International Fellows Alumni

Ms. Shaymaa Reyad is a political researcher and team leader in the Policy Unit of the Egyptian Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center, a distinguished think tank in Egypt, whose primary mission is to support decision-makers on issues of economic, social, and political reform. Her goal is to connect citizen concerns and the actions of Egypt’s politicians and its national institutions. Her main focus is on youth empowerment, political participation for women, and civic engagement in the decision making process. Her long-term goal is to be a minister of Education in 2020. She received a Master’s degree in Political Science from Cairo University. During her fellowship year, Ms. Reyad will focus on public speaking, negotiation skills, use of new media, and qualitative methods in conducting social science research.

Dr. Zuliati Rohmah is currently Director of English Language Training for Islamic Schools (ELTIS) in Surabaya,  East Java, Indonesia. As faculty and researcher at the English Department, School of Humanity at IAIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya, she oversees day-to-day operations of the ELTIS Surabaya office, personnel, program evaluation, and fund raising. She has authored an English textbook for Islamic Studies and numerous articles in national and international ELT journals. She has a PhD in English Teaching from the State University of Malang. During her fellowship year, Dr. Rohmah will focus on program planning, human resource management, and best practices in language development and language teacher training.

Mr. Sandcroft is an attorney in private practice in Kingston, Jamaica. He provides representation to children in conflict with the law and advocates for children in need of care and protection. He also engages in public education and policy formation on the subject of children’s rights. Mr. Sandcroft holds a Bachelor of Law degree as well as a Certificate in Legal Education from the University of the West Indies; he earlier earned a Bachelor of Science degree, with a concentration in political science, from that institution. He long ago decided to devote his legal career to the rights of children. During his Humphrey Fellowship year, he hopes to examine closely several excellent Minnesota government programs involving the rights of children and to enhance his already considerable expertise in that area. Upon his return to Jamaica, he hopes to be better equipped to pursue the enhancement of the situation of children under Jamaican law; he has already outlined a detailed and specific agenda of such improvements. He hopes to see the day when Jamaica will have developed the mechanisms needed to be fully compliant with international law on this subject.

Ms. Sheth is the Founder, Executive Director and Managing Trustee of the Shaishav Trust, an NGO that works with disadvantaged children (www.shaishavchildrights.org). She is responsible for mission definition, development, and public relations, as well as for the supervision of ongoing work. She also liaises with other NGOs and governmental bodies, participating actively in their collaborative work for children’s rights and human rights in general in India. She has been particularly concerned with enhancing children’s ability to be involved as agents in decision-making about their lives and in the protection of their own rights. She has worked to reduce child labor, child marriage, child abuse, and exploitation. Ms. Sheth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and law as well as a Masters in social work from the University of Bombay. During her Humphrey Fellowship year, she plans to critically analyze various Indian laws and policies from a Child Rights Based Approach. Ms. Sheth also plans to study various Child/Youth Rights Participation Models within the United States. Ms. Sheth hopes to network within the global children’s rights movement to form a coherent model of participation and rights and responsibility-based education that can be used as a sustainable framework regardless of geographic location.

Mr. Siddhartha Singh Longjam belongs to the Indian Audit & Accounts Department of the Government of India. He is a certified auditor in Information Systems Auditing and Internal Auditing, and has ten years of experience in carrying out audits of various Government Departments in India. He was a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for excellence in Public Administration in 2008, for being a team member in pioneering Information Systems Audit initiatives. He completed a five year deputation as a Director in the Ministry of Steel in July 2011, where he looked after the issues of coordination, restructuring and mergers, and corporate social responsibilities of Steel Public Sector Companies. He also handled the concerns of the ship recycling industry in India. He is committed to contributing towards more accountable and better governance, and a more citizen centric and citizen friendly government in India. He holds a Master of Science degree in Physics from the University of Delhi. During his fellowship year, Mr. Singh will pursue a Master of Public Affairs degree.

Mr. Mandibaye Sioudina is currently a civil servant in the Central Government of Chad assigned to the University of N’Djamena, teaching English literature and human resource management. He is also Deputy General Manager of CAIS-Tchad, responsible for operations of a human resources placement firm serving large oil companies such as Exxon-Mobil. His goal is to be a strategic leader in his country by assisting the government to review and re-adjust labor law to the new business environment; by providing consulting, facilitation, survey, and other management services in international business standards; and advocating for the best use of oil income. He received a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from the African Center of High Studies in Management in Dakar, Senegal. During his fellowship year, Mr. Sioudina will focus on human resource management. 

Mr. Lundi Siwundla is currently a Public Education Specialist at the Masimanyane Women’s Support Center in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. He has considerable experience in volunteerism, project management, and individual and group counseling for civil society and local government.  His expertise is in prevention and advocacy in the areas of violence against women and children, human trafficking, and sexual reproductive health and rights of women and girls, including HIV and AIDS. His objective is to empower people to participate as active citizens in political and economic issues to fight corruption, poverty, unemployment, and crimes against women and children. He received a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Fort Hare in East London, South Africa. During his fellowship year, Mr. Siwundla will focus on public policy formulation and implementation, women’s rights, and gender equality and violence issues.

Mr. Muhammad Tahir is currently working as a Senior Superintendent of Police for the National Highways and Motorway Police in Pakistan. Previously he worked as a District Police Chief, engaged with the prevention and detection of crime and administration of financial and human resources. He received a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from the University of Manchester, UK and a Master of Business Administration from the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, Pakistan, He aims to work for improving the culture, ethics and training of police in Pakistan. During his fellowship year, Mr. Tahir plans to focus on learning the due process of law, the theoretical and practical aspects of criminal and judicial systems, and the various mechanisms of Human Rights.

Ms. Fernanda Tounou-Akue is currently Director of Administration and Human Resources at WAGES, a microfinance institution in Lome, Togo. She has 14 years of experience and focus on the needs of women. She has conducted financial trainings for rural and illiterate women in the running of their daily business. She is dedicated to promoting women in development, with a focus on providing them with necessary tools to improve their businesses.  She received a Master of Science degree in Economics and Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Littoral-Opale Coast in Lome, Togo. During her fellowship year, Ms. Tounou-Akue will focus on human resource management, microfinance institutions, and women’s development.

Ms. Abreu de Sousa is a Public Defender at the Penitentiary of Marilia. She holds a Bachelor of Law degree and specialization in Criminal and Civil Law and Criminal and Civil Procedure, and a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology. In her current position, she provides legal aid to the inmate population at the penitentiary – writing petitions and appeals to the local and supreme courts in order to enable prisoners to exercise their right to challenge their detention. Due to her work with the inmate population, she wants to focus on both public agencies and NGOs, and she is interested in issues of crime, prison systems, rights of incarcerated populations, and international human rights development and protection. She also wishes to explore issues of women’s and children’s rights. 

Mr. Ishfaq Ahmed has been with the Pakistani police service since 1999.He currently serves as commandant of the Punjab Police Department’s Rawalpindi Police Training School in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. There, he supervises training, administration, and the training curriculum development. He also lectures on topics ranging from legal to gender aspects of human rights. He received a Master of Science in human rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science. One of Mr. Ahmed’s concerns is how to restructure terrorist strategies adopted in the war on terror, which have led to the failure of the basic structure of human rights in Pakistan. During his fellowship year, Mr. Ahmed will focus on human rights mechanisms, due process and the rule of law, and judicial and criminal justice systems.

Ms. Sabha Al Dhafri has worked for the Union National Bank in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi for 13 years. Promoted to bank manager in 2006, she is the first UAE national female branch manager in the Union National Bank. She earned a bachelor’s degree in e-business management from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Al Ain, UAE. Ms. Al Dhafri is strongly committed to creating opportunities for UAE women to work in private-sector organizations, such as banks and financial institutions. Her focus is on the recruitment, motivation, development, evaluation, and retention.During her fellowship year, Ms. Al Dhafri will focus on human resources management and team leadership.

Mr. Sultan Al Shereiqi began his career with Oman’s Ministry of Manpower in 1999,working his way from data entry to his current position as director of labor inspection. There, he implements Oman’s labor-rights agenda by monitoring law implementation pertaining to working conditions, working hours, wages, juvenile and female employment, health and safety, and other issues. His other responsibilities include preparing action plans for comprehensive labor inspections; advising business owners, workers, and stakeholders on labor law; conducting follow-up investigations; and preparing data and organizing the procedures for and development of labor inspection research. Through his work,  Al Shereiqi has gained a particular interest in combating the tragedy of human trafficking. He received a Master of Information Systems Management from Bond University in Queensland, Australia. During his fellowship year, Mr. Al Shereiqi will concentrate on labor rights, human trafficking, and public - private partnerships.

Ms. Aristova has been working as an Attorney at Law in the Chamber of Attorneys of the Samara Region in Russia. Some of Ms. Aristova’s duties include protecting human rights and legal interests by providing legal consultations, drawing up legal documents, representing and defending people’s rights in all stages of legal proceedings. She renders legal assistance to different organizations, representing them at the arbitration tribunal. During her Humphrey Fellowship year, Ms. Aristova would like to gain knowledge in the field of international trade law and international business transactions. She is interested in investigating developing countries’ integration process into world trade, the role of international trade organizations in the integration process and settling international disputes in the field of world trading activity.

Mr. Bhatt was a consultant for the Child Protection Team, UNICEF – India Country Office, in the Indian government’s Ministry of Women and Child Development. Previously he worked as a program staffer and attorney in children’s rights organizations. He brought child protection issues to public attention, worked in the juvenile justice system, and combatted child trafficking and child labor. He earned a B.A. degree with honors in Psychology and an M.A. degree in social work from Jamia Millia Islamia University, and a Bachelor in Law from the University of Delhi. He plans to study human trafficking with a focus on the trafficking of children and organized crime. He also hopes to increase his expertise and practical skills concerning child trafficking and to study the application of international law for the protection of victims of child trafficking. 

Over the past 17 years, Mr. Idirisu Chin has held many leadership positions within Islamic education in Cameroon, first as vice principal then principal of an Islamic high school, and now as chief of pedagogy and administration for the Organization of Islamic Educational Establishments in Kumbo, North West Region. The organization  plays a vital role in promoting Western education in Muslim communities in Cameroon. He is in charge of personnel issues, including recruitment, training, promotion, salaries, separation, and retirement. Mr. Chin has served 15 years on the Cameroon Anglo-Saxon Examination Board, and serves as coordinator of the Fight Against Corruption through Schools (FACTS) Project for Islamic education for the North West and South West regions of Cameroon. He received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Yaounde, Cameroon. During his fellowship year, Mr. Chin will focus on human resources management, performance evaluation and career development, leadership, conflict management, nonprofit management, organizational culture, and public-sector ethics.

Ms. Dabrowiecka is the Director of the Human Rights Unit of the Polish Justice Department, which consists of five divisions that deal with human rights issues, including: cooperating with international monitoring mechanisms, e.g., the European Court of Human Rights, the UPR, UN treaty bodies; drafting state reports to the UN; providing support for crime victims; and, promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution. Ms. Dabrowiecka holds a degree in Law from the University of Gdansk and a certificate in Human Rights Law and Practice from the University of Birmingham. During her fellowship year, Ms. Dabrowiecka would like to gain knowledge of current international human rights standards, human rights advocacy and gender issues. She is also interested in the application of human rights treaties by US courts and in the U.S. experience with international monitoring bodies. 

Mr. Mohamed El-Qasemy’s background is in economics, public administration, and public finance. He has worked in Morocco’s Ministry of Economy and Finance for the last 10 years, currently serving as state controller in its Department of Public Enterprises and Privatization, responsible for oversight of contracts and performance of public establishments and state-owned companies. He has a keen interest in administrative reform, and the significance of performance-based budgeting.Before joining the Ministry, he taught economics, management, and law for five years in the Graduate School of Technology at the University of Fez. He received a two-year certificate of upper management from the Higher Institute of Business and Enterprise Management in Casablanca and a graduate degree in economics from the University of Fez. During his fellowship year, Mr. El-Qasemy will focus on public finance systems, the budget processes, public policy analysis, and program evaluation.

Mr. Min Htin currently serves as executive committee member and board member for the YMCA in Mandalay, an organization that plays a vital role in developing a civil society through practical training and education for local youth. He has extensive responsibility for training and development and also gives lectures and conducts workshops on various management subjects to NGOs and for-profit organizations in the community. His main interest is in human resources management and of youth development as it relates to the future of his country. He received a Master of Business Administration.

Mr. Jin Hyuk Her is an officer in the Korea National Police Force, currently serving as police patrol car dispatcher with the Gyeong Ju Police Station, where he counsels callers on legal matters and conflict resolution, and dispatches patrol cars when necessary. During his career, Her has worked with many different departments, including riot police, criminal investigation, patrol team, and public order. His main interest is in two areas: techniques to deal peacefully with mass crowd demonstrations, and social and immigrant policies that help promote harmony in an increasingly multi-cultural society. He received a Bachelor of Law from the Korea National Police University, a Bachelor of Economics from the Korea National Open University, and a Master of Translation and Consecutive Interpretation (Korean-Arabic) degree from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. During his fellowship year, Mr. Her will be focusing on law enforcement, human rights, and social policies.