Humphrey Fellow Magdalena Ayerra joined more than 100 students from Argentina studying in more than 40 universities across the United States for a conference organized by Masters Argentina. This non-partisan and non-profit organization connects all Argentine master's students studying in the United States and Europe by bringing them together for an annual meeting to build a diverse community, reflect on the country's challenges, and find starting points for action. As a public policy consultant specializing in managing cultural and urban redevelopment projects in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ms. Ayerra was excited to attend and hear from prominent Argentinian politicians, policymakers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and leaders, including Sergio Kaufman, President of Accenture for Hispanic South America, and Chief Engineer for the Guidance and Control Systems at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Miguel San Martin. Hosted by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Chicago Booth Business School at the University of Chicago, the theme for this year's conference was "Unlikely conversations for the Argentina that is possible," with a focus on innovation, agribusiness, and achieving greater political consensus for a united Argentina. “Events like this give me hope. As a changemaker, I engaged with many students with the desire to go back and contribute to applying innovative ideas to change my country's present and create a better future for all,” said Ms. Ayerra. She is a Humphrey Fellow at MIT, where she is developing collaborative projects related to urban planning and culture.

As part of the Community College Residency Program Humphrey Fellow Afiavi Caca Akibode visited Kirkwood Community College in Iowa. Given her professional expertise in economic development and agribusiness management, she was eager to explore one of the top agriculture-producing states and engage with U.S. counterparts working on agriculture development and technology. She presented business practices and challenges faced by women in her home country, Togo, to several classes and discussed her role as a small business owner who supports new entrepreneurial agricultural businesses to succeed. She visited Eldon C. Stutsman, Inc., Eastern Iowa’s largest supplier of retail and wholesale agricultural products, and was exposed to the company's management practices, divisions, and innovative use of agricultural technology. As the owner of an incubator center, Ms. Akibode engaged with the startup accelerator  NewBo City Market to learn more about the nonprofit organization and its business incubator model. In particular, she gained insights into successful strategies for helping first-time women entrepreneurs overcome the unique challenges they face when starting and running a business, which she can directly apply when she returns to Togo. While touring both the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City campuses, she also met with members of Kirkwood Women Connect (KWC), a college group created by the first female President of the college, Dr. Lori Sundberg, to recognize and support women on campus. Collaborative ideas emerged from this meeting and Ms. Akibode continues her engagement with them, currently organizing joint trainings and networking activities with KWC and her incubator, Calia Expertise Entrepreneurs, on themes such as women in leadership and women in safety professions. 
 

- Elizabeth O’Brien, International Program Coordinator, Kirkwood Community College

 

Congratulations to Humphrey alumnus Dr. William Okyere-Frempong on being selected for the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship Program. It offers  Africa’s young leaders with the greatest potential various formal and innovative informal learning opportunities to enhance their leadership capabilities. A flagship program of the African Leadership Institute (AFLI) in partnership with Oxford University, this prestigious fellowship focuses on building visionary and strategic leadership capacity across the continent. It is highly competitive and only 20-25 candidates from across Africa are selected each year. Dr. Okyere-Frempong was selected for his integrity, strong values and responsibility, courage, and demonstrated ability to lead and inspire. Given his professional experience training emerging leaders through the HuD Group and as a founding Medical Superintendent of the Nungua LEKMA Polyclinic, a public healthcare facility in Accra, Ghana, he was a strong candidate that exemplified AFLI’s mission to seek visionary, strategic, self-aware and ethical leaders across the continent who together become the catalysts for change and transformation of Africa.

Dr. Okyere-Frempong was a Humphrey Fellow at Emory University from 2019-2020. He is a Ghanaian medic, management leader, motivational coach, and minister of the gospel. He holds an MBChB in Medicine & Surgery, an Executive Certificate in Business Administration, and a Masters in Organizational Leadership & Governance.

Humphrey alumna Dounia Benslimane was a 2020-2021 Fellow who completed her professional affiliation (PA) with PEN America, a nonprofit organization that works to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, convey information and ideas, express their views, and access the views, ideas, and literature of others. During her PA, she was a researcher and fact-checker for the Freedom to Write Index 2021 report, which provides a count of the writers and public intellectuals held in prison or detention during 2021 in relation to their writing or for otherwise exercising their right to free expression. The report shows that writers worldwide faced increased threats from authoritarian takeovers and ongoing systemic repression, with dozens of new arbitrary arrests compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and its spread within jails and prisons. Ms. Benslimane specifically supported the research behind eight writers and public intellectuals — Xu Zhiyong, Maung Thar Cho, Arash Ganji, Ismail Alexandrani, Valeria Kostyugova, Maykel Castillo Pérez, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, and Yury Dmitriev — who were featured in the report to bring visibility to their unjust detentions. She believes the work of writers and public intellectuals to uncover the history and speak truth to power are crucial to protecting free expression and human rights in every society.

Ms. Benslimane was a Humphrey Fellow from Morocco at the University of Minnesota from 2020-2021. She has committed her career to development and democracy-building. Alongside her many years of professional experience, Ms. Benslimane holds a medical degree from Hassan II University of Casablanca and an associate degree in Cultural Project Management from Marcel Hicter Association in Brussels, Belgium.