2008 SRP and USA Fellowship Outcomes & Program Summaries
Laura Alonso |
Executive Director …will apply tools for board assessment and develop an executive director succession plan at Poder Ciudadano, inspired by her visit to the Nonprofit Center at La Salle University. She will also carry out the new strategic plan for Poder Ciudadano, giving consideration to introducing the use of IT and constituency management. In addition, she will organize a seminar on the 2008 U. S. presidential election and invite some of the experts and institutions with whom she met during the course of her fellowship. |
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| Ignacio Alvarez CHILE |
Chief Investment Officer …will present his fellowship findings to the Chilean Capital Markets Committee and Regulator of Pension Funds. He will also present specific proposals to think tanks, political parties, and unions and try to make at least five of the proposed initiatives a reality. Will explore investing in alternatives such as private equity, hedge funds and real estate. Finally, he’ll help launch a Chile EF Club and promote activities and awareness of EF in Chile, beginning with a dinner with the U.S. Ambassador and all Chilean Eisenhower Fellows. |
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| Diego Arsuaga URUGUAY |
CEO & Director …will explore cooperative ventures with HBO and Global Film Initiatives regarding potential production and distribution of documentaries, and will look into collaborating with an up-and-coming North Carolina-based production company, which would provide production services for Taxi Films in the U.S. in exchange for Taxi Films providing representation in Latin America and Spain. |
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| Richard Chacon BOSTON, MA |
Traveled to Brazil and Germany Executive Director Massachusetts Office for Refugees & Immigrants …has invited German government officials, leaders from NGOs and business to form a small fact-finding delegation to visit Massachusetts to learn more about existing refugee resettlement program, and will assist officials in developing resettlement program for Iraqi refugees in Germany. |
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| Santiago Maria Del Sel ARGENTINA |
Former CEO and Member, Board of Directors, Zurich Argentina Group S.A. …will participate in EF Argentina activities to strengthen the local and regional Southern Cone team. Will work on the “Long Term Vision” (Argentina 2016) for Coalición Cívica necessary to develop their national platform. Will incorporate new members (international sponsors) and extend the scope and contents of Escuelas del Bicentenario’s current program. Will publish articles about outputs and experiences learned during the fellowship. |
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| Felipe Augusto Dias BRAZIL |
Chief Economist …will work on collaborative projects with the Center for Energy Economics at University of Texas, including a possible joint training program on energy economics. In addition, he will meet with researchers from the Argonne National Laboratory in Rio de Janeiro in December to discuss a collaboration to develop a large study on biofuels and carbon dioxide emissions. |
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| Maria Ignacia Errazuriz CHILE |
Dean, School of Communication …will motivate faculty to understand each other better by administering the Myers-Briggs test with the help of Poynter Institute faculty. In addition, will review and sign a Memorandum of Understanding that she negotiated with the University of Missouri to begin a student exchange program between her university and University of Missouri. In addition, will finish the design of a Masters in Strategic Communication based on discussions with faculty at Northwestern University and the University of Southern California. |
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| Dr. Pablo Fernandez URUGUAY |
Senior Partner …will apply methods and knowledge he gained from his meetings to create a think tank that focuses on developing a more robust economy in Uruguay. In addition, will collaborate with academic scholars he interviewed to create comparative research on customer service initiatives both in the U.S. and Uruguay. He will also seek to publish a book on services marketing that he wrote using data and examples gathered from his appointments and site visits. |
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| Robert Fruend ST. LOUIS, MO |
Traveled to China and Taiwan (China) CEO …will develop permanent health policy networks between China and St. Louis. Specifically, he will lay the groundwork for a joint summer institute in health policy with Washington University in St. Louis and Universities in China in 2010-2011, and will establish an ongoing framework for continued exchange among individuals engaged in health policy and delivery, and extend the network to include community-based organizations. |
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| Ricardo Gomez Giraldo COLOMBIA |
President …will seek to increase emphasis on scientific research and innovation in Colombia. He will pursue reciprocal academic opportunities for university professors and students with several institutions including Duke University, University of Texas at Austin, Washington University in St. Louis, and the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design. He will also explore possible collaborative projects and papers with the University of San Francisco Institute for Global Health. |
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| Gustavo Guerra-Garcia PERU |
General Manager …will apply concepts he learned on his fellowship to promote a change in Peruvian law to implement a municipal system based on a broad council model rather than a model dependent upon mayoral leadership. He will also urge managers of sub-national governments to sign the ethics code of the International City/County Management Association, an organization with which he met during his fellowship. |
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| Dr. Dafne Gandelman Horovitz BRAZIL |
Clinical Geneticist/Clinical Coordinator, Department of Medical Genetics …will meet with the Medical Genetics Society and Genetic Alliance in Brazil to create a plan for the organizations to work cooperatively with one another. She will also develop a strategic plan promoting the creation of a policy for use of medical genetics in care provision in Brazil. In addition, Dr. Horovitz will pursue the idea of “outreach clinics” that could be applied in remote regions of the country, such as the Amazon and many others lacking specialized care, to alleviate the enormous cost and burden of transporting and hosting families in remote locations. Click here to download a program summary. |
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| Dr. Luisa Massarani BRAZIL |
Coordinator, Nucleus of Studies on Science Communication, Museum of Life, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; …will collaborate with representatives from the Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum and Brooklyn Children’s Museum to present a meeting on science communication for children. She will also work with the Institute of the Americas in designing a training program for science journalists in Brazil. In addition, she will explore possible cooperation with several U.S. institutions and museums in developing a new national Brazilian aquarium in the Amazon region, among other projects. |
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| Gema Moreno MEXICO |
Consulting Partner … will customize the information and best practices she obtained to evaluate their potential applicability in existing organizations in Mexico that work to develop women business leaders. Ultimately, she will develop a business plan that includes resource requirements, funding sources, development of relationships with U.S. and regional partners, and implementation of programs to support children’s education and women’s leadership programs by November of 2009. She will also actively promote the implementation of the initiatives proposed by the EF Latin American Women Leadership Group. |
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| Claudia Naylor, MD, PhD BRAZIL |
Director, Cancer Hospital IV …will pursue collaborative ventures, including joint publications and presentations as well as hosting reciprocal visits, with leading clinicians at several hospitals including Beth Israel Medical Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the University of Wisconsin Cancer Center. She also finalized plans for several joint initiatives with M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, including procurement of needed equipment for her hospital and a research project in the area of prognosis. |
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| Carina Novarese URUGUAY |
General News Manager …will explore potential partnerships with different media organizations, explore building a citizen journalism web site, and create a new multimedia program in the Universidad de Montevideo School of Journalism. Inspired by her observations at UC-Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, she will implement a program for graduate students learning multimedia to put together an online community newspaper. She also plans to collaborate with Uruguayan Fellows to establish a new think tank, and will advance the network by proposing and helping implement a practical project that the Eisenhower network of women can take on, as well as working on regular reunions with her fellow Latin American Fellows. |
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| Hope Pjesky GOLTRY, OK |
Traveled to Japan, Thailand, Malaysia …will use the cultural understanding she gained during her travels to influence future policy regarding international agricultural trade. She will present her findings to policy makers in her home state of Oklahoma, and also to national policy makers in Washington, DC. |
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| Cecilia Rizo Patron Pinto PERU |
Projects Director …will cooperate with the World Bank to launch its online corporate social responsibility course using the platform of PERU 2021, and will partner with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation to implement a CSR project in Peru. As a professor, she will update the content of the courses she teaches to reflect best practices, and send her students to visit Peruvian businesses for hands-on learning. On a more personal level, she plans on writing a book about trends and challenges in CSR for Peruvian companies (to be finished by April 2009) as well as volunteering for a non-profit organization in her spare time. |
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| Jorge Srur ARGENTINA |
Under Secretary of Institutional Development …will build common projects with other Argentine Fellows aimed at enhancing U.S.-Argentine relations, particularly through activities that promote better understanding among new leaders. He will work to cooperate with two U.S. academic centers, and the Texas Legislative Council, on modernization programs to widen parliamentary transparency and citizen participation. He will share his fellowship findings with the Forum of E-Government of the University of San Andres and foster contacts between the forum and academic centers he visited. And finally, he will publish articles about e-politics, e-government, and leadership. |
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| Rep. Rachel Storch JEFFERSON CITY, MO |
Traveled to Brazil and Uruguay …will seek out partnerships and collaborative opportunities with entities in both the private and public sectors related to renewable fuels, including ethanol and biodiesel, as well as other areas of biotechnology. The culmination of this effort will be an exchange of ideas and business planning, and will include delegation visits from Brazil to Missouri. |
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Nicholas Torres PHILADELPHIA, PA |
Traveled to Argentina and Chile …will produce a Philadelphia-region social innovation publication modeled after Tercer Sector in Argentina, host an educational visit by the General Secretary for the State of Colina to ten model schools in the Philadelphia Region, and develop a vocational associate’s degree college program modeled after Chile's INACAP. |
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| Francisca Valdes CHILE |
Executive Director …will replicate several programs she was introduced to during her fellowship, including development of a women’s mentoring program for their members and establishment of educational programs for women in the areas of negotiation and communication. She will also explore establishment of new women’s entrepreneurship programs sponsored by U.S. partners, and has a long term goal of expanding Mujeres Empresarias to other Latin American countries. |
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| Diego Valenzuela ARGENTINA |
Program Host …will work with La Nacion newspaper on its strategy to integrate the traditional newsroom and the web team, improving the website and the multimedia approach to its audience. He hopes to replicate a survey about young peoples’ concerns, habits and beliefs, inspired by his visit to the Institute for Politics at Harvard University. In addition, various meetings and experiences during his fellowship have led him to decide to create a consulting firm devoted to economics, politics and communication in Argentina. |
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2008 MNP and USA 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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