2016 Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors

Current City: Los Angeles, CA
Institution: Swarthmore College
AAnderson.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In China, Alex completed an artist residency in ceramics and studied ink painting at the China Academy of Art. He was drawn to the aesthetic of Chinese art and sought to learn from the mastery of the Chinese ceramic medium; the primary material of his current practice. The ink painting courses he studied helped him to understand and use space, line, and form in the two and three-dimensional realms more effectively, while new environment enhanced his art with fresh forms and content. Alex is currently an MFA candidate in ceramics at University of California, Los Angeles.

Current City: Tucson, AZ
Institution: University of Arizona
RCamacho.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

While in Rio Branco, Brazil, Rafael worked as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant through Inglês Sem Fronteiras, English Without Borders, at the Federal University of Rio Branco. During his grant, Rafael participated in a speaker series, workshops, and was a guest speaker at several language learning institutions within his host community and its surrounding municipalities. Rafael also worked directly with the State Department of Justice and Human Rights and other local NGOs to help resettle newly arrived refugees coming into Brazil from Peru and Bolivia. He was also an integral part in the resettlement process providing voluntary interpreting services and assisting with cultural orientations. Rafael and community partners created a large community cultural event on World Refugee Day, where stereotypes were broken through music and dance.

Current City: Lewiston, ME
Institution: Sewanee: The University of the South
CCorp.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Tajikistan, Chane divided his time between the American Corner in Dushanbe – one of the most hip-hoppinest places in town - and the English Access scholarship programs throughout the country. Working with students of all ages, Chane had an opportunity to engage with everyone from young children to elderly Babushkas who hoped to speak in English with their American-born grandchildren. Chane also had an opportunity to work with EducationUSA on facilitating MOOCs and traveled to the Pamirs to interview students for the U.S.-Central Asia Education Foundation Enterprise Student Fellowship. Currently, Chane is an Admission Counselor for Diversity Outreach at Bates College and also works with EducationUSA Russia as a Virtual Student Foreign Service Intern.

Current City: Alexander Counts
Institution: Cornell University
ACounts.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

President and CEO of the American India Foundation, Alex Counts is a leader in international development with two decades of experience building, scaling, and managing nonprofit organizations. Counts is the founder of Grameen Foundation and became its President and CEO in 1997, after having worked in microfinance and poverty reduction for 10 years. A Cornell University graduate, Counts’ commitment to poverty eradication deepened as a Fulbright Student in Bangladesh, where he witnessed innovative poverty solutions being developed by Grameen Bank. He trained under Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank, and co-recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Since its modest beginnings, sparked by a $6,000 seed grant provided by Prof. Yunus (who was a founding board member and continues as director emeritus), Grameen Foundation has grown to become leading international humanitarian organization with an annual budget of approximately $20 million.

Counts has propelled Grameen Foundation’s philosophy through his writings, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance Are Changing the World and Voices From the Field. Counts has also been published in The Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Miami Herald, The Christian Science Monitor and elsewhere. In 2007 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Horace Mann School. While at Cornell University, he received the John F. Kennedy Memorial Award, given annually by the Class of 1964 to the graduating senior who is the best example of the ideal of public service articulated by our 35th President.

Counts is a board member of Citizen’s Climate Education and Grameen-Jameel Microfinance, Ltd, and sits on the Advisory Council of the Center for Financial Inclusion. Previously, he has served as the Chair of Fonkoze USA and co-chair of the Fonkoze Family Coordinating Committee—two governance bodies of the largest microfinance institution in Haiti. He served as Co-Chair of the Microfinance CEO Working Group and on the Truelift Steering Committee.

Before leading Grameen Foundation, Counts served as the legislative director of RESULTS and as a regional project manager for CARE-Bangladesh. He speaks Bengali and lives with his wife, Emily, and their cat, Seymour. He loves listening to and promoting live music in intimate venues, especially blues and bluegrass, as well as other genres.

Current City: Philadelphia, PA
Institution: University of Michigan
MDavis.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In South Africa, Mathieu’s research focused on knee replacement implants and the different tribological properties of current materials used in these devices, including titanium and cobalt chromium alloys. His aim was to determine the most effective combination of materials to limit debris and particle accumulation during extensive wear testing. Additionally, he conducted research in gait analysis as a means of biometric identification, an expertise which was utilized by the South African Police Department. Mathieu’s cultural engagement activities during his grant included, but were not limited to, implementing a community outreach wing for the Biomedical Engineering Research Group at the University of Stellenbosch. This program will continue to bring together primary school students from the local Stellenbosch area to learn science and mathematics principles using Lego Mindstorms robots. Mathieu is now a biomechanics consultant at Exponent.

Current City: Anchorage, AK
Institution: California State University, Dominguez Hills
DFleming.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Mexico, David was assigned to work full-time as an analyst in the financial planning department of the Mexican ultra-low cost carrier airline Volaris (+$1B USD revenue) while simultaneously pursuing an MBA program at the prestigious Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México during the evenings. The primary focus of David’s research was analyzing data and creating financial models in areas such as airline benchmark econometrics, fuel forecasting (largest expense), aircraft re-delivery project (first ever), and a company-wide salaries and benefits model. Over the duration of his grant, he also attended graduate level courses covering corporate finance, microeconomics, entrepreneurship among others - all conducted in Spanish. David is currently a small business owner in Alaska with plans of expanding his business into international markets this coming summer.

Current City: Chapel Hill, NC
Institution: University of South Carolina
CGalardi.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In South Korea, Christina brought creativity to the classroom as a middle school English teacher for more than 700 students in Gumi, South Korea. She taught weekend English camps each semester for accelerated students and collaborated with a Korean technology teacher to develop an after school culinary club to introduce students to different cultures through hands-on experiences. During winter break, Christina developed an English curriculum for an early childhood development start-up, iFuture, at the University of Ulsan. Outside of her teaching duties, Christina enrolled in a traditional music class and performed the piri (a Korean instrument similar to an oboe) in several community performances. Christina also served as a copy editor for Fulbright Korea's annual Infusion publication, volunteered with Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission (KOOM), and traveled to all of the country's UNESCO World Heritage sites. Christina is now a dual master's degree candidate in public health and city and regional planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Current City: Los Angeles, CA
Institution: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
EJohnson.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In England, Emmanuel completed his master’s in robotics and conducted research in human robot interactions. He was primarily interested in exploring how robots can use gestures as a way of providing feedback in a learning environment. Emmanuel’s work also led to an internship at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he helped to build a user interface to control a robotic arm. Outside of his grant studies, Emmanuel volunteered in the Birmingham England via TEAM UP to tutor middle school students in mathematics. Emmanuel is currently a PhD student at the University of Southern California in the Computer Science Department.

Current City: Tucson, AZ
Institution: At-Large, Hawaii
HJones.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Jordan, Hannah served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at the University of Jordan in Amman, where she was the primary teacher for undergraduate level classes. In addition to her University of Jordan responsibilities, she volunteered weekly as an English teacher at Za’atari Camp for Syrians. Hannah helped establish a volunteer program for native English speakers in Amman to assist in conversation classes at Za’atari Camp. During her time off from Arabic study and teaching, Hannah trained in taekwondo at a club for young Jordanian Olympic hopefuls and documented her Fulbright year through her photographs. Hannah now lives in Tucson, Arizona where she works as success coach for Earn to Learn, a program that prepares high school students for college with financial education and matching funds. Follow Hannah on Instagram @hannahrjones.

Current City: Brooklyn, NY
Institution: At-Large, North Carolina
DKoehler.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Botswana, Daniel lived with the San communities in Gaborone, New Xade, and Metsiamanong. His primary goal was to produce a documentary film about San youth in transition; as they navigate their lives in the wake of San people being relocated from their ancestral homeland in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. In the past, the media had misrepresented the San’s story, making them understandably wary of outsiders, especially filmmakers. Daniel was able to assuage these misgivings, build genuine friendships, and create an intimate coming-of-age portrait that explores the tension between modernity and tradition. Daniel is currently a documentary filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York.

Current City: Philadelphia, PA

Institution: University of Pennsylvania
KLeader.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Haiti, Katelyn served as a Special Assistant at the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation in a unit responsible for territorial planning and local and regional development. With her colleagues, she designed and implemented a research study on post-earthquake urban expansion, focusing on a rapidly transforming area north of Port-au-Prince known as Canaan. Katelyn also expanded her master's research on rural resettlement in central Haiti, examining the challenges and opportunities for families and individuals who returned to the countryside after the 2010 earthquake. Katelyn is now helping to build Perry World House, the University of Pennsylvania's new hub for global engagement and international policy research.

Current City: Sacramento, CA
Institution: At-Large, California
CManneh.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In the Sultanate of Oman, Claire examined the country’s use of information technology in hospitals with a focus on electronic medical records. She worked with three major hospitals throughout the country, Royal Hospital, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, and Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah, each of which operates on three entirely different systems. Surveying over 300 clinicians and patients, the delivery of care varied between each hospital and like everywhere else using an electronic medical record, the daily processes require quality improvement. Additionally, Claire tutored students at Oman Medical College, and started an English reading and recycling program at a Bausher elementary school for girls. Currently, Claire is the Director of Programs at the Hospital Quality Institute.

Current City: Berkeley, CA
Institution: Sewanee: The University of the South
HMiller.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

Hanna Miller taught American studies and English in the “Detroit of Russia.” In Naberezhnye Chelny, a young city known for producing cement trucks, Hanna taught at a university preparing students to enter the industrial workforce. Rich cultural and religious traditions abound in Chelny, located in Russia’s only Muslim republic, and how traditions were maintained in a new city piqued Hanna’s interest. To learn more, she conducted a series of oral history interviews and found grandmothers responsible for memory (and thus identity) making. As a Mississippi native, Hanna saw a similarity between Russian and Tatar grandmothers and her experience with the southern variety. She split her time between teaching and researching and deconstructed the “steel magnolia” ideal as it applies to generational gaps and (re)forming cultural identity in light of a dark past. At the end of her research, she rode a train across Russia and walked across her home state of Mississippi conducting a cross-cultural documentary project called Mississippi Heard that battles media-driven misperceptions in the south and Russia. Now, she studies documentary filmmaking at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Current City: Birmingham, AL
Institution: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
JMilton.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Yogyakarta, a city in the Java province in Indonesia that is known as its cultural capital, Jilisa served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant where she was an English teacher at a local public high school and participated in various community and cultural activities. She also spent time traveling through Java and Bali, enjoying Indonesia’s unique and diverse cultures. Jilisa is a current law student at the University of Alabama School of Law and wishes to work for non-profits providing legal services. She also hopes to reach out to other Americans who are globally underrepresented to encourage them to travel via cultural exchange programs in the hopes of further promoting cultural understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries.

Current City: Stanford, CA
Institution: University of California, San Diego
DMorales.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Guayaquil, Ecuador, Davíd led English workshops, seminars, and developed culturally appropriate activities for a diverse university student population at Laica Vicente Rocafuerte University. He taught on topics such as U.S. history and culture, literature, technology, academic writing, and attended faculty conferences across Ecuador regarding world language instruction. Outside of his teaching duties, Davíd expanded his honors thesis research by documenting the narratives of students and teachers as a way of understanding current Ecuadorian education reforms. This project led him to volunteer with The National Secretariat for Higher Education, Sciences, Technology & Innovation of Ecuador, and to travel to rural communities to raise awareness about the higher education reforms and application process. Davíd is currently an M.A. candidate at Stanford University.

Current City: Tampa, FL
Institution: University of South Florida, Tampa
MOgunrinde.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In the Dominican Republic, Mary Ogunrinde assistant taught English Language Learners in the English Immersion Program at Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo. The range of students she taught included those who had no English background, to those who had previously taken English. In addition to working in the classroom, Mary held conversation classes with her students and also volunteered with EducationUSA Santo Domingo at Instituto Cultural Dominico-Americano. With EducationUSA, she set up a website, planned and documented multiple college fairs and answered students’ questions on a daily basis, either in the office, or through a monthly webchat. After returning home, Mary embarked upon her last year of graduate school at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She will be graduating in May 2016 with a master’s degree in Elementary Education/ESOL and hopes to continue spreading the word about Fulbright within the university and the Tampa Bay area communities.

Current City: Jacksonville, FL
Institution: Drexel University
LPitts.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Barbados, Lauren conducted a pilot study for her doctoral research on “A Systems Perspective of Home and School Leadership Influences on Barbados Adolescent Girls Educational Outcomes.” She focused on understanding culturally relevant information regarding parenting, youth and gender issues, conflict management and other educational and family related issues. Lauren found that the girls’ perceptions of leadership in the home (particularly in father absent homes) and perceptions of leadership in the school setting were influencing their social and educational experiences. Additionally, Lauren worked with Springer Memorial Secondary School staff to develop parent education workshops for single mothers having behavioral challenges with their daughters, and taught workshops at the school with the girls enrolled in the D.A.R.E. program. Lauren is an EdD student at Drexel University, Philadelphia.

Current City: Brooklyn, NY
Institution: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
JRabb.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

Jonathan was awarded a Fulbright Young American Journalist grant to Germany. There, he lived in Berlin doing advanced research in digital audience development and cross-platform storytelling at UFA Lab, Germany's premier digital creative lab. As a resident at UFA Lab, Jonathan worked on multiple collaborations with YouTube as well as covered Europe's largest social media conference and President Obama's visit to Germany. Jonathan also worked as an intern at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, an Executive MBA program in creative leadership for global advertising executives.

Current City: Chicago, IL
Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
RStock.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In India, Ryan conducted pre-dissertation research on climate change adaptation and vulnerability in semi-arid Gujarat, India. He interviewed 120 farmers, conducted an adaptive capacity assessment of three villages, and held farmer focus groups. Ryan found that despite the influx of rural development schemes to assist adaptation, farmers in Gujarat were differently vulnerable to extreme heat, shifting monsoon rains, and water scarcity based upon differences of social power (i.e. caste, gender), often exacerbated by institutional interventions. Ryan’s mixed methods research utilized ethnographic interviews, household surveys, institutional analysis, regression analysis and geospatial mapping. For this research, Ryan collaborated with the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad. Throughout his Fulbright grant, he also worked with the Himalayan Ethno Botanic Garden Society in Uttarakhand on ecological restoration initiatives. Ryan is a PhD student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Current City: Brooklyn, NY
Institution: The George Washington University
EVourlides.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Greece, Evy worked on an ethnography among young adults in Athens during a period of debt crisis and significant youth unemployment. She focused on how undergraduate students and recent graduates in Athens gain employment and strategize their futures. The Department of Social Anthropology at The Panteion University of Political and Social Sciences hosted Evy during her stay, where she supported the department by teaching and assisting with an ethnographic film project. The department provided Evy with a rich network of students and local academics that had a prominent impact on her research. In addition to the university setting, Evy interviewed informants from the public and private sector. This allowed her to better understand the policies and initiatives aimed at providing opportunities for youth in Athens, and where these efforts could be adjusted. Evy continues her interest in an academically informed career where her research can contribute to nuanced and socially responsible public policy.

Current City: Houston, TX
Institution: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
EYedinak.alumniambassador@fulbrightmail.org

In Chile, Emily became one of the first two Fulbright U.S. Students ever to study at the University of Santiago of Chile (USACH) where she was fully embraced by Chilean culture. Her project aimed to synthesize better composite materials for hydrogen peroxide detection in caustic environments, which has numerous applications spanning multiple industries. At USACH, she synthesized several samples of two different electroceramic materials containing different amounts of cobalt. With a collaborator at the University of Chile, she modified electrodes with an electroceramic/carbon nanotube composite mixture and measured the electrochemical response to hydrogen peroxide as a function of cobalt concentration. Emily also volunteered to help several research groups at both universities edit scientific papers for publication, enabling one such paper to be published. When she wasn’t in the lab, Emily explored and learned about Chile’s colorful history and culture, and was particularly intrigued by the university student marches for free higher education. Additionally, she worked with the U.S. Embassy to help organize a science outreach event for Chilean high school students where she talked about nanotechnology and the Fulbright Program. Upon her return from Chile, Emily was invited to her undergraduate university to speak about Fulbright opportunities after graduation, and to encourage more interest in the program particularly because she was the first Fulbright U.S. Student from Rose-Hulman in 15 years - and the sixth student overall. She is now studying for her doctorate in materials science and nanoengineering, specializing in 3D carbon-based materials for water treatment applications, at Rice University in Houston, Texas.