Fellows

Aymen is the founder of the Tunisian Organization for Peace, the first secretary of the leading Tunisian watchdog organization iWatch, and the former secretary of Youth-Can. Aymen also has worked with several international organizations, namely the media development charity BBC Media Action and the peace-building organization Search for Common Ground. Aymen has seven years of experience in the nonprofit sector, particularly in the field of media development, peace-building, and transparency. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Language (British and American), Literature and Civilization from the University of Tunis-El Manar. For the past three years, Aymen has served as an assistant project manager for the BBC Media Action office in North Africa, overseeing media development projects in the Middle East-North Africa region, and later specifically in Libya and Tunisia. He has worked closely over the last year with Tunisian Television on developing new youth programs and expanding its social media presence. Aymen has acquired management and leadership skills working with official bodies, civil society organizations, and informal youth groups in Tunisia and Libya He is primarily interested in the role of media in the context of democratic transitions, transitional justice as a key factor for peace-building, and youth participation in decision-making. Aymen also is a die-hard fan of heavy metal music.

Host Organization: The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy

Role at Host Organization: Aymen, as the TIMEP-Atlas Corps Bassem Sabry Democracy Fellow, will work in a research capacity for six months. The design of Aymen’s research will be developed in conjunction with TIMEP’s directorial staff and should reflect this project proposal (subject to development and restructuring with TIMEP’s directorial staff). The mission of the Bassem Sabry Democracy Fellowship is to honor the memory of Egyptian writer and commentator Bassem Sabry by providing an opportunity for youth in the fields of journalism, international relations, political science, or other relevant fields to work on an independent research paper or project of their own design under the mentorship of a TIMEP staff member through to its execution.

Beltina has over six years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Originally from Albania, Beltina carried out her studies in the United States and lives in Italy. She is a trilingual international development professional with a Master’s degree in Global Development and Peace (2015) and a Bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) in International Political Economy and Diplomacy (2013) from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. More recently, she completed international training in counter-terrorism at the United Nations Association of Italy in Rome (2016). As a technical consultant at the District Directorate Anti-Mafia in the prosecutor’s office in Venice, Italy, she helped implement operations to counter organized and drug-trafficking crimes in Italy and throughout Europe. Previously, Beltina worked with a New York City-based, state-funded nonprofit as an office manager and facilitator teaching life skills, adult education, and vocational rehabilitation to indigents and the disabled of all ages. Beltina also has worked for a community-based nonprofit to help refugees, asylum seekers, and victims of human trafficking transition in the United States, serving as a translator and a point of contact for resettlement in their new communities in Bridgeport. While advancing her studies, Beltina has consistently inquired into human development and international relations issues, delivering reports and supporting faculties’ publications and research journals while facilitating undergraduate and graduate courses in economic development, human security, and criminal justice. Additionally, her experiences at the United Nations headquarters provided Beltina the opportunity to take part in the Arms Trade Treaty (2012) and Sustainable Development Goals (2014) negotiations as an advising reporter. Beltina serves her community through active involvement in support of social justice causes and emergency preparedness with the Red Cross and the Volunteer Civil Protection of Italy. Through these experiences, she has developed leadership in community engagement, conflict analysis, writing, editing, and education management. Beltina enjoys focusing on gender equality and economic development, and she has a strong passion for education and women’s empowerment.

Host Organization: Impact 2030

Role at Host Organization: Beltina will serve as The Action Team and Project Officer and will be the voice of IMPACT 2030 in the Action Teams as they are being developed and as support as they are implemented. No. 2 under the guiding principles is where Beltina will have the most impact. She will work together with the local Regional Voice Lead (RVL) and the RVL manager to ensure that there is consistency of information flow and goals/milestones are met in a timely manner, and she will aid in the facilitation of increased participation in the Action Teams as warranted.

Catherine has over five years of experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Nairobi in Kenya. While working as a refugee status determination assistant with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), she determined whether people seeking international protection could be considered refugees under international, regional, or national law. She also worked as a resettlement intern at UNHCR, supporting the transfer of refugees seeking asylum in Kenya to third states willing to admit and ultimately grant them permanent settlement. Previously, she was founder and CEO of the nonprofit Pitch a Dream Organization, where she cultivated a reading culture by running reading and writing workshops in rural, underprivileged schools. Before this, Catherine gained one-and-a-half years of legal working experience for two law firms. In addition, Catherine volunteered for one year with the Arts in Medicine program at Mater Hospital in Nairobi, where she gained experience on using an artistic approach to working with children. She also volunteered for a year with a USAID- and PEPFAR-funded local nonprofit, Lifeskills Promoters, where she trained primary-school students on life skills and educated them on HIV, AIDS, and children’s rights. Catherine has participated in leadership training, including the USAID-funded Young African Leadership Initiative in 2015 to hone her leadership and management skills. Through these experiences, she has developed strong project planning, coordination, implementation, and monitoring skills on the grass-roots and policy levels. Catherine enjoys focusing on the topics of education, development, and international humanitarian affairs, and she has a strong passion for working with vulnerable people.

Host Organization: Northwestern University Buffett Institute for Global Studies

Role at Host Organization: Catherine will manage specific undergraduate initiatives across our global engagement programming, including the Buffett Award for Emerging Global Leaders, the undergraduate Fellows program, and project and research grant opportunities. She will contribute to partnership management, development, assessment work, and student preparation/orientation in the Global Engagement Studies Institute and Community-Based Research programs, especially with sites in East Africa. Catherine also will help to manage the transition of the Books & Breakfast program to new university partner.

Demna has three years of professional working experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence from Georgian Technical University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Ilia State University in Georgia. He was granted a scholarship from the European Commission and studied at Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, as an exchange master student of social sciences. While working as a legal officer under the migration program for the United Nations Association of Georgia, he supported asylum seekers, refugees, and other individuals of concern with administrative and legal issues. Previously, Demna worked with a community-based organization to promote access to education for ethnic minority youths in Georgia. As a civil servant, Demna worked with state agencies for number of years and was closely involved in institutional reforms in Georgia. He also conducted research on civil service and pension reforms in Georgia that attracted a lot of media attention. Through these experiences, he has developed strong analytical, project coordination, and implementation skills. Demna enjoys focusing on the topics of migration, personal data protection, public administration, and youth engagement, and he has a strong passion for analytical work.

Host Organization: National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry

Role at Host Organization: Demna’s responsibilities include monitoring legislation, researching and reporting on regional developments, producing publications, maintaining a web site, attending hearings and briefings, organizing and staffing events, and general administrative duties.

Natalia has four years of experience in the public sector, and she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management Control Engineering at Universidad de Chile and a Master’s degree in Accounting, Auditing and Control at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. While working as a national funds analyst at Superintendencia de Seguridad Social (SUSESO) in Chile, she evaluated maternity grants, audited the expense reports of nationally funded subsidies, and analyzed the data related with maternity grants reported by different entities as well as preparing information for the study of public policy in the field of social security. Additionally, she was a studies analyst at Servicio Nacional de la Discapacidad (SENADIS) in Chile, analyzing information about different areas of disability and defining indicators. She also was the academic director of the management control diploma at Universidad Mayor in Chile, responsible for designing the academic program, structuring the courses, and recruiting professors in addition to her teaching activities. Finally, Natalia has volunteered as an accounting teacher in a program called Creeme, which supports microentrepreneurs who did not have the opportunity to pay for business consulting, providing them with business tools to improve their smaller companies, teaching them how to apply for national funds, and giving lessons about taxes, accounting, finance, and computing. Through these experiences, she developed strong analytic skills and the ability to work in teams. Natalia enjoys focusing on the topics of maternal and child health, disability, business consultancy, and education. She has a strong passion for public service.

Host Organization: Open Road Alliance

Role at Host Organization: Natalia will support the expansion of Open Road’s recoverable grant portfolio. She will assist in the screening and development of the grant-making pipeline through sector mapping and outreach to appropriate professional networks, and she will be the primary driver on research projects.

Sushmita has more than five years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and holds a Master’s of Science in Microbiology from Bangalore University, India. While working as a Program Coordinator at Media Advocacy Group in Kathmandu, she coordinated several projects on gender equality in the media, safe migration, women’s empowerment, civic education and right to information. Along with this, she managed overall programmatic and organizational activities including internal staff, donor reporting, event management and grant writing. Previously, Sushmita has worked in READ Nepal that builds Community Library and Resource Centers (CLRCs) to bring rural prosperity through education, social and economic empowerment, for three and half years. In READ, she gained communication and marketing experience along with project planning and implementation skills. Moreover, she got the opportunity to learn community engagement and community mobilization through direct interaction with women and marginalized community. Besides, she was engaged in short term hand washing project funded by UNICEF in several schools of Kathmandu. Over the years, she has managed programs for different donors including UN Women, UNDP, South Asia Women’s Fund, USAID and FHI 360. Through these experiences, she has developed strong skills in policy advocacy, community mobilization, capacity building, partnership development, donor communication, event management, and media engagement. She enjoys working with diverse communities and has a strong passion for working for the rights of the socially excluded to bring positive social transformation in society.

Host Organization: Internews

Role at Host Organization: Sushmita will report directly to the Vice President of Global Technology, providing assistance on a broad range of matters ranging from events coordination to strategic planning and communications. She will also provide direct assistance in implementing Internet freedom and digital security programs.

Zaneta has two years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and earned a Master’s of Philosophy in Social and Developmental Psychology from the University in Cambridge in 2016 and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. As a United Nations Intern in the Office of the Special Representative to the Secretary General for Sexual Violence in Conflict, she worked with colleagues to produce country reports, briefing notes, communications material and project proposals. Zaneta worked for four years for the Los Angeles Loyolan, Loyola Marymount University’s National Pacemaker Award-winning student-run news organization, including a stint as Editor in Chief overseeing a 50+ person staff. As a journalist, her work has been recognized by the California College Media Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Zaneta also spent two summers interning with the International Justice Mission in their Kenya Field Office. As a Communications Intern in 2013 she developed specific curriculum for school trainings on issues related to child sexual abuse and produced all external communication and monthly reports for the office. In 2012, as an Administrative Intern, Zaneta compiled research reports on Kenyan legal and police policy issues and planned various projects including a police and prosecutor training co-sponsored by the US Department of Justice. Through these experiences, she developed strong skills in research and reporting, media and communication, and project management. Zaneta enjoys working on issues of justice and human rights and is particularly passionate about women’s and children’s rights.

Host Organization: Teach For All

Role at Host Organization: Zaneta will ensure the effective day to day operations of the Public Affairs team and contribute to the team goals of raising awareness of Teach For All and forwarding the work of other teams through communications and marketing support and project management.