Social Work

Apsara Prabhakar has four years of experience in the social sector, and has earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology, Sociology, English in 2016 from CHRIST (Deemed to be University) in India. Apsara has also completed a Master of Social Work (Clinical and Community Practice) in 2018 from the same University. She was the recipient of the “Best Youth Social Worker” Award by the Institute of Person Centered Approaches in India, 2017. While working as a Senior Program Manager at ShARE, she was involved in implementing and monitoring a leadership program across top universities in Europe, America and Africa. Her role also involved alumni management and communications. Apsara previously worked in Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness as a Program Associate in the Private School Program team. Her responsibilities involved volunteer management, school relationship management, documentation, and being an educator for citizenship values and life skills. Apsara has extensively worked as an intern with Operation Smile (OS) and KAARMIC Education. With OS, she has helped coordinate three medical missions that provided free cleft lip/palate surgeries. She also formed an OS student club at her university in 2017 and was selected to participate in the International Student Leadership Conference in Italy. With KAARMIC, she worked on promotions, recruitment, partnerships and as a trainer imparting learning tools, conversational English and art skills to students. Apsara has also interned and volunteered with various other social sector organizations including United Way, Smileys India, CRY, Make a Wish Foundation, Healing Dove Foundation, NIMHANS, Spastics Society of Karnataka and Centre for Social Action. These experiences have helped Apsara acquire and enhance her program management and implementation skills. She enjoys organizing events and working with youth, and is passionate about leadership and the field of education.

Host Organization: Atlas Corps

Role at Host Organization: At Atlas Corps, Apsara will be serving as the American Express Leadership Fellow. Apsara 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, the anticipation is that Apsara will serve to coordinate and grow the alumni network; manage and coordinate the global Alumni Summit, help develop and improve communication and dissemination of best practice and provide overall project support for the American Express Leadership website.

Yery M García has been working as a researcher and practitioner in communication, development and social change for more than five years. She holds an M.A. in Media Practice for Development and Social Change from the University of Sussex in the UK and a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Havana. She has worked as a communications consultant in several international cooperation agencies such as UNICEF, WFP and Oxfam. Since 2014 she has been working as a journalist in Cuban and international media outlets covering issues related to transparency, participation and accountability. She is also a non-formal educator and has been a member of several citizen capacity building projects using new information and communication technologies.

Host Organization: Transparency & Accountability Initiative

Role at Host Organization: At the Transparency & Accountability Initiative, Yery will serve as a Communications & Knowledge Sharing Fellow. She will focus on developing and implementing strategic and digital communications for TAI, managing all of its social media platforms, growing its digital presence, and providing innovative ways to communicate TAI’s unique role as a thought leader and knowledge resource for practitioners leading change around the transparency, civic participation, and accountability field.

Tsanta Gaëlle Ramamonjisoa has eleven years of experience in the nonprofit sector, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Anglophone Studies from the University of Antananarivo, and a Master’s degree in Communication and Languages Applied to Tourism from the University of Antananarivo. Since March 2020, the first lockdown in Madagascar, she has been working as a digital influencer and a content creator for the educational platform Voice for Change, and continued to leverage her voice as a voice artist. By writing human-interest contents, creating twenty-seven video shows across three different social media platforms, and by lending her voice to nonprofits and companies, she could spread positivity, foster greatness and break stigma around minority groups like the deaf. Prior to this, she served as a short-term communications consultant within the environment portfolio of the World Bank Group in Madagascar where she mainly supported the natural resources management specialist with digital storytelling and content production for over ten months. Besides these, she is the founder and the former president of the youth-led volunteer-match organization, One Way for Change, from July 2015 to March 2019. This experience helped her enhance her youth engagement capacity as well as her project management and communications skills, by putting herself in the shoes of over eighty volunteers and the nonprofits she has been working with and for. Also, by way of utilizing project management and content creation tools like Trello, Canva, and iMovie. Aside from enjoying to focus on topics of youth development, Gaëlle also has a strong passion for leadership programs and digital literacy.

Host Organization: Making Cents International

Role at Host Organization: At Making Cents International, Gaelle will be working as a Youth Engagement Fellow: Gaelle will support activities for YouthLead.org, with outreach and polling of youth networks to identify in-demand topics, content, and resources for the platform and its related learning events.

Daliya Manuel has been working as a Brand Manager at Vyakta, a workplace learning company based in India, for over four years. Daliya has been instrumental in managing Vyakta’s branding and marketing communication activities. Her learnings from the PG Certification program in Digital Marketing with a specialization in Branding and Communication at MICA has given a deeper understanding of the nuances of the digital media space. She traces her alma mater to the Asian School of Business, where she successfully pursued a Postgraduate Diploma in Management, with a specialization in Human Resource Management and Marketing. Daliya, being a people person, has donned the role of English Teacher at Nirmala School, bringing about a drastic change in the students’ spoken language capabilities. She constantly endeavors towards making the world a better place in her own small way. In pursuit of this goal, she worked on an app that integrates farmers, under the mentorship of Ranveer Chandra, Chief Scientist, Azure Global at Microsoft. She is extremely passionate about people development and mental health. She considers emotional first aid as a vital, yet highly underutilized tool in addressing mental health wellbeing.

Host Organization: SAP

Role at Host Organization: At SAP, Daliya will serve as CSR Communications and Marketing Fellow: Daliya will lead marketing and communication efforts for the three strategic CSR pillars (building digital skills, accelerating best-run non-profits and social enterprises, and connecting employees with purpose) and for strategic partnerships as needed. She will also act as the brand ambassador for the SAP CSR team and represent CSR as an extended member of the sustainability efforts at SAP.

Ephrem has over eight years of experience in the nonprofit and social enterprise sectors. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Dire Dawa University. While working as founding Executive Director of SunEko Art for Social Development, he designed and executed a social circus for peace and development programs where children and youth can acquire the therapeutic benefits of art. Since 2013, he reached more than ten million radio listeners through a bi-weekly radio program on areas of mental health, peace, child protection, education, reconciliation, employability, and youth empowerment. He helped improve the mental and psycho-social health of more than two thousand women and youth every year, using a community-based social enterprise project. Previously, he worked as a remote Regional Content Manager for Zeno Radio, a technology-based media company. Ephrem also worked with Save the Children International, Handicap International, Population Services International, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Pact, Reach for Change, Growth Africa, and Total S.A. on human resource capacity building programs and social entrepreneurship business models. He organized a youth networking and empowerment event which reached more than five thousand youth. WHO Africa awarded Ephrem the “Top 30 WHO Health Innovator Challenge” honor in 2019. Through these diverse experiences, he developed skills in project designing and coordination, volunteer management, media, and capacity building. Ephrem is passionate about innovative projects on mental health, social entrepreneurship, and youth empowerment.

Host Organization: Making Cents International

Role at Making Cents International: At Making Cents International, Ephrem will serve as the Youth Engagement Fellow: supporting multiple youth engagement activities for YouthPower2: Learning & Evaluation (YP2LE), a USAID-funded project implemented by Making Cents International that is designed to build, expand, and disseminate Positive Youth Development (PYD) evidence and learning.

Shinjini Chowdhury is a social worker from India. With a Master’s degree in English from The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India, she has experience in documenting best practices and building communication materials for nonprofits. Being involved in social service from a young age, she has worked for education and all-round development of under-privileged children. She has trained college students in soft skills and been actively involved in stakeholder management. Shinjini has also been a freelance correspondent for an online platform, which chronicles stories of entrepreneurship. In this role, she has built narratives around social entrepreneurship. In her work against sex trafficking, she has been immersed in field experiences. She is passionate about creating stories around people, real-life experiences, and efforts to build a better world. She believes in the power of strong and free communication.

Host Organization: SAP SE

Role at SAP SE: At SAP SE, Shinjini will serve as a CSR Communications and Marketing Fellow: leading marketing and communication efforts for strategic partnerships and the three strategic CSR pillars (building digital skills, accelerating best-run nonprofits and social enterprises, and connecting employees with purpose).

Wiem Jbeli is a young Tunisian who has over 4 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She has earned a BA in Business English and an MA in English for Communication. Wiem is currently the Secretary General of the Tunisian American Alumni Network, focusing on reintegrating Tunisian exchange programs alumni upon their return to Tunisia; thus, creating an opportunity for them to come together to bring positive change. Her role with TAAN includes establishing and promoting synergy between exchange program alumni. Wiem started volunteering in the community when she was a student. Her main interests revolve around women, youth empowerment and education. Wiem participated in various local initiatives and projects and succeeded in encouraging youth in her community to be more active. Her experience and her devotion to her community granted her the chance to represent Tunisia in the MEPI Leaders program of 2016, where she took part in a leadership and project management training at Georgetown University and volunteered for DC Central Kitchen. Upon return from the U.S., Wiem invested and transferred the knowledge she gained in her community and worked as a facilitator for the Association for the Promotion of Citizen Education – APEC. In this role, she was part of a program targeting high-school students in marginalized areas. The program included workshops and activities aiming at raising awareness on active citizenship and engaging young students in their communities. All these experiences made Wiem keen to move forward and continue working on making her community and country a better place.

Host Organization: Meridian International Center

Role at Meridian International CenterAt Meridian International Center, Wiem will serve as the Youth Programs Fellow: developing strategic communications plans, managing social media efforts, and preparing graphic materials and mobile apps for GlobalConnect’s international youth programs.

Rana has five years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with double minors in Political Science and International Marketing from the University of Jordan. While working as the Grants Administrator Specialist for SFH, her community-minded team player mentality enabled her to be the founder of many community-based initiatives. Previously, Rana worked as a Case Manager for the Danish Refugees Council. She helped raise awareness about amnesty regulations, particularly in civil legal documentation and protection. At the same time, she facilitated programs to help refugees obtain necessary civil documents and worked within a consortium with other partnering organizations on resolving various protection cases. Rana has also worked as a Technical Education Assistant with the Norwegian Refugees Council in Azraq Refugees Camp. In that role, she worked on building the capacity of the youth by guiding adolescents-led initiatives in camps. She also added to the education program by creating the Exam Anxiety Program to help traumatized children achieve better learning outcomes by overcoming their anxieties. Additionally, she refined the tools used in obtaining children’s feedback through the Child Based Complaint Mechanism scheme. Through these experiences, she has developed strong social innovation and project implementation skills, particularly in the education sphere. Rana’s positive self-starting nature in emerging entrepreneurial projects led her to take a further step towards change by establishing EnvaTechs: a startup that uses immersive technologies in Environmental Education in schools.

Host Organization: Halcyon

Role at Halcyon At Halcyon, Rana will serve as the Incubator Program Support Fellow: providing resources to early-stage social enterprises, training across portfolios, and striving to improve the organization’s impact.

Shushanna has more than ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She earned a Master’s of Information and Public Communication Technologies, PR and Bachelor’s of Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, both from the Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences. She also completed an academic exchange year in the U.S. through Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program, administered by the U.S. Department of State. While working as the Senior Adviser for EducationUSA Armenia, supported by the U.S. Department of State, Shushanna managed the EducationUSA center in Armenia. In this role, she actively promoted U.S. higher education by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about educational opportunities in the U.S. and information on how to best access those opportunities. While liaising with U.S. institutions of higher education, she facilitated recruitment, and admission of Armenian students and increased student mobility. Previously, Shushanna worked for World Vision Armenia to build internet safety awareness and promote safe Internet for children. She has volunteered as a camp counselor, reading club instructor, and event coordinator for several organizations in the country, including American Councils Armenia, Capacity and Development for Civil Society NGO, and FLEX Alumni community. Through these experiences, she developed strong communication and marketing, project management and event planning, social media and strategic skills. Shushanna has a strong passion for empowering youth through storytelling and enjoys working on the topics of international education and exchange programs.

Host Organization: Atlas Corps

Role at Center for Atlas Corps Shushanna will serve as the Leadership Fellow: supporting the overall strengthening of leadership development in the nonprofit sector by helping to expand the American Express Leadership Academy franchise.

Concillia has 7 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management and Marketing from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and a Bachelor’s of Science in Journalism and Media Studies from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Zimbabwe. She is an events management enthusiast with particular interest in fundraising, as well as managing events that empower vulnerable communities and underrepresented members of society. She currently works as an Alumni Affairs Officer for NUST. She is responsible for the development of an effective relationship with all university alumni, as well as initiating and implementing fundraising activities and events. She develops, supports and promotes alumni strategy, including operations and communications plans. She is also the University Liaison Officer for the Association of African Universities (AAU), a voluntary position which involves bridging the information gap between NUST and the African universities community. Amongst the various duties in this portfolio is organizing events, such as the African University Week, and creating awareness of the goals and mission of AAU to the NUST community. Previously, Concillia worked for Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company, an events management company, where her role comprised of market research. She spearheaded the company’s business development arm through conceptualization and implementation of new events. Through her educational background coupled with work experience, she has balanced expertise within the field of corporate communications, marketing, fundraising, and project and events management. Concillia enjoys conceptualizing fundraising events for the development of our society, especially the education sector.

Host Organization: Atlas Corps

Role at Atlas Corps Concillia will serve as the Training Manager Fellow: planning and managing Atlas Corps’ leadership development program for Fellows, Global Leadership Lab (GLL), comprised of over 200 hours of theoretical and practical experiential learning over the Fellowship year.

Wissal has a master degree in 2009 in computer sciences from INPT, an engineering school in Morocco. She has over 8 years of experience in the IT field and works now as an IT project manager. Besides, Wissal is a very active citizen as she loves to volunteer to make a positive impact in her community. She has joined JCI CasaImpact (Junior Chamber International CasaImpact) in 2014, and ever since has occupied various positions and led many social projects. Today she is the Communication Vice President and a mentor to new members. She is a certified JCI trainer and has organized and facilitated many trainings tackling active citizenship, interpersonal skills as well as successful project management. Prior to that, she was a training director in the same NGO. She also was a facilitator in Injaz Al-maghrib, another NGO aiming to inspire and prepare a generation of youth to become business leaders and promising entrepreneurs of tomorrow. She works hard in the youth capacity building and empowerment field because she strongly believes in the power of one person and especially the power of youth, if one has enough motivation and finds the right mentoring, he can change the world. Moreover Wissal is a fan of meditation. She is country coordinator and peace agent at Peace Revolution peace program, and had two training of meditation and mindfulness in Goergia and Thailand. Wissal has a master degree in 2009 in computer sciences from INPT, an engineering school in Morocco. She has over 8 years of experience in the IT field and works now as an IT project manager. Besides, Wissal is a very active citizen as she loves to volunteer to make a positive impact in her community. She has joined JCI CasaImpact (Junior Chamber International CasaImpact) in 2014, and ever since has occupied various positions and led many social projects. Today she is the Communication Vice President and a mentor to new members. She is a certified JCI trainer and has organized and facilitated many trainings tackling active citizenship, interpersonal skills as well as successful project management. Prior to that, she was a training director in the same NGO. She also was a facilitator in Injaz Al-maghrib, another NGO aiming to inspire and prepare a generation of youth to become business leaders and promising entrepreneurs of tomorrow. She works hard in the youth capacity building and empowerment field because she strongly believes in the power of one person and especially the power of youth, if one has enough motivation and finds the right mentoring, he can change the world. Moreover Wissal is a fan of meditation. She is country coordinator and peace agent at Peace Revolution peace program, and had two training of meditation and mindfulness in Goergia and Thailand.

Host Organization: Microsoft

Role at Microsoft: At Microsoft, Wissal will be a central player in making sure the team closes great deals, that partners achieve milestones in a timely fashion, and key metrics like expansion, revenue projections are met. The Fellow will support the Program Manager and the wider Airband team to evolve global project engagements, partnerships, processes, tools, research, and thought leadership.

Rabecca Makhuwira is a professional and seasoned development practitioner specializing with over five years’ experience working in the non-profit sector. During her career, Rabecca has worked with three International Non-Governmental Organisations in various roles, including in monitoring and evaluation, project management, volunteering, proposal development, developing Monitoring and Evaluation systems, conducting research studies and reporting. Rabecca is also an entrepreneur in the Agriculture sector. Recently, Rabecca was working for Action Aid as Monitoring and Evaluation officer in a consortium of five non-governmental organisations. Rabecca also volunteers for Center for Women and Girls Empowerment (CEWOGE) as a Programs Director. She is very passionate about girls and women empowerment and investing in children as she believes the future of Africa lies on it. Some of the leadership roles Rabecca holds in her community include, developing effective social protection systems, motivational speaking, leadership training’s facilitation, adult literacy teaching and fundraising for needy female students. For the past two years Rabecca has impacted girl’s education by sharing her stories, encouraging female students’ dropouts to go back to school and providing scholastic materials to needy students. She is also a Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) alumni, a program for Southern African Leaders and graduated with a certificate in public management by University of South Africa which has enhanced her authentic and transformative leadership. Through these experiences, Rabecca has been equipped with the necessary technical and leadership skills that has necessitated her to effectively deliver.

Host Organization: BronxWorks

Role at BronxWorks: With BronxWorks, Rabecca will to help strengthen the program’s effectiveness, with respect to tracking retention. This added investment in time and effort will help to increase their use metrics to track the follow-up of the income of the program participants continued employment, job promotion, increased wages and need for public supports (i.e. public assistance, transportation, childcare, etc.).