and globally and she is especially passionate in the field of education, youth development and empowerment because she believes that education is the most important tool of positive change, and that youth hold immense potentials which need to be tapped into to achieve prosperity within nations. Duha has volunteered in various community-based organizations working with different target groups inside Khartoum and in the rural areas of Sudan. She was also the communication assistant for RedR UK, and her latest accomplishment was serving for a year as a community development officer for Science Of Life Studies 24/7 (SOLS 24/7), an organization based in southeast Asia, proving high quality education and life skills for underprivileged communities.

 Host Organization: DC Scores

 Role at Host Organization: As a development fellow, Duha will add much-needed capacity to the small development team. She will be a significant contributor to our being able to both respond to the unique challenges and leverage the unique opportunities of this critical moment in DC Scores’ history.

Douglas is a communications and development professional with two years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He has a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and a Bachelor’s in English Language from Lagos State University. Douglas also has journalism certifications from Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, NORAD/Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa and the School of Media and Communications, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria. While working with Mara Foundation’s youth development and entrepreneurship focused program, Mara Mentor, Douglas was at the forefront of stakeholder engagement. He leveraged support from public, private and nonprofit decision-makers to influence policy to focus on capacity development for young Nigerians as a tool to mitigate unemployment, stimulate job creation, and spark development in local communities. In his role as Communications Manager, Douglas sourced and managed partnerships with stakeholders in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He also oversaw media relations and the communications needs of the program. Douglas worked closely with the Country Manager in developing relationships with decision makers in government and provided communications support for the organisation’s development strategy, while working with business leaders and top professionals to mentor young, aspiring entrepreneurs in their local communities. Through his experience in the non-profit sector, Douglas has developed strong government relations, policy, and advocacy skills. He has also consolidated his capacity to manage development communication. Douglas is particularly passionate about youth empowerment and education. He has also worked as a Global Youth Ambassador for Education in Nigeria with A World at School, and is a strong advocate of using the media to drive social change projects.

Host Organization:  Restless Development

 Role at Host Organization: Douglas will add capacity to continue leading the strategic growth of the US hub, which launched 4 years ago in New York, including helping to deliver on existing new projects and helping branch out in new areas. Specific areas Douglas will work on include: communications for general and targeted audiences, project management of a new corporate pro bono partnership, and research and coordination for expanding work on girls empowerment and gender equality.

Brenda Hali has five years of experience in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. During these years she has had the opportunity to serve and work in marketing, sales, product development, internal communication, social projects management and the organization of international conferences and summits, all in different countries across Latin America. She earned a Bachelor´s Degree in Business Trades from the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico. Brenda Hali most recently worked as Chief Marketing Officer in the NGO AIESEC in Panama. With her team, she organized more than three hundred international volunteer and professional experiences, facilitating a network of one hundred youth leaders. She also created and replicated in Panamanian universities a forum called “Youth Competitiveness in a Multicultural Country” to create awareness about the social situation in the country. Through her experiences, Brenda Hali has developed strong multi-cultural teamwork, project management, volunteers management, facilitation, startups development consulting and mentoring skills. Brenda Hali feels ownership over the second big problem in Latin America: Education. She believes that good youth leadership and social entrepreneurship can make a difference in her region.

Host Organization: Meridian International Center

 Role at Host Organization: As a communications coordinator, Brenda Hali will recruit and place Fellows in fellowships. She will coordinate site visits, cultural and volunteer activities, and speaking engagements that will provide opportunities to apply skills. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of the public, private and diplomatic sectors, Meridian’s broad network will support Summit and Fellowship components.

Arrey Tambe Tabot has seven years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Buea in Cameroon, and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja in Nigeria. He is currently finishing his PhD in Computer Science at the same University where he was an African Development Bank scholar. In 2014, he founded the EduTeens Science Development Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Nigeria whose work is focused on improving student achievement, teacher effectiveness and overall school quality through the implementation of technology-led initiatives. Prior to this, he was the Deputy Head of Department for Computer Science at the Nigerian Turkish Nile University where he served in volunteer roles as Android Student Club Facilitator, Google Computer Science First Advocate and capped it all by winning the highly competitive Google Computer Science for High Schools grant (one of the only four African Universities that won it globally that year). He was also a member of a 4-man team that participated at the first African Grand Challenge in Arusha, Tanzania where they presented their idea to combat maternal sepsis through a Personal Interactive Voice Response System that makes use of mobile phones, Radio Frequency Identification and Voice Commands. The same project was profiled by the AFP amongst the top innovative startups to emerge from Africa’s premiere Science Forum during the Innovation Challenge at the Next Einstein Forum in Dakar, and featured on Yahoo News. He was a former Google Student Ambassador, and now serves as an Ambassador for the Next Einstein Forum, and an Ambassador for Global Education at A World at School. Through these varied experiences, he has developed strong project supervision, program evaluation, grant writing and budget management skills. His interests lie in education, technology, youth development, and social entrepreneurship.

Host Organization:  Affinis Labs

 Role at Host Organization: Tabot will apply his skill set to develop for iPhone and Android applications based on the innovations that emerge from Affinis Labs. He will design and build mobile applications based on initial designs from Affinis Labs hackathons, he will interface with app development consultants, and build web platforms for Affinis Labs that can be used to organize, run, and publicize hackathons.