Fellows

Nino has five years of experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management from the International University of Tunis. After founding two social businesses, Nino became a social entrepreneurship specialist and has developed a curriculum for a MEPI funded job development project. The project will teach practical skills to young unemployed people on starting and running their own businesses. He also serves as manager of EL SPACE, a community shared workspace that he co-founded. EL SPACE provides interdisciplinary workshops for local business people and affordable office space for social entrepreneurs. While working on these initiatives, Nino developed project management skills: conception, research, design, planning, execution, quality control, and report writing. He is the volunteer head of an ongoing organization, Tunisian Association for Nature and Sustainable Development (ANDD), which educates people through public workshops and debates on climate change. This work followed his volunteer work with EVASIONS, an outdoor activity association which he co-founded, that encouraged good bodily health and exploration of Tunisia. Through EVASIONS, he learned how to manage large groups of people and organize events. He also managed the budget for EVASIONS and ANDD. Nino is determined to improve the community by developing social entrepreneurship thus encouraging economic development for young people.

Host: PYXERA Global

Fellow Role at Host Organization: Nino will assist in improving local partner and participant training/tools for the SAP program that has a focus on assisting entrepreneurs. He will also help with Ares client management, social media/communications, project development, and impact measurement.

Alexandra has 9 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She received a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) and a Master’s degree in International Cooperation for Development from Ortega y Gasset University Research Institute in Madrid, Spain. She was the Institutional Development Coordinator at Center Prodh – a human rights nonprofit in Mexico – for 8 years. She was also a consultant for AJWS. She has experience in strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, as well as knowledge on methodologies such as Logical Framework Approach and Theory of Change. She has worked with U.S. private foundations and the EU-Mexico cooperation. Her experiences have provided her with an understanding of the main human rights issues and confirmed her deep commitment with social justice and strengthening of civil society. Alexandra enjoys processes of learning, cultural exchanges, the outside and the arts.

Host Organization: Southwest Economic Solutions

Role at Host Organization: Alexandra will develop, implement, and
evaluate processes that integrate the work of SWES both programmatically and technologically.
Her work will culminate in both the implementation of new programs as well as an actionable
recommendation for integrative practices for the future.

Chiudo has eight years of experience in environmental management consulting and earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Pure and Industrial Chemistry from the University of Nigeria, and a Master’s of Science in Environmental Technology and Management from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Chiudo is Head of Projects at Rumines Limited, an environmental technology and management consulting company in Nigeria. His responsibilities include project management, environmental research, data collection and analysis, as well as technical report writing. Since June 2016, he has served as Country Manager for Nigeria with Climate Scorecard – a U.S.-based organization that monitors how the top 25 greenhouse gas emitting countries implement the Paris Agreement on climate change. As a participant of the USAID Young African Leaders Initiative training program that held in Accra, Ghana, from October to December 2015, he served as Research and Outreach Volunteer with U.S.-based Leaders of the Free World, a nonprofit that aims to improve positive outcomes for young Black males through training on leadership and self-efficacy, and international travel. Chiudo helped to develop a White Paper on the LFW program and contributed to blog articles. He is interested in environmental protection and sustainable development, as well as entrepreneurship and youth empowerment.

Host Organization: Seeding Labs

Role at Host Organization: Chiudo will be responsible for managing several partnerships with universities in the Instrumental Access program. He will also help increase the annual capacity of universities that Seeding Labs can support.

Diego is an international business developer with 6 years of experience in business development, sourcing and sustainability within a Fortune 500 company as well as in international trade & investment in government
organizations. He holds a Bachelor’s dual-degree in International Business Management from ESB Reutlingen in Germany and Universidad de las Américas in Puebla and an MBA from Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) in Mexico City. An upbringing in Mexico and the U.S., as well as extended academic and work experiences in Germany, Switzerland, Holland, and France, has given him keen cross cultural experiences and helped him become fluent in English, Spanish, German and French. Until recently, he led multi-sectoral efforts to promote Mexican exports and attract foreign direct investment as an international business consultant at the Trade & Investment Commission of Mexico in the U.S. and Germany. Previous experience includes leading Communication and PR Programs for Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility for water usage efficiency, residue management, renewable energy sources and human development within a Fortune 500 company. In 2016, he founded Xiik’ Business Accelerator, a boot camp for Mexican startups in founding stages with core businesses linked to environmentally sustainable business models. Through his experience as project leader in the public and private sector, he developed solid project management skills; enabling him to lead multiple projects and its budgets with a strategic approach while meeting strict time schedules and productivity targets. Diego is passionate about the current role of social entrepreneurship – with the firm belief of becoming a social entrepreneur himself – and would like to further pursue doctoral studies on how institutions can effectively foster economic development in Latin American countries.

Host Organization: Goodwill Industries International

Role at Host Organization: Diego will support Goodwill Industries International, Inc.’s goal to strategically expand the Goodwill social enterprise model internationally. He will join the International Development team, identifying new international opportunities, supporting existing international affiliates and partners, and contributing to broad initiatives including data collection and analysis, fundraising, the development of tools for the delivery of technical assistance and training to international partners, and other capacity-building mechanisms.

Dorena has six years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration and a Master’s of Science in Business Administration from the University of Tirana, Albania. She has been working as
Event Coordinator for around 5 months in a known company in Albania, which organizes big conferences for organizations such as UNDP, UNICEF, OSBE, World Bank, and UN Women, among others. She is responsible for organizing meetings, social programs, conferences, and similar business events in Albania. Dorena has been part of Peace Corps Albania as a short-term Medical Assistant and full time Administrative Assistant for the U.S. Peace Corps office in Albania. She has also been working for three years as Head of Human Resources at Unique Junior Enterprise, a very active student organization operating in the Faculty of Economics. She has vast experience working with people from all over Europe on different projects, since she has been involved in several activities of the Erasmus program part of European Commission, such as training, youth exchanges, seminars and conferences in Albania and abroad. Through her experiences and volunteer work, she has developed strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a fast-moving, multi- cultural environment.

Host Organization: Young Professionals in Foreign Policy

Role at Host Organization: Dorena will be responsible for conducting financial and market research, assisting the Chief of Staff to maximize volunteer effectiveness, improving the organization’s HR system, and helping manage organizational and program budgets. She will work with the Executive Team to contribute to the development and implementation of organizational strategies, policies, and practices.

Lourdes has over three years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and she recently graduated with honors from Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in Nicaragua where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, during which she was an exchange student at Murray State University in the U.S. for one year as part of the Global UGRAD Exchange Program. While working as an Operations Coordinator at the Organization of American States (OAS), she helped coordinating logistics and administrative operations for the Inter-American Program of Judicial Facilitators (IPJF). Previously, she worked with the community-based organization Foundation for the Development of Cuapa (FUNDED CUAPA), where she assessed the impact of several poverty reduction projects. Recognized as a young leader by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and Junior Chamber International (JCI), Lourdes has also volunteered extensively in international organizations, first in the world’s largest youth-led nonprofit AIESEC, and then as a Community Development Consultant in Brazil where she successfully developed strategies to address community needs and issues. As a fellow of the USAID funded Talent Cloud Fellowship Program, Lourdes has also conducted a research on volunteer experiences for the development of soft skills and their impact on youth employability in Nicaragua. Through these experiences she has developed skills in project management, impact assessment, research, and leadership. Furthermore, Lourdes has a strong passion for youth employment, social justice and women’s empowerment.

Host Organization: Heartland Human Care Services (HHCS)

Role at Host Organization: Lourdes will join a management team of three leaders with many years of experience to handle several major projects, including helping the Operations team at HHCS to grow toward a more strategic, coordinated approach by streamlining the infrastructure and customer service.

Mohammed has eight years of experience in the nonprofit sector; he earned MBA from the Islamic University of Gaza, and a Bachelor’s of Information Technology in Computer Information Systems from Jordan University of Science and Technology in Jordan. Through his job as Research and Evaluation Officer – UNRWA Community Mental Health Programme (CMHP), Mohammed works in the monitoring and evaluation of the results and impacts of CMHP projects’ and programmes’ implementation. He gathers, standardises and maintains data on different structured programs through databases for internal and external use for M&E and summary reporting purposes. Before his current position, Mohammed worked for CMHP as Training Coordinator where he helped in planning, organizing, and developing capacity building strategies for staff members who provide psychosocial support and counseling services to Palestinian refugees (children & adults) at both UNRWA schools and primary health care centers. Previously, Mohammed worked for UNRWA Khanyones Training College as Technical Instructor, he provided semi-professional training to students of Business Diploma Programs; in addition to his academic experience in delivering a number of management and business administration modules, he contributed practically in delivering different ICT, MIS & Information Management modules. As part of being initiative, Mohammed had a voluntary role during 2014 summer hostilities in Gaza, he worked as a collective centre member in providing PFA, logistical, and emergency preparedness support for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the emergency shelters, which as a result contributed in enhancing IDP’s coping and resiliency. Mohammed is passionate in supporting youth development in different aspects such as training & capacity building as well as entrepreneurship initiatives.

Host Organization: IBM

Role at Host Organization: Mohammed will work closely with the Corporate Service Corps (CSC) Program Manager in Armonk on a number of projects to support the ongoing operations and deployment of CSC teams, in addition to developing new models for community engagement.

Rayan has over seven years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and earned a Bachelor’s of Engineering in Architecture and Urban Planning in 2014 from the University of Tripoli in Libya. While working as a Program Officer at the American Bar Association in Tripoli under the USAID-funded National Dialogue and Constitution program by developing and implementing the rule of law across Libya. She was able to manage and implement more than 100 activities to promote the Libyan constitution, raise the public awareness and have conflict resolution and community dialogue Sessions in over 25 different cities across Libya. The role was to also train and raise awareness for over 1400 stakeholders and developed 19 recommendation letters that have been sent to the Constitution Drafting Assembly and many of the demands were considered in the final July 2017 Constitution. During her undergraduate study, Rayan was one of only 4 students who represented the Architect and Urban Planning department in an international workshop to design a proposal for a housing compound to host the illegal immigrants in the island of Lampedusa-Italy. Rayan is an active member in H2O team, a Libyan nonprofit organization that aims to bridge the gaps between youth and authority figures. Through these experiences, she has developed leadership in community engagement, conflict analysis, and project management. She is particularly interested in economic development, social entrepreneurship, and youth empowerment.

Host Organization: Impact Experience

Role at Host Organization: Rayan will play a pivotal role in the strategy, execution, and growth of Impact Experience. She will help deepen the scale of Impact Experience’s work while engaging first hand with community leaders, helping to serve needy communities around the world.