Marni Oaten leads a global corporate services function across 37 countries. With a background in electrical engineering and business management, she has built a career in manufacturing, business consulting and engineering services. She also has created networking opportunities for women in professional services. While on fellowship she gained insights that will allow her to establish a solid business case for corporate community involvement in professional services organizations, especially in the engineering sector.

Follow Marni's fellowship travels here.

As a television host and producer specializing in current affairs, Shen Bing leads her team in producing video products which serve as training and reference materials for high ranking officials and civil servants. She used her fellowship experience to explore public relations mechanisms used by the private sector, government agencies, and the media in the United States, and also examined the impact of information technology on latest and best practices in communications and media.

Dong Qing oversees international education and leadership development for senior officials training at China’s Academy of Governance – China’s highest academic institution for training the bureaucracy. Prior to her appointment to the Academy, she served 20 years with the Ministry of Commerce, where her efforts focused on energy and foreign trade while China was joining the WTO, Ms. Dong used her fellowship to gain insight into how senior civil servants are trained in the U.S. and learn about policies and mechanisms for advancing women leaders.

A career member of the Indian Administrative Service, Ms. Radha has state-wide responsibilities in Andhra Pradesh for skills training programs for underprivileged youth looking to find jobs. During 15 years in the IAS, Ms. Radha has held a variety of district and state-wide leadership positions. While on her fellowship, she focused on public policy as it relates to issues that concern the underprivileged, with specific focus on women and the disabled.

Dr. Amita Athavale works in Mumbai as both an attending physician and as a clinical researcher, investigating cause and effect relationships between air pollution and respiratory illnesses. She is focused on the preventative aspects of respiratory health and during her fellowship, met with policy makers and researchers with the goal of establishing a global network to improve lung health.

As founder and senior attorney of Melli Darsa & Co. Law Offices, Ms. Darsa focuses on how law enforcement and interpretation of laws can promote Indonesia’s economic and social development and create a more prosperous society. Ms. Darsa used her fellowship to meet with legal professionals and institutions to learn best practices for empowering Indonesian institutions of law and instilling leadership among Indonesian legal professionals.

Svida Alisjahbana leads the Femina Group, Indonesia’s largest multimedia publisher of lifestyle magazines with 14 titles in edutainment and lifestyle. On fellowship, she studied the changing landscape of print media and the role played by social media and new technologies in shaping the future of multimedia publications. She also explored the fashion industry to learn best methods for bringing Indonesian fashion to the world.

Building on over a decade in community activism, in 2001, Salome Mbugua founded AkiDwA (Swahili for sisterhood), a minority ethnic-led network of African and migrant women living in Ireland. Ms. Mbugua utilized her fellowship to gain organizational leadership skills and increase her effectiveness as a leader advocating for the rights and welfare of immigrants and other vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.

Ludovica Rizzotti is responsible for economic policy analysis in the Department for Planning and Coordination of Economic Policy in the Prime Minister’s Office. She supports the activities of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Economic Policy, particularly with respect to public investment, and coordinates activities among institutions. On her fellowship, she studied economic policy making; coordination and implementation at the federal, state and local levels; and government interaction with the private sector, think tanks and academia.

As a manager at one of the world’s largest professional service and auditing firms, Florence Gatome has a keen interest in the links between the current global financial crisis and the role of accountability and transparency. With 10 years of experience as an accountant, she understands the importance of analyzing and effectively utilizing financial data. While on fellowship she examined measures being taken to avoid future financial crises with a focus on accountability and transparency.

At Plan International, Hellen Tombo has responsibility for children’s rights policy and advocacy in 12 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. She viewed her fellowship as a unique opportunity to share experiences and collaborate with others interested in the rights of children and women; governance and leadership; and politics and international policy. She also examinde youth unemployment rates, economic disparities, and programs that focus on youth and women as drivers of economic development.

Martha Rivera Pesquera is Secretary General of IPADE Business School, which is ranked among the world’s top business schools, and also serves as Professor and Head of the Marketing Department. In addition, she is President of the Board of Directors of the Research Center for Women in Top Management. She used her fellowship to focus on best practices in the development and operation of research centers, collaborative research initiatives, and women’s leadership programs.

After a decade with the Institute for Strategic Studies of Mongolia, Migeddorg Batchimeg was appointed to her current position advising the President on national security issues and working closely with the National Security Council to ensure coordination among relevant public agencies. While on her fellowship, she gained insights to U.S. defense and foreign policy, discuss and explore U.S.- China and U.S.-Russia relations, and advance U.S.-Mongolia bilateral
relations.

Elected to Parliament in 2005, Paula Bennett was appointed a Minister of the Crown in 2008 and administers a $20 billion annual budget delivering services to over 1.1 million people. Of Maori descent, she has a particular interest in the rights and needs of marginalized and impoverished communities. While on her fellowship she meeet with leaders and organizations on the cutting edge of thinking and practical implementation of public private partnerships in social service delivery.

Lourda Geoghegan, MD, MPH, PhD, oversees surveillance and prevention strategies to reduce healthcare associated infections in Northern Ireland. On her fellowship she explored healthcare policy development and implementation, as well as leadership and change management in the public sector, to advance her efforts to effect sustainable improvement in the health status of people and communities.

Responsible for building and managing human capital as well as growing her public relations business, Salaina Haroon is an entrepreneur who advises leading corporations on ways to introduce innovation and creativity into their corporate cultures. She used her fellowship to examine ways in which American companies leverage public relations, focusing on the use of latest technologies and mechanisms to support small and medium enterprises.

Manori Gunawardena is responsible for developing a comprehensive, long-term plan of conservation management for Asian elephants in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. She has a particular interest in poverty alleviation, effective land-use, and strategies to ameliorate conflicting interests of humans and elephants. On her fellowship, she visited both
national and state agencies to explore how donor and intergovernmental funding incorporates conservation/environmental requirements in disseminating aid.

Aysegul Ildeniz manages all operations for Intel in 67 countries in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, and is also a member of Intel's Management Board for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She has worked tirelessly to expand the use of ICT among women and underserved communities in the Middle East and Africa, and will focus her fellowship on learning about innovative programs developed by NGOs, governments and private companies to make ICT more accessible to underprivileged groups.

Among other responsibilities, Aysun Sayin is responsible for the design, financing, and implementation of a nationwide public awareness and lobbying campaign in support of women candidates for parliamentary and local elections. While on her fellowship she meeet with women leaders and organizations to share insights and best practices relating to civic engagement and women in politics.