Fellows

Alecia has over five years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and is currently completing her Master of Science degree in Human Rights at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), under the British Chevening Scholarship. Alecia served as a Regional Programme Officer at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Jamaica from 2013-2014. While at UWI, Alecia coordinated the regional youth platform, University of the West Indies Student Today Alumni Tomorrow (UWISTAT). In this position, she gained experience in project management, programme development and youth training. Prior to this, Alecia served as an Assistant Language Teacher for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme and was based in Shizuoka, Japan, for three and a half years. In this position, she was responsible for curriculum design, capacity building and education. Alecia previously worked as a Public (Consumer) Relations Officer which, coupled with her current responsibility as a Chevening Scholar Social Media Ambassador, has honed her communication, public speaking and outreach skills. Alecia has been actively involved in youth leadership both in her community and at the national and international level. She participated in the Jamaican national consultation process for the Post -2015 as a youth advocate, and she has represented her country at several international fora. Alecia also volunteered in Ishinomaki, Japan, after the Great Tohoku Earthquake and she was an international volunteer on the Peace Boat’s 78th global voyage. With the knowledge gained from her professional, volunteer and multicultural experiences, Alecia intends to pursue a career in human rights policy-making and corporate social responsibility.

Host Organization: ChildFund International

Role at Host Organization: Alecia Maragh will provide major support in conducting research on education, protection and economic strengthening. She will also be providing operational support, strict analysis and support to the National Offices and Lifestage team.

Alier has seven years of experience in the nonprofit sector and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with Accounting and Finance from Cavendish University Uganda. Alier also holds a Diploma in Social Work and Social Administration from Makerere Institute of Professionals in Kampala, Uganda. While working as a Senior Human Rights Officer (Team Leader) at the South Sudan Human Rights Commission office in Jonglei State, Alier managed to successfully monitor, inspect, advocate for, facilitate, administer and investigate in the field of South Sudanese human rights, with the South Sudan Human Rights Commission for a period of seven years. Alier is the Head of the Commission Office of the Jonglei state. In this position, Alier’s main responsibilities are identifying financial resources, maintaining the commission’s state budget, writing correspondences on behalf of the commission, and representing the commission in various meetings and fora at the state level. Alier is interested in human rights standards training, transitional justice, legal aid, security management, security sector reform, economics and human rights, law enforcement and human rights, and peace-building and prevention work. He is also committed to developing and applying effective early warning, prevention and peace consolidation systems and interventions for local, national, regional and international actors. He is also interested in project management training among the related thematic trainings and Gender mainstreaming. Alier’s motivation is to have the in-depth knowledge and skills to work for more efficient and effective performance in South Sudan.

Host Organization: Community Options, Inc.

Role at Host Organization: In collaboration with the Executive Director and the national office, Alier will identify funding resources and develop relationships with foundations at the local, state and federal levels with the ultimate goal of developing program and employment opportunities.

Ana Paula has over nine years of experience working for the nonprofit sector, private sector and international organizations. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. While working as a coordinator for a youth project in the Jardim Angela/Capao Redondo neighborhood, (the neighborhood was considered by United Nations the most dangerous place on the planet in 1996), she developed several partnerships with other nonprofit organizations, universities, international organizations and government entities to offer poor adolescents opportunities to change their lives through access to formal education. Previously, Ana worked for UNICEF to advance child and adolescent rights in Brazil’s public agenda, especially for those who live in poor and rural areas of the country. During her work as an assistant of the UN Resident Coordinator’s office, she focused on topics of race, gender, access to education, violence and youth empowerment. She volunteered as a popular educator for over ten years, promoting human rights, gender, race and peace in Brazil.

Host Organization: International Planned Parenthood Federation

Role at Host Organization: Ana will assist staff by managing the portfolio of sexual and reproductive health programs related to youth, gender-based violence, and HIV/STIs. She will implement programmatic strategies in sex education, access to quality health services, prevention of gender-based violence and sexual rights, amongst other programs

Arpine has over ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and earned a Master’s degree in Policy Analysis and Administration from Duquesne University and a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from Tbilisi State University. Arpine brings a unique combination of experience in research and grassroots development. For over seven years, in affiliation with the Caucasus Research Resource Centers, GeoWel Research, and as an independent consultant, Arpine conducted research in the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia and the U.S. for a number of international and local organizations. Research covered a wide range of issues: migration, gender based violence and reproductive health, media, economic development, value chains, and justice. Arpine worked with JumpStart Georgia, where, besides researching and reporting, she trained media and nonprofit organizations in Armenia to use data, technology, and storytelling techniques to better advocate for human rights and civil society issues. She also has over ten years of experience in project design, fundraising and management, and transferred these skills through leading multiple workshops across the South Caucasus. Arpine served as a development expert for Ajakits NGO and Caucasus Research Resource Center-Armenia, and was a trainer and training specialist for the U.S. Peace Corps, among others. Through her nonprofit work experience Arpine acquired a diverse set of skills that include community facilitation using participatory civic engagement tools, and project design. Arpine is interested in asset-based community development models, the role of statistical data in development, and is passionate about women’s empowerment.

Host Organization: Eurasia Foundation

Role at Host Organization: Arpine will facilitate professional collaboration between Russia and the United States in the academic and social spheres. She will be assigned to a portfolio of projects under both the UPP and SEE programs, and will conduct a variety of tasks concerning them, including evaluation and monitoring, communication with implementing partners in both Russian and English, identifying networking and expansion opportunities, and examining possibilities for post-award sustainability. She will also conduct original research and present recommendations to senior staff members, draft a variety of technical documents, and perform other duties as assigned.

Asma Razaq has been working in both print and electronic media for the last six years. At present, she is working as a Reporter in Samaa Tv, Pakistan’s top news channel. At Samaa, her primary responsibilities include: the coverage of economic affairs including the Federal Board of Revenue, the Ministry of Finance, financial institutions, foreign investment and assistance to Pakistan, the Privatization Commission, and health issues. Earlier, she worked for Abbtak news channel for two years. She was also working in an English Daily ‘Business Recorder;’ the biggest financial daily in Pakistan, and the first such publication in the Muslim world. She worked for Daily Business Recorder for five years. One of Asma’s articles was included among the top stories of a New York-based website ‘www.tobacco.org;’ her stories exposed a pharmaceutical company that was selling an anti-hepatitis injection without conducting human tests. Asma’s news articles on health issues put pressure on the government to form a Drug Regulatory Authority (DRA) in Pakistan. Recently, her news package titled ‘IMF and Pakistan’ was widely appreciated and got national recognition, as well. Asma has worked with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a Coordinator. She had been nominated by the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan for the reporting tour on Global Food Security in the year 2011. She had also been selected as a participant of US-Pak Journalist Exchange Program-2014 by the East-West Center in Hawaii. During the program, she was selected as a guest in ‘Global Journalist,’ a popular radio program in Columbia.

Host Organization: Universities Allied for Essential Medicine

Role at Host Organization: “As the Media and Communications Fellow, Asma Razaq will support the creative development and implementation of a media and communications strategy for UAEM North America. This involves implementing the interactive new website design so it is usable to share media and foster communication work in building a more effective and efficient internal communication strategy.

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Asmaa has four years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and completed her Master’s degree in Management and Human Resources from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), United Kingdom. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the Islamic University of Gaza majoring in Business Administration. While working as a Researcher and Business Development Specialist at Small Enterprise Center, she worked on the economic empowerment of marginalized people and areas of economic recovery in the Gaza Strip through Oxfam and UNDP projects. She provided more than 1000 training hours on entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, marketing and financing for small businesses. Furthermore, Asmaa conducted research on the demand and supply of business development services, needs assessments and sector relevant studies. Asmaa is a Global Shaper in Gaza Hub. She was responsible for organizing Gaza contribution in the Shaping Davos “Conflict Resolution” session; part of the World Economic Forum activities held in Davos in 2015. Additionally, Asmaa was one of the 50 shapers attending the World Economic Forum for MENA region where she stressed the role of entrepreneurship in youth empowerment. She is also a co-founder of an initiative called “PAL Initiatives of Change”, which aims to foster and reinforce the human values in the Palestinian society as well as develop the sense of individual and collective responsibility toward positive change. Previously, she worked as a part-time lecturer at Al-Azhar University-Gaza, giving courses, teaching in principles of management, research methodology as well as other areas in management. Asmaa is very passionate about economic development, entrepreneurship, youth empowerment, training, volunteerism and community service.

Host: Internet2

Fellow Role at Internet2:
Asmaa will focus on the core development of the Internet2 Advancement program. She will be identifying and researching programs aligned with the mission, and she will support the membership’s advanced global research and educational priorities by creating case statements in support of various programs.

Carolina has six years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and earned a Communications degree at the Universidad of Medellín. She recently completed postgraduate studies in Sociology and Political Sciences at FLACSO, Argentina. While working at the Organización VID, she helped to strengthen the image of the institution by redesigning their virtual media. Likewise, Carolina worked at FENALCO ANTIOQUIA; a nonprofit organization that unionizes medium and small traders, for helping them to strengthen their business. One of the most relevant goals that she achieved was being designated as a member of the Strategic Planning Team. Carolina has also volunteered as a teacher on Communication and Information Technologies, at an HIV childrens’ foundation. She taught a group of children how to use web tools for their own development and self-education. Through all these experiences Carolina has acquired significant skills such as: creating multimedia educational material, researching relevant information and pedagogical resources, and organizing memorable social and institutional events. Carolina strongly believes in the mixture of education, technology and communication, as a powerful key to fight poverty and improve quality of life.

Host Organization: Mozilla Foundation

Role at Host Organization: Carolina will help design and develop a distributed training program for teaching web literacy skills. She will leverage existing research and conduct their own light research to inform and support a global program that provides guidance/instruction/community support for people that want to teach others how to read, write and participate in the digital world.

Deepa has seven years of intense work experience in the nonprofit sector, where she trained and facilitated leadership experiences for young students around the world. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Science from Rajasthan University and started working with AIESEC in 2007 as a volunteer. Most recently, Deepa worked as a management consultant and counselor/trainer for young people. Before that, she worked with AIESEC International for a year, where she was responsible for handling operations in the Asia Pacific region. Her main role was to guide young student leaders from different Asia Pacific countries to coordinate the operations and align their national strategies with the global strategies of AIESEC for growth and development. Deepa was the President of AIESEC organization in Mauritius for two years. During her tenure, she initiated various projects on issues like Environment, Youth leadership, Cultural Understanding, Education & Sports, Gender, and Drug abuse. Additionally, the projects also provided a platform for the local youth to discover and develop their leadership potential. She got reputable companies involved in these projects as CSR, and worked very closely with government bodies to get support and recognition for her projects. She also got her environment project funded by UN Habitat in Mauritius. For three years, Deepa volunteered with a child development nonprofit organization, rural development organization, and AIESEC. Deepa is very interested in youth development & empowerment, social enterprise management, and international exchange programs. She has a passion for training, facilitation and project management. She also cares deeply for animal welfare and environmental conservation.

Host Organization: Youth For Understanding

Role at Host Organization: Deepa will begin the implementation of a 5-year business plan with the primary focus being on the diversification of YFU’s revenue sources; including both short-term and long-term recommendations for YFU. This will allow the organization to operate more effectively.