Archive for Alumni Accomplishments

Monday, July 23rd, 2018

DPMI+ Spotlight: Chndy Rogel

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

Hi, I’m Chndy Rogel. I am an international student from the Philippines who moved to California to pursue a Master’s degree in International Policy and Development, with a specialization in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Design. I recently graduated and completed my DPMI+ assignment in Washington, DC as an intern for the Research and Evaluation Department of the Global Education, Employment, and Engagement Unit of FHI 360. While at FHI 360, I programmed mobile data collection tools, conducted data cleaning, and performed qualitative and quantitative analysis for global education projects in West Africa and Central America.

How did you find FHI 360? Why were you interested in working with them?

When I was fresh out of college in the Philippines, I’ve wanted to apply for positions at FHI 360. However, the programs in the Philippines were primarily in health and I do not have any background in health projects. While searching for internships towards the end of my third semester at MIIS, my career advisor reminded me of FHI 360. I went to their careers page and found a research internship with the Research and Evaluation Department of the Global Education, Employment, and Engagement Unit.

I was drawn to working with them because of the variety of sectors they work in and their expertise in monitoring and evaluation. I have limited experience with education projects and I wanted to get exposure to global education through the internship at FHI 360.

What courses at the Middlebury Institute helped prepare you the most for your current position?

The courses that prepared me the most are Introduction to Policy and Data Analysis, Qualitative Data Analysis, Program Evaluation, and DPMI.

What has been an unexpected challenge you have faced while at FHI 360?

My most important takeaway is committing to finishing what I have started. It was a big challenge for me during my final three weeks because most of the tasks that I was anticipating early in my internship came later than expected. I found myself working long hours to finish everything by May 18th. I felt excited that I was trusted with so much work but also found myself getting more exhausted than usual at the end of the day. I realized (and one of my senior colleagues also noted) that it is not sustainable. I almost gave up but realized that I just needed to take more breaks and limit my work hours on weekends. Work-life balance has been a challenge for me and my colleagues have been reminding me about it. The best part about working with the Research and Evaluation Department is having a supportive group of colleagues who are eager to share what they know and would also listen to what you would like to get out of the internship. They also acknowledge the strengths and interests of the members of the team.

I was asked to extend my internship, to which I agreed, but had to take a break for two weeks while I wait for work authorization for my post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT). International students cannot work after graduation until we have received our one-year OPT. I am continuing my internship until August.

What projects did you work on? How did they relate to your personal mission?

My priority projects are on fidelity of implementation of early grade reading programs in Ghana and Nigeria and on professional learning communities for teachers in Ghana, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea. I was also invited to support the work on mapping student disability screening tools for primary school-age children. One of my learning objectives for pursuing an internship at FHI 360 is to learn about their monitoring and evaluation approaches to development projects and the research initiatives they pursue.

My personal mission is to find ways to create equal access to opportunities to improve the quality of life of individuals and to support them in becoming economically active citizens. Improving the education system in developing countries, such as the Philippines, is one way of supporting individuals in reaching their full potential to become productive citizens contributing to the country’s development.

What lessons or skills did you learn “on the job?”

Personally, I have to be better on work-life balance. Even when you enjoy what you are doing, there is a limit to what your brain and body can take. In terms of professional skills, I learned mobile data collection tool programming, which I realized is something that seems to be in demand for the positions that I have been applying for. I also had the chance to observe and participate in the development of an Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP) for USAID during proposal development.

What are your plans now that you have completed your time at FHI 360?

I am currently looking for positions in international development, primarily on research, monitoring, and evaluation. DC is a great place to find headquarters experience on international development. I’m primarily interested in projects on micro, small, and medium enterprise development and livelihoods. The networking skills that I have learned at MIIS have been very useful in reaching out to professionals in this field for career advice and informational interviews.

Thanks, Chndy!

If you would like to know more about DPMI+, please email dpmiplus@middlebury.edu or visit here.

 

Monday, September 18th, 2017

Unicorn Strategies: Like Magic, But Better

Ever wonder what happens to graduates once they leave MIIS? We spoke with recent graduate Lieselotte Siegenthaler, a consulting partner at Unicorn Strategies, to get the scoop!

Unicorn Strategies (located in Washington, D.C.) is a company that provides pro bono chief of staff services to retired national security leaders. In exchange, these leaders make themselves available for client projects where they work with young women in national security to solve real world client problems.

Could you tell me a little bit about your background and how it led you to Unicorn Strategies?

In undergrad I interned in both the public and private sector, including stints at the Department of Commerce, at a private tech security firm in Germany and with a human rights lawyer at the UN in Geneva. After graduating, I worked in administration at tech security companies in San Francisco. Working in these positions exposed me to various smaller scale security issues and avenues towards intercultural communication.

Last summer I interned at the American Security Project, where I met my business partner, Maggie, who was Chief of Staff to the CEO at the time. We collaborated on a project involving Timor-Leste and Australia’s maritime boundary dispute and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Part of the project included interviewing the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, as well as liaising with Australian diplomats and American political figures. In working together, we realized while we have different professional backgrounds, our skill and knowledge sets complemented each other’s.

In interacting with and researching the many think tanks and nonprofits in DC, I learned about the pivotal role that retired national security leaders play in these organizations. Maggie’s extensive experience working with retired flag officers at American Security Project afforded her significant insight into how the officers were able to succeed after retiring, and how sometimes they do not have the opportunity to properly use their expertise after transitioning out of government. In addition to recognizing security leaders’ post-retirement contributions to national security, we noticed, and sometimes experienced, the challenges of being a woman in security. Both of our professional and academic lives provided us with large networks of young women either aspiring to work or already working in security.

While thinking about these two groups Maggie and I identified gaps that may prevent them from achieving their career goals. For many retired national security leaders, it’s the gap between their capabilities and how much they are able to contribute to the national security space. For young women working in security, it is the gap between them and the retired leaders, which inhibits their opportunity for mentorship and network expansion.

How/When did you create this company?

After I returned to MIIS for the fall semester and Maggie started her master’s program at Georgetown, we continued to explore the two gaps. Unicorn Strategies came together over the course of the next several months, after recognizing not only the connected gaps such as retired leaders and a network of young women in security, but also acknowledging the impact of our combined skill set in filling that need. Our official foundation date was February 2017 when we won our first contract and we moved into our office April (come visit us!). It’s been a learning process, but we love Unicorn because it allows us to work both in and outside of the traditional national security system to support a more equitable, free, and prosperous world.

What does that mean in practice? 

The chief of staff services translates to helping security leaders use their knowledge and skills as they transition out of government and into the private sector. This can include getting them on retainer at a news organization, an advisory position at consulting firm, or speaking engagements. They are also currently working with one retired IC leader to do a Track II dialogue in Eastern Europe!

In addition to the chief of staff services, companies and advocacy organizations approach us to complete projects, such as writing op-eds, or advising on specific policy issues. To work on the projects, we partner young women in security with the leaders we are staffing. This facilitates knowledge transfer, grows everyone’s networks, and creates mentorship opportunities.

To learn more about Unicorn Strategies go to info@unicornstrategies.com

OR if you are looking for a Fall internship they are hiring! Join the herd.

 

 

Monday, May 1st, 2017

How My DPMI Plus Experience Paid Off More Than I Ever Expected

Sarah Terherst completed DPMI Plus in the Spring of 2017. She is currently working as the Field Program Coordinator for the Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth projected based in Niamey, Niger.

I’m one of those weirdos who has known what they wanted to do for a long time. I wanted to work in “development” before I ever knew it was an actual sector. When I was very young I lived in Togo and saw extreme poverty and subsistence farming first hand. Since then I’ve wanted to work in what I used to call “sustainable agriculture” which is now coined as “improved livelihoods” and “resilience.” When I joined MIIS I believed it would be the tipping point of my career, tying together all of my past experiences and launching me into my desired future career: program manager, in the field, somewhere in Africa, working on food security. So, naturally, I jumped at my first opportunity to take DPMI which then propelled me into the DPMI+ program.

 

I strongly believe that one of the best things that MIIS has to offer is the Career and Advising Center (CACS) and my journey here is a testament to that. When applying for my DPMI+, I reached out to my favorite professors as well as Gael and Scott at CACS and applied to over 30 positions. Scott spent a lot of time with me, explaining how food security projects worked overseas and told me about certain organizations who implement USAID-funded projects. He even reached out to some of his contacts on my behalf which led to an interview for the Livestock and Market Development Internship position at Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA). I was offered the internship and headed out to Washington D.C. shortly after the new year. Just three months after I started my internship I became a full time employee for CNFA working on a different project. I am now a Field Program Coordinator for the Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth (REGIS-AG) project based in Niamey, Niger.

 

For me, my DPMI+ experience led me exactly toward my career goals. And, I’m incredibly grateful to still have access to resources like Beryl, Scott, and Gael as I start a new role in a new place. As I’m given new tasks or come across challenges within the project, it’s great to have their insight and guidance at my fingertips.

 

I think my biggest advice to students considering DPMI+ would be two-fold. First, if you want to work in development definitely take DPMI. Understanding how development projects work; how they are designed, implemented, scaled, and how impact is measured is ESSENTIAL and gives you a great framework to work from. Second, while you are applying for your DPMI+ assignments only apply to organizations where you want to work. Don’t look at your DPMI+ as just another way to get more experience that you hope someday will matter to a recruiter.  Search for internships and opportunities that are actually in the sector and/or role you want to be working in. Pursue your career through DPMI+. I’m not gonna lie…internships are not glamorous…at my internship in D.C. I emptied and loaded dishwashers daily. But, at the same time and in the same role, I learned how USAID-funded projects operate, I gained a wealth of knowledge about livestock and agricultural projects, and I landed a full time gig.

 

I have in no away arrived. I feel more like I’m starting over. I’m in a new country, working on a new project, and speaking in a different language. I think the picture here is a perfect summary of my time so far in the field. Notice: the other two women beside me are not hysterically laughing. That is because they actually know what’s going on around them…they know exactly which appropriate customs should take place at this baptism and they completely understand the French as well as both local languages being spoken around them. Meanwhile, I’m just cracking up having a good ol’ time while I blunder through my time here. It’s a blast and I’m loving every minute.

Thursday, February 11th, 2016

MIIS Alum Julia Belliard Featured in “The Californian” Article

Julia Belliard MPA ’05 has become the a point person for human resources related information in the California agricultural sector through her position as executive director of the Agricultural Personnel Management Association (APMA).

Take a look at this article in which she shares her journey from Belarus to MIIS and beyond.

Thursday, July 2nd, 2015

DPMI alumnus puts training to work in food security efforts in Ethiopia

IMG_1772Sitting down with Care Deputy Chief of Party and January 2015 Monterey DPMI Alumnus, Girma Hailu

During a 3-day trip to Addis Ababa after the DPMI Kenya training, I was able to meet-up with January 2015 DPMI Monterey alumnus, Girma Hailu in his hometown of Addis, Ababa, Ethiopia.

Girma has been serving as Deputy Chief of Party, Food Security for Farmers (FSF) for CARE in Ethiopia since last fall.

The CARE Food Sufficiency for Farmers project (FSFP) is a 5 year project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and executed by CARE Canada through CARE Ethiopia. The project aims at ensuring sustainable food security of chronically food insecure women, men, girls and boys in selected districts of the Oromiya and Amhara regions. The project works in collaboration and builds on the Ethiopian government National Food Security Programs and targets over 34,000 households; among which 13 percent are female-headed. The project will be implemented through 3 main components: i) improving the enabling environment for food security; ii) diversifying economic activities for food insecure households and iii) improving resilience to climate risks.

Click here to read more

Friday, June 19th, 2015

Adventures to Parts Known & Unknown

MIIS and Frontier Market Scouts alumna, Yuniya Khan, has certainly been making the most of her experience in Brazil. Yuniya is wrapping up a seven week stint working with entrepreneurs in Salvador, Brazil. Her work with the organization Instituto Mídia Étnica (IME) has included workshops on design thinking, business modeling, financial sustainability, fundraising, and marketing. And she’s done it all while learning Portuguese!

In addition, Yuniya has also been learning about the obstacles that entrepreneurs face while starting and running a business in Salvador. She plans on returning to Salvador in late August to continue working with IME to launch the organization’s first ever co-working space targeting black entrepreneurs. She will also be collaborating with another organization, the Amani Institute, to offer courses on social innovation, design thinking, and other relevant topics to the entrepreneurs in our co-working space, as well as in Salvador at large.

Yuniya is a FMS alumna and founder of Team El Salvador.

Thursday, June 18th, 2015

MIIS IPSS alumnus tracks illicit weapons trading around the world

Jonah_Leff_UN_Weapons_Inspector
Information provides governments and policymakers with arms data previously never available.

It was my first year working at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) at Monterey when I met MIIS IPS ’06 alumnus Jonah Leff. He was studying the effects of conventional and small arms violence under the tutelage of MIIS professor Edward Laurance, a pioneer in the field of small arms and light weapons trade treaties and research. Jonah was also a fellow serving an internship at the United Nations Office for Disarmament Research (UNODA) through the MIIS International Professional Service Semester (IPSS) program. The IPSS program is designed to help students jump-start their careers through junior-level internships in their field during their final semester of graduate schoo.

Jonah currently serves as Director of Operations at Conflict Armament Research and is based out of Nairobi, Kenya (where we recently met). It’s been wonderful reconnecting with Jonah over the years and to see the MIIS and Middlebury College students he has supported in entering the important field of preventing armed violence.

Click here to read more

Monday, June 15th, 2015

Greater Middlebury alumni community comes together in Nairobi

IMG_1640 IMG_1633 IMG_1636 IMG_1635 IMG_1639A June 9th reception in Nairobi drew over 25 members from the entire Middlebury community including alumni from Middlebury College, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), the MIIS Frontier Market Scouts fellowship, and the MIIS Program on Design, Partnering, Management and Innovation (DPMI).

The event was held at the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communications in the 9 West building in the Westlands neighborhood of Nairobi, the site of the June 2-11 DPMI Kenya training. The group welcomed the wonderfully diverse group of DPMI Kenya trainees to the alumni community. DPMI Kenya participants in the June training hail from over seven different countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Niger, Venezuela, the Philippines, South Africa, and the US).

Highlights from the event include how effortlessly the group of alumni from different Middlebury backgrounds connected as well as the short speech made by guest of honor, Dr. Beryl Levinger, a Distinguished Professor and Development Policy and Practice Program Chair at MIIS. During Beryl’s speech, she likened what many alumni are doing in the development and social enterprise space to a quote from Thomas Edison on the process of inventing the light bulb, ‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. Beryl then told the group, “You fail many times trying to find the right approach. The common thread is that you are all here trying to make a difference.”

Click here to read more

Thursday, March 27th, 2014

Nicholas Tomb (MAIPS, 2002) participates in VIKING 14

puff-viking-factsheet-2

MIIS alum Nicholas Tomb is participating in the Viking 14 exercise, a multinational exercise that simulates an integrated UN Peacekeeping Operation in the fictional country of Bogaland.  VIKING 14 is a Command Post Exercise/Computer Assisted Exercise in the “Spirit of Partnership for Peace.” Previous VIKING-exercises have been stated as the premier Multinational and Comprehensive Approach exercise in the world.

This exercise includes nearly 3,000 participants from almost 50 countries and addresses many of the challenges in civil-military relations that modern, integrated missions face around the world.  More specifically, he is serving as a Civilian Integration Planner with the Armed Forces of Georgia and will spend the 10 day Exercise session just outside of Tbilisi, Georgia.  Nick is participating in the exercise through his affiliation with the Center for Civil-Military Relations at the US Naval Postgraduate School, where he works as an Assistant Program Manager in the Prevention, Relief and Recovery program.

 

 

 

Wednesday, October 9th, 2013

MIIS Faculty and Alumn Accomplishments

Monthly update on MIIS faculty and alumni in the news:

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MIIS alumn Arash Asady goes to Wall Street in Fox Business.

 

 

yerxa_ambassadorDeputy director-general of the World Trade Organization to join MIIS on MIIS Blog.

 

 

smithson_amyCNS fellow Amy Smithson on weapon inspection in Syria on NPR.

 

 

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Glenzer publsihes article on social change in Sub-Saharan Africa on MIIS Blog.

Friday, September 20th, 2013

MIIS in the news and headlines

Every week, MIIS and its faculty is featured in news and articles. Here are the latest ones:

wehling_fredFred Wehling quoted in Crossing the red line: The taboo of chemical weapons

lewis_jeffreyJeffrey Lewis’s Op-ed in The New York Times: Even a Flawed Plan Will Be Useful

philipp_3_-_l_crop
Phillip C. Bleek and Raymond Zilinskas mentioned in What chemical weapons does Syria have?
sunderPresident Ramaswamy’s letter in The Herald: Letters: MIIS helps vets transition
MIIS as part of an IIE initiative in Myanmar/Burma: International relations course for developing-world higher education

Wednesday, September 11th, 2013

MIIS Alumna Offers The Uncommon Business Summit in Monterey on September 13-15, 2013

Uncommon-Business-Summit

This weekend, MBA Alumna Jane Deuben is holding  The Uncommon Business Summit in Monterey. This event attracts an interesting mix of small business entrepreneurs from around the country and Canada. It’s very entrepreneurial in its content.

The Uncommon Business Summit is for entrepreneurs who are seeking to grow their business in an innovative and uncommon way.  We attract a mission-driven tribe made up of trainers, authors, speakers, consultants, coaches and professional service providers who are looking for creative ideas, perspectives and strategies for taking their business to the next level and beyond.

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Past DPMI Participant Featured in the Huffington Post

Congratulations to Cory Ybarra! Cory, who participated in DPMI in 2009, recently had her non-profit, Building for Generations, featured in a Huffington Post article.  Building for Generations works to provide medical treatment to children with disabilities. Read more about her story here.

 

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Visit MIIS Alumna Corey McAveeney’s Blog

Corey McAveeney graduated from Monterey Institute in 2009 with MA in International Trade Policy. She and her husband Dmitry Dragilev, also a MIIS 2009 MBA almunus, blog together about their exciting accomplishments and adventures.

 

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

MIIS Alum and Former IPSS Participant Miriam Rayward Featured in Boren Newsletter

Miriam Rayward, a MIIS alum, former IPSS participant, and 2010 Boren Fellow, interned at Hand in Hand School in Jerusalem. The school teaches Jewish and Arab children together and incorporates conflict resolution lessons into the curriculum. Read more in the December 2011 Boren Newsletter!