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News Archive: April, May, and June 2008

Item Posted: June 11, 2008

First-Ever Distinguished Alumnus Award Presented to Fellows of Ireland

The First Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to The Eisenhower Fellows of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland on Thursday, May 15, at EF's Annual Meeting Day. The award was bestowed in recognition of the contributions made toward the Irish peace process and for the sustained efforts by Irish Fellows to engage in further dialogue, collaboration and understanding between and among Fellows across the North-South border. Their successes in building true friendships and trust among those from different backgrounds epitomize the goals President Eisenhower foresaw for the program at its inception, and serve as a model for Fellows around the world.

Sir Brian Kerr, MNP 1999, came to the U.S. to study politics and law. In the nine years since he’s returned, he’s had much time to reflect: “The lively and vigorous society of Irish Fellows, from both parts of our small island and the regular exchanges that we enjoy have ensured that understanding and collaboration throughout our country have been fostered and consolidated. I like to believe that, in our modest way, the Eisenhower Fellows of Ireland have made their own unique contribution to the promotion of peace in Ireland. All who have participated in these fellowships from whatever part of the world share a special and enduring sense of privilege that none of us will ever forget.”

Item Posted: June 4, 2008

EF Chairman Colin Powell Presents Eisenhower Medal to Senator George J. Mitchell

At EF's Annual Day, Eisenhower Fellowships Chairman General Colin L. Powell, USA (Retired) presented former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service.

In 1996, the governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland asked Senator Mitchell to chair the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. The Senator led the negotiations for two years, work that ultimately resulted in the historic Good Friday Accord that ended decades of conflict. In addition, Senator Mitchell has served as chairman of the Special Commission investigating allegations of impropriety in the bidding process for the Olympic Games, the National Health Care Commission, and an international fact finding commission on violence in the Middle East.

In response to receiving the award, Mitchell spoke highly of President Eisenhower. “He recognized early the importance, even the necessity, of international cooperation in the search for peace and stability. In the twentieth century democracy faced three challenges to its existence: depression, fascism, and communism. Eisenhower knew that the signal event of that century was the ultimate triumph of democracy."

Item Posted: May 30, 2008

Ouro Preto Conference Recap Available Online

Read all about EF's Latin America regional conference, “Leadership for Development and Sustainable Growth: Facing the Challenges in Latin America,” held June 5-8 in Ouro Preto, Brazil.

Conference speakers included Eisenhower Fellows Conrado Etchebarne, ’62, Argentina; Rosa Maria Palacios, ’01, Peru; Elena Verdugo, ’01, Mexico; Martin Burt, ’94, Paraguay; and Silvia Bacher, '01, Argentina, among others.

The conference kicked off Eisenhower Fellowships' 2008 Latin America Regional Program, which will bring 23 emerging leaders from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay to the United States in September 2008. These Fellows participated in all aspects of the conference, as well as an orientation session to prepare them for their fellowship travels. Be sure to read all about the conference sessions and view photographs here!

Left to Right: Greg Goldman, Tim Boyle, Maitreyi Roy, Tine Hansen-Turton, Elizabeth Dow, Dan Castro, Loree Jones, Diane Melley, Christine Massey, Della Clark, and John Wolf.

Philadelphia Fellows Meet, Tour Flower Show

Philadelphia Fellows gathered March 6 for a meeting and backstage tour of the Philadelphia Flower Show. The tour was organized by Maitreyi Roy, ’07, USA, director of Philadelphia Green, of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

Diane Melley, ’02, head of the Philadelphia Fellows alumni association, discussed the calendar of events and various ways to engage Fellows with key players in Philadelphia and with the greater EF network. Also in attendance at the meeting were Dan Castro, ’01; Christine Massey, ’01; Della Clark, ’02; Greg Goldman, ’03; Tim Boyle, ’05; Tine Hansen-Turton, ’05; Loree Jones, ’07; and Rick Sauer, ’07. Also present was steering committee member Elizabeth Dow.

Brazil Fellows Gather to Meet 2008 LARP Fellows

Marcelo Knobel, ’07, Brazil, recently organized a reception at the “Darwin” exhibition in Rio de Janeiro to meet three of the future EF fellows from

Brazil

who will participate in the 2008 Latin America Regional Program. Those present included Knobel, Ana Carolina Letichevsky, ‘06; Felipe Augusto Dias, ‘08; Dafne Horovitz, ’08; and Luisa Medeiros Massarani, ’08.

Pictured at left: Brazil Fellows Felipe Augusto Dias, Luisa Medeiros Massarani, Brazilian Program Officer Heloisa, Ana Carolina Letichevsky, Marcelo Knobel, Dafne Horovitz, and Mrs. Horovitz's spouse.

	Director, Institute of International Security and Strategic Affairs Julio Hang, ‘88, Argentina, was appointed director of the Institute of International Security and Strategic Affairs (ISIAE), at the Argentine Council for International Relations, the well-known think tank of Argentina. Hang will maintain his position as corporate director at the UADE Business School – EDDE. Hang also recently authored a chapter titled “The Inter-American Security and the USA: A View from the South,” which was published in the book 2010 – An Agenda for the Region.		USA Fellow Named Fulbright Scholar John Sumansky, Ph.D., ’94, USA, director of the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurship Education, and chief information and planning officer at Misericordia University, was recently named a Fulbright Scholar to teach entrepreneurship and economics to students in the Republic of Macedonia beginning in September. The State University of Tetova in Macedonia will host Dr. Sumansky for four months.
	Speaker, Public Hearing on Climate Change Rubens Born, ’96, Brazil, will be speaking in Brussels in a public hearing of the European Parliament on Climate Change on March 26. Born coordinates projects on climate change as part of his position as executive director at Vitae Civilis.		Fellow Training Journalists in Iraq Robert Hooper, ’96, USA, is presently in Erbil, Iraq, to train television news reporters and editors for Kurdistan’s television stations. With support by the Kurdistan Regional Government and the U.S. Department of State, Hooper is conducting workshops on television news and current affairs programming to help strengthen democratic institutions, civil society, transparency and the rule of law. An award-winning television producer and international educator, Hooper works with media organizations and universities in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Laos. He is shown in the photo at left with some of his students.
	Fellow Blogs for Intel; Co-Authors Book Esther Baldwin, ’97, USA , is posting blogs for Intel, where she works as a research proliferation manager. You can read her first blog here. In addition, Baldwin recently co-authored a book titled Managing Information Technology Innovation for Business Value. The book was published by Intel Press.		Visiting Fellow, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford John E. Osborn, ‘98, USA , has accepted an appointment as a visiting fellow with the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford for the spring 2008 term, and will be associated with Wadham College Oxford. He will also serve as an advisor on life sciences regulatory and compliance matters to the international consulting firm McKinsey & Company, Inc. Osborn will retire from his position as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary at Cephalon, Inc., at the end of March.
	Faculty Director, Washington Center Stuart Brotman, ‘00, USA , has accepted a faculty director position with the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, an educational nonprofit organization serving hundreds of colleges and universities in the U.S. and other countries by providing selected students challenging opportunities to work and learn in Washington , D.C. for academic credit. Brotman, who is president of Stuart N. Brotman Communications, will oversee the special program for journalism and mass communication students.		Recipient, Take the Lead Award Diane Melley, ‘01, USA , has been chosen as a recipient of a "Take the Lead" award by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. The award honors outstanding role models for their courage, confidence, and character in making the world a better place. Melley is director of Corporate Community Relations, IBM Corporation.
	Recipient, Judge Learned Hand Award David Hyman, Esq., ’02, USA , has been honored with the prestigious 2008 Judge Learned Hand Award from the American Jewish Committee of Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey . Hyman received the award on March 12 in a ceremony at the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia . He is managing partner of the Philadelphia law firm Kleinbard Bell & Brecker LLP.		Fellow Defends Thesis Nicklas Lundblad, ’06, Sweden , defended his PhD thesis on Law in the Information Society in applied information technology. The thesis studies privacy, copyright and filtering technologies and their impact on society in an age of information abundance, and is the final step in a PhD in Applied Information Technology at the University of Gothenburg .
	Director for Air Quality, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Ramiro Barrios, ’07, Mexico , has accepted a position with Mexico ’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources as the director for air quality. He was previously a project leader with the Mario Molena Center for Strategic Studies on Energy and Environment.		Organizer, “Waste Pickers Without Frontiers” Conference Sonia Dias, ’07, Brazil , was one of the organizers (representing the Collaborative Working Group on Solid Waste Management) of the Third Latin America Congress and First World Conference “Waste Pickers Without Frontiers,” in Bogota , Colombia , which took place March 1-4. Thirty-eight countries were represented at the event, including India , which was represented by Arbind Singh, ’07. Singh and Dias, left and right, were both part of the 2007 Common Interest Program, which focused on urbanization.
	Fellow Leads Discussions in Iraq Tarek El-Shiekh, ’07, Egypt , recently led discussions with Key Iraqi officials on government housing strategies. He also led a team of experts in Erbil , Iraq , to prepare the Housing Strategy of Erbil, in addition to meeting with the Minister of Municipality, the Minister of Housing, and the Governor of Erbil. El-Shiekh is associate professor of housing for UN-HABITAT.		Keynote Address, Spelman College Loree Jones, ’07, USA , recently gave the Black History Month keynote address at her alma mater, Spelman College in Atlanta . Her lecture was titled “What is Africa to Me? One Woman’s Journey to Understanding Roots, Relevance, and Self.” Jones, who traveled to South Africa during her fellowship, said her lecture described “how the fellowship experience took me from learning about Africa to learning from Africa .”
	Organizer, Conference on Disability and Developmen Nafees Rahman, ’08, Bangladesh , organized the Asia & Pacific Disability Forum’s Third General Assembly and Conference, which took place February 27-29 in Dhaka . The theme was “Disability and Development: Practical Strategies.” Rahman, who is currently in the U.S. for his fellowship, is director of the National Forum of Organizations Working with the Disabled. The conference was organized in association with the Ministry of Social Welfare of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh .