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[updated June 4, 2008 ] |
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Bro Russell reports that he is still working as the Executive Director of
the Cartoonists Rights Network, International a human rights and free speech
organization monitoring and protecting editorial cartoonists who find
themselves at risk because of their work. Every year Bro advocates for up to 20
cartoonists in trouble because of their political and social impact. More and more
cartoonists are bearing the brunt of the violent attacks on free speech
especially after the now famous 12 Danish Cartoons were published in 2006. CRN
also gives an annual award for "Courage in Editorial Cartooning" to a
cartoonist who exemplifies the struggle for freedom of expression in political
cartoon journalism. Check out his work at the CRNI site. Our annual Awards Dinner will
be in San Antonio, Texas this year (2008) on June 26th. I'd love to see some
CIE members if any are around.
Doug Passanisi (Ed.D. 1990) douglas.passanisi@undp.org
Dear long lost but not forgotten CIE friends,
After getting my Ed.D. in 1990, I spent some 18 years in crisis and transition countries, the past 10 of which have focused extensively on UN programme and policy reform with UN Country Teams in southern/eastern Africa and Latin America. I have also been fortunate enough to have managed country/regional offices for private consulting firms and directed education projects for USAID, NGOs, and the US Peace Corps. Most challenging were my roles in post-apartheid educational programmes in South Africa, peacekeeping operations and elections, and humanitarian coordination crisis teams following the 2000 floods in Mozambique.
I am currently the Deputy Director for UN Affairs at the UN Development Programme. I have been a UN programme strategist and change management adviser in over 40 countries and had the opportunity to lead a UN inter-agency team with host governments and donors on the simplification and harmonization of UN development programming. Having learned from those lecturer and group dynamics days at UMass, I serve as a facilitator with the UN System Staff College in Turin, and dedicate most of my workday to external relations, strategic planning, and partnership building initiatives spanning five geographic regions.
Always looking for new challenges, I am back at school part-time pursuing interests in corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship. I continue to be a permanent resident of Mozambique, but am now at UNDP Headquarters in New York. I hope to hear from you! [6-08]
Margaret (Maxwell) McLaughlin (Ed. D. 1983) mmclaughlin@peacecorps.gov
Margaret is now back with her beloved Peace Corps as the Program and
Training Advisor for the Europe, Mediterranean and Asia (EMA) Region, a
group of 19 countries ranging from Morocco to Cambodia with several
Balkan and Caucasus posts in between. One of those, Albania, is lucky
enough to have Jan Droekamp as a new Program and Training Officer
(PTO). Margaret and Jan were together recently in Cambodia at an
exciting Peace Corps Conference. Margaret is actively recruiting Center
members for Peace Corps staff positions....or to volunteer in the
short-term Peace Corps Response and long-term 50+ Initiatives. Please
contact her at (o) #202-692-2426 or (c)
774-238-9359. [4-08]
Jan Droegkamp (Ed. D. 1982) jdroe1@uis.edu
I retired as Professor Emeritus of Experiential Learning from the University of Illinois at Springfield in 2006. I continued to work as a technical adviser to the Ounce of Prevention and the Illinois Community Action Association and as a floral designer at my friend's flower shop. In the fall of 2007 I decided it was time to return to international development work. I am currently the Assistant Director for Programming and Training with Peace Corps in Albania. In additional to overseeing a staff of 7 Albanians I am working on issues of corruption in government, post Communist organizational and workplace issues, peer networking among Volunteers, and capacity building and staff development. I love my job and am happy to be engaged with the new Volunteer who has a cell phone, computer, and many of the same values and ideals I had as a Volunteer in the 70's. My adviser and counterpart in Peace Corps/Washington DC is Margaret McLaughlin. [4-08]
I am still with Macmillan Publishers (22yrs) since leaving government. I have had some challenging years in terms of generating new textbooks and literature to meet the World Bank and Lesotho Govt Free Education Scheme. Very politically correct programme but highly complicated and difficult to implement. I still hope to make it for the 40th anniversary. Give my regards to all. [2-08]
Manjula Salomon (Ed. D. 1981) stu4trop@aol.com
Since 1984 Manula has been at Jakarta International School. In 1999 she wrote two ESOL textbooks published by Longmans. She writes:
I just retired from Jakarta International School after 23 years there. I have served the International Baccalaureate as Chief Examiner for 10 years and am now the consultant on Theory of Knowledge for a 2nd 5-book series by Oxford University Press. I retired partly because I had too many pieces of other business. I just brokered a $2 million gift to International Education in Bosnia. I have recently become something of an expert in Ethics Education and concept of Bio Altruism..Also am an advisor to Mittal Steel on Corporate Social Responsibility in Education Unit. I think George Urch would be proud of me. I am writing a text book that goes to press in the UK in June. I will be r eturning to live in Ware, Ma. 15 mins outside Amherst and work from there.[3-08]
Bella Halsted (Ed. D. 1981) Bella@crocker.com
Bella still lives in Amherst, where she writes
stories and free-lances as a writing coach and editor, while leading
workshops in academic and creative writing. Over the past several
years, she has also been painting (landscape, interiors, portraits,
and 'inventions' in watercolor and oils). She has shown her work in
Amherst galleries, and has started teaching young kids how to paint
(and more often, vice versa!). Her "BY THE SEA" weekend retreats
for writers and painters are in their eighteenth year, meeting every
October and May by the shore north of Boston. This summer she will be
leading an additional workshop in the green hills northeast of
Ottawa, Canada. If you're interested in these retreats--or just
want to say hello, do write! [2-08]
She has also completed a novel set in a fictional New England mill town during the year of the Persian Gulf War. As founder of The Sharksmouth Press, she has edited and published a family memoir written by her mother, and, this spring, an anthology of her own and others' poetry and short essays called By The Sea!, an outgrowth of ten years of writing and painting retreats she has led on the North Shore. [12-01]
Barbara Howald (M. Ed. 1983) b.howald@yahoo.com
In mid-2006, after 18 years in the Washington area (the last 6 as head of training for USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance) I decided to chuck it all and move to California to follow true love. It was a wonderful run at OFDA, and gratifying to receive kudos for the program my superb team and I built. But I got this second chance that I had to take, even if it did mean changing coasts and leaving my job. I now live in San Francisco, and married Michael Blake in June 2007 in Washington
DC. Michael and I were in the same Peace Corps group in 1977 in the Central African Empire, were best buddies then and remained friends all these years. (Michael jokes that I have perfect attendance at his weddings, since I was present for his first one, too.)
When we each found ourselves single in 2005 we looked at each other during one of Michael's business trips to DC and said, "hmmmm." And after many months of cross-country flights, I decided to leave DC for SF, where Michael works for the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund - he loves his job and the folks he works with. I have returned to the consulting trade, which I plied (and loved, too) before my stint at OFDA. The CIE network came through right away for me - my first gig after moving here came through a connection from Jeannie Moulton. Michael also knows Margaret McLaughlin through Peace Corps connections. We love our life here in San Francisco. Come visit! [2-08]
Kathy Cash (Ed. D. 1982) kathleen_cash@radcliffe.edu
Kathleen Cash (Click on her name for her web site for interesting methodology and pedagogy related to HIV/AIDs) is an independent researcher and educator interested in
integrative methodologies that bring social change to economically and
educationally disadvantaged women and youths. Using ethnographic
research methods, she collects stories people tell about themselves and
their sexual experiences and transforms this research into composite
stories that mirror the vulnerabilities and emotions expressed. She then
creates picture books in which the composite stories are accompanied by
culturally appropriate images and told in the vernacular. These are used
by trained peer educators in a pedagogical process that incorporates
storytelling, dialogue, and structured interactions. While a specific
goal is to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS, a more general goal is
to foster confidence in participants by improving communication in their
public and private relationships.
As a Radcliffe fellow, Cash will write a book describing her
gender-based model of HIV/AIDS prevention and sexual health education
and how she integrated research and pedagogy. She will relate the
evolution, adaptation, and impact of her programs in Bangladesh, Haiti,
Thailand, Uganda, and Latino and African American communities in Los
Angeles, and discuss how the multifaceted nature of womens' and youths'
vulnerabilities were addressed within the programs.
Kathy has received
two Fulbright fellowships, a 1987 teaching fellowship at Chiang Mai
University in Thailand, and a 2004 AIDS research fellowship in Uganda,
where she looked at the relationship between sexual and domestic
violence and the transmission of HIV/AIDS. [1-08]
Jennie Campos (Ed.D. 1990) jencampos@aol.com
Since my last update where I was pictured with Muslim women in Southern Sudan, my work-life has taken quite a leap in a very different direction. I have been working with an engineering company in Tucson, Arizona, as a 6 Sigma Expert. 6 Sigma is an approach that is designed to ensure program quality and improvement through the use of quantitative and qualitative tools. It has its own brand of “participation” through the use of tools that are similar to what I used in my development work as well as tools that are used in private industry. I’ve been riding the wave of a huge learning curve since starting the program.
An exciting off-shoot of my work with 6 Sigma, is solidifying my commitment to
international and national community development as a co-founder of an Engineers Without Borders (EWOB) chapter here at the company in collaboration with EWoB at the University of Arizona. With headquarters in Colorado, EWoB has over 200 chapters worldwide. Forty % of the members in EWoB do not have engineering backgrounds and as many are women. Many members come from the NGO community, United Nations and US Peace Corps. The combination of humanitarian intent with engineering technology is an approach that holds great promise. If you’ve heard of the “Play Pump” strategy that brings potable water to rural communities through the use of children’s “merry-go-rounds”, you’ll get the idea behind EWOB.
In late March, 2008, I’ll be in Seattle, WA, for the EWoB Annual Conference where Bill Gates, keynote speaker, will address the eradication of world poverty through the application of appropriate engineering technologies.
While my transition to the unfamiliar land of engineering technology is not anything that I had planned for in my work life, I remain open to the opportunity to learn so much about a field that was totally unfamiliar to me and I continue to look for chances to channel resources in ways that can address the needs of people in need.[1/08]
Eugenie Ballering (M.Ed. 1990) eugenie@wolz.org
After graduating from the CIE I ended up staying in the US doing all kinds of adult literacy work here. I have done research, staff development, curriculum development, teaching, and coordinated programs in a
variety of settings and organizations. My husband Chris and I are also the happy parents of 3 children (1993, 1995 and 1998) who take up a considerable amount of our time. Besides running around with the kids and taking care of family logistics I now work as the Family Literacy Instructor of the Child and Family Network Centers, a nonprofit preschool program for low income families in the City of Alexandria, VA. It's a wonderful job because I have a lot of freedom to teach the way I want, the hours are great and I really enjoy working with immigrant parents (I'm one myself!). My family and I also like to enjoy the outdoors and our favorite place to go is WVA. The scenery reminds me a lot of the area in Nepal where I lived before I came to the CIE. So far, life has been pretty good for me and I feel blessed with what I have. [1-08]
Patricia Maguire (Ed.D. 1987) maguire-p@hotmail.com
I just finished my 20th year at the Western New Mexico University – Gallup Graduate Studies Center (GGSC). It’s an extended university graduate center on the edge of the Navajo Nation and Pueblo of Zuni – and 5 hours from the main campus. When I took over as Chair/Director (indeed the lone university faculty member) in December 1987, the “center” was an office, about the size of a big
bathroom, on-loan from the local school district, and we held classes in an old elementary school that had been “condemned” by the district. Over the years, with magnificent colleagues, we’ve grown GGSC to 7 graduate programs, 10 tenure track positions, and our own 14,000 sq ft facility with 6 classrooms, a computer lab, and offices
We’ve developed one of 30+ U.S. Peace Corps Fellows program for returned PCV’s, which has been a great way to stay connected to my Peace Corps roots. I’ve put to use every single thing I learned at CIE, my philosophical home, about participatory development. While most of my work is now administrative, I teach a year-long action research course for teachers, and every year we take a team to present their work at the Center for Teaching Excellence AR conference in Taos and also AERA. Life is good and retirement is still a few years away. Cal is in his 24th year as a trauma nurse at the Gallup Indian Medical Center.
Over the years I’ve gotten to do a lot of international travel & conferences related to action research & feminisms. I had a chance to spend time with Gudrun Forsberg again in November 07 in Uppsala. She is a gracious hostess and took me to Sigtuna (see picture), where we roamed the local cemetery absolutely fascinated by the iron work grave markers. Jennie Campos, who is co-madre to my youngest daughter Megan, and I keep in touch, and we are hoping she can come to Gallup for Megan’s May 08 high school graduation.
Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it to the 40th reunion to reconnect with my CIE roots. Cal and I are celebrating our 31st anniversary at that time with a trip to Italy, Greece, and Turkey with my brother and sister-in-law, also celebrating a 30th anniversary. My best wishes to all of the CIE family in June. Wish I could be there in more than spirit. See you all for the 50th CIE anniversary!
Any and all of you from the CIE family are welcome to visit us in Gallup, New Mexico. We have lots of space for guests and are always ready to put on a pot of New Mexican pinon coffee or open a bottle of wine to enjoy the views off our deck of Church Rock and Pyramid Peak . [1-08]
In June 2003, I retired from the Asian Development Bank, Manila, where I had worked as a principal education specialist for 10 years. They were very good years work-wise. Coming there I felt I had found my "niche". Together with governments in various Asian countries, I designed and supervised education projects. Before coming to Manila, I had worked as Chief of Education for UNICEF in Bangladesh. And before that, seven years in Africa, including being launched as basic education specialist in Lesotho through CIE.
A recent update from Gudrun on her travels and visits with CIE members:
Ah, the attraction of Sweden...Gail von Hahmann visited me in my cottage in northern Sweden in June 2007, on her way back from the US to her work in Liberia. She found that she could only tell if it was night or day by looking look at her watch (she was in midnight sun territory). We enjoyed the silence, the clean air and the absence of people, and of course visited the Big Fall, the largest free fall in Scandinavia.
In November 2007, Pat Maguire visited me in Uppsala, for the second time. Sweden seems to appreciate her participatory research, so she was on her way to a conference at a university in northern Sweden. We talked, talked, and went to Sweden's first town, Sigtuna, had lunch, and in the cemetery picked out the tombstone I should have.
This year I've visited Hungary and Italy. In December I returned from work in Indonesia--preparing for a midterm review of an Australian-supported basic education program. And who works on that program? Fredi Munger, my favorite shopping friend. I'm grateful to CIE to have given me the opportunity to become friends with wonderful people I would otherwise never have met! [12-07]
I saw somewhere a mention of the number of graduates from CIE since its inception and it was much lower than
I would have expected. I guess I was expecting a huge number because I've encountered so many CIE alumni in my wanderings over the years. In fact, we are the only group that I have consistently heard referred to as a "mafia" and in every country I've lived in, Swaziland, Lesotho, Uganda, South Africa, Senegal, Afghanistan and now the U.S., I find Center members bringing what I like to call "the practioner's point of view" to the major challenges in development. I've had the good fortune of working with many Center members over the years (including DRE in Uganda and Afghanistan) first as an education officer for USAID in Swaziland, Uganda, and South Africa, then as the Deputy Mission Director in Senegal and the Mission Director in Afghanistan and finally as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa in Washington, DC.
This last position confirmed my own sense that I am at heart a "field" person, in the best sense of a CIE alum, and left me pining for more direct contact with the people, places, and challenges of implementing programs, instead of talking about them. So, when the opportunity for a DC-based job designing and implementing education programs came up it only took a moment to make the decision to retire from USAID. It is now almost two years since I joined The Academy for Educational Development (AED) as a Senior Vice President and Director of the Global Learning Group and Global Education Center. I'm in good company. At a recent AED staff meeting Bill Smith asked the CIE grads to stand and a surprisingly large number of people rustled to their feet.
Not only does my current position at AED provide an incredible opportunity to take on the most pressing educational challenges in the world today - from rebuilding education systems that have been destroyed by war to figuring out how to better measure the impact of specific approaches - it provides plenty of opportunities to maintain my old mafia ties; and to good effect, too as I've been able to draw on many Center members for help with assignments all over the world. I've also begun learning about Latin America, a part of the world I've never worked in before. I'm working hard to learn Spanish, to the exasperation of my very patient colleagues who suffer my broken Spanish in meetings and memos - "uh, what was that last point your were making??"
Perhaps what I share most with other Center members is a faith in life long learning - as a development strategy and as a route towards personal growth and towards the kind of knowledge and understanding that build the connections that bring us together. Hope to see you all in Amherst this summer for the celebration of the 40th anniversary. Cheers. [12-07]
Don Graybill (Ed. D. 1989) dongraybill@earthlink.net
After 7 years with Creative Associates directing the BEPS Project, Don and
family moved to Austin, TX in order to be closer to some of his extended
family, to recharge his batteries, and do some exciting consulting work in
places like Sudan and Georgia (country, not state). Beginning in early
2008, Don will be relocating to Jakarta Indonesia to work for Save the
Children as COP of the USAID/Indonesia Decentralized Basic Education 3
contract which focuses on imporoving junior secondary education (grades
7-9) and nonformal education for 12-18 year olds who have left the formal
education system. Don looks forward to adding to the long history of CIE
connections to the wonderful country of Indonesia.
He writes:
Indeed, the circle of connections to Indonesia which I first had at CIE via the PENMAS students in the early 80's has come full circle and stretched out to me. Interestingly enough, Dan Moulton is COP for DBE1 (with RTI) with whom I will need to coordinate. And, of course, I am anticipating running into the web of UMASS alumni and connections out there (John Pontius, Rus Dilts)...is there a list of Indonesian alumni? [12-07]
Carol Martin (Ed.D. 1981) seawave@iafrica.com
Carol recently wrote to update us on her activities.
August 2008 also marks my 40th - 40 years of living/working in African countries in social development. I continue to reside on 'my' continent of Africa.....Wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
I left my one-year stint in Afghanistan, as Program Director with the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), to return to my [retirement] home in Capetown, South Africa in January 2006. Since that time, I have continued as Director with one NGO which I co-founded which focuses on engaging primary school children in instrumental music instruction. I manageand help with administrative duties with such programs with a focus on preserving and learning traditional South African music. I am basically marrying my love for NFE with my love for African music and improvisational music [some call it 'jazz'], and applying these to SAf's priorities to uplift children's 'creative education'.
I continue to sit on the Board of the South African Association for Jazz Education (SAJE) with a portfolio to support community-initiated/run programs in more informal settings and in primary and high schools. I have also recently joined the local Committee of the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA), headquartered in Pretoria, with duties to plan and execute the 'interschool quiz' each May to raise interest among some 60 High Schools in foreign affairs.
Post-Afghan travels have taken me to Bali in May 2006 to join the Quest for Healing Conference promoted by The Peace Alliance, a global network which I am becoming more involved with. One offshoot is being a co-founder of the now emerging South African Peace Alliance which, along with Uganda, Tanzania, and a few other African countries, is establishing an "African Peace Alliance" to feed into the global network.A sail with friends in the Caribbean (Antigua & Guadaloupe) started year 2007 off with a bang, along with a week in
New York City attending an international jazz conference and enjoying clubbing in the freeze. May 2007 found me desert-bashing in Egypt and bussing through Israel, visiting old friends and seeing the sights, becoming increasingly saddened with the Palestinian situation. Then in August 2007, a 6200 kms drive through Botswana where I started my African career in 1968 as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Didn't recognize anything but the same hills and my old teacher training college, now considerably dilapidated! Amidst these periods have been fun jaunts into the South African countryside and coastal delights.
Year 2008 will see me more 'settled' in my newly renovated flat in central Capetown, active with the music education programs, taking a six-day North Sea Jazz Cruise in July around Holland, Denmark, and southern Norway, a possible hop over to USA in July/August, and maybe a coin toss-up between Brazil or China !! In between these times, I hope to finish the final edits of my Memoirs (now almost 160 pages) covering some 35 productive years living/working in African countries! [12-07]
Julio D. Ramírez-de-Arellano (Ed.D. 1985 ) JulioR@caii.com
We recently were in contact with Julio who is working in Afghanistan. One of his staff members is Christopher Gamm and CIE doctoral candidate. Julio writes:
I am now in Afghanistan. After working in Central America for most of my professional life, I moved to this side of the world. I am the Chief of Party of the Building Education Support Systems for Teachers (BESST) project implemented by Creative Associates and funded by USAID. We, working with the Ministry of Education and five local and one international NGO, are responsible for doing in- service training for all teachers of eleven provinces of the country. We have developed a cascade model to be able to do very localized training for this enormous number of teachers.
Before moving to Afghanistan I worked for two years in Washington DC as the World Learning for International Development Education Director. However, being in the field goes much better with me than looking at projects from the HQ perspective.
I hope to see you all at the 40th year celebration. [11-07]
Tom Neilson (Ed. D. 1988) tomneilsonmusic@yahoo.com
Tom
has built a career in educating and resistance through the power of music.
He is known locally as "The Bard Insurgent," Tom is a veteran of stage
and street theater, having worked as a writer, director and actor. His
music reflects his involvement with heroin addicts, the poor, safe energy,
economic conversion, and liberation movements from Nicaragua to Eritrea.
Whether set in Westover Air Force Base, union lines, or the bus to Barnwell,
S.C., his music tells the stories of people's struggles against greed
and violence.
As leaves fall in October 07, another year has passed with Tom being left off the Best Dressed Men’s List. He is now competing for Stylish Elegance. Tom teaches music, Spanish, and sports in 3 schools. But most of his time is with his music. He has 10 CDs out and was called the Jon Stewart of folk music at last year’s Kerrville Folk festival. During this last year, Tom won four awards for folk CD, folk song, and for songwriting and performance at 2 folk festivals. He was 
also a Just Plain Folks finalist in the Spoken Word category. Hilljoy Music calls him “the most politically savvysongwriter in the country.”
The US Government has also taken note of the lyricist and detained him at the Canadian border during his summer tour this year. Bringing him up on their “dangerous people list,” they threatened to take him and his truck to the “warehouse” and go through it, but Tom was able to escape to the sanctuary of Ohio for the night. He and Jacob are tucked away with their woodstove on the banks of the Sawmill River in Montague. Jacob is starting goalie on the soccer team, point guard in basketball, and handler and hucker on the ultimate squad. For bookings, adventure stories, and intrepid hiking, contact Tom at his email above [October 2007]
Toon and Rob Fuderich have moved back to the Amherst area after being gone
for many years. Rob is still not totally back full time ("preparing the
ground for 2015"). He is currently the Unicef Representative for the UN
Administered Province of Kosovo. For recent activities see Unicef-Kosovo. He has been in Kosovo for over two years
and will remain until the status resolution is resolved....which will
hopefully be in the next few months. ("It is challenging postion in
historic times and I feel very fortunate that I have a great staff and
interesting programme dealing with what I consider one of the most
important mandates that one can deal with...children's rights") Previous
to heading the office there, he was part of the inter-agency mission called
the Joint Assessment Mission for Sudan where he ran into artifacts and
graffitti left by David Evans and Jane Benbow in Southern Sudan. "It's
amazing how you run into Center Members in all corners no matter how remote one travels" .
Rob served as the UNICEF M&E and then Education
Adviser for the UNICEF Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of
Independant States (CEE/CIS) Regional Office ("Lots of travel to all 28
countries in the region was initially very exciting"). Toon dealt with
raging pre-adolescent hormones as a sixth grade teacher at College du
Leman. ("A wonderful 8 years getting to work with children from all over
the world and dealing with so much cultural diversity in one classroom")
This past year after emptying out the nest, Toon moved back to Amherst and
aside from putting the final touches on her dissertation ("study of
resilience of Cambodian refugees) is getting a home base established for
the wondering clan. Kit is nearby and a junior at Williams College and Tim
is a freshman at Bowdoin College in Maine. After wondering the world and
considering several options, Toon and Rob decided to establish their base
in a place that they have come to love due to the many friends that are
still in the area or come through periodically, good memories, beautiful
autumns and the bohemian culture of coffee shops and bookstores. Rob gets
back to the area every 8 weeks "to breath" and was just back for this
year's Kinsey Lecture Series. [4-07]
Anne Dodge (CAGS 1990) chuckanzie@gmail.com
Anne and her husband Chuck moved back to the US in May after 2 1/2 years in Senegal working for Peace Corps. We traveledd for 6 months in Europe on our way home to Newburyport, MA (north of Boston). This summer Anne started a
walking tour business and we opened a small Bed & Breakfast at our home. Chuck is retired and Anne is partially so. We are spending January and February in Costa Rica then traveling across the south of the US and home in mid April to open the B&B again in May. Life is good in the slow lane. [1-07]
Mbuyi Mutala (M.Ed. 1986) mmutala@comcast.net
I am writing from Geneina/West Darfur/Sudan where I arrived on January 5 (2007) to work with World Relief as Public health Coordinator for a one year renewable contract. It happened so quickly at the end of 2006 and I was so busy preparing to leave in a short notice that I didn't have time to let folks know. [1-07]
After completing his M.Ed. at CIE in 1986 Mutala went back to Zaire and worked as IEC/Training Coordinator for two major USAID-funded public health projects (Nutrition Improvement and Basic Rural Health. He advocated for the use of non-formal and adult education methods and techniques in community health education.
In 1993, due to the volatile political situation in Kinshasa/Zaire and the subsequent closing down of all USAID projects, Mutala left Zaire and went to South Africa. In South Africa he worked with the Gauteng Department of Education in piloting an education and linguistic project funded by the French Embassy for secondary schools in SOWETO.
In 1999 Mutala came back to Amherst/MA and went back to school at UMass Department of Community Health Studies/School of Public Health. He got an MPH in 2002. He lives in Amherst and look forward to working internationally preferably in Africa in community health education with a focus on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. [9-06]
Hal Weaver (Ed.D. 1985 ) weaverhal@yahoo.com
Dr. Hal Weaver is a pioneer in teaching, research, and non-theatrical exhibition of international films (especially Chinese and African), offering the world’s first course on African cinema at Rutgers University in 1972.
Since 1974, when he founded the Third-World Moving Images Project, Dr. Hal Weaver has been exhibiting Chinese and other Third-World films at universities, adult-education institutes, and museums in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Africa, and Europe. In 1976, beginning at Laval University, Quebec City, Canada, where he was teaching and curating an exhibition on “The Art of Political Cinemas,” Dr. Weaver began offering university courses in North America on National Cinemas, including Chinese films.
Weaver has taught, lectured, and published on Third-World films in various countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He has participated on juries of film festivals: Vues d'Afrique in Montreal, Canada; the first President of the Pan-African Jury for the Paul Robeson Prize at the Pan-African Film Festival of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and President of the international jury at the Festival of the Dhow Countries/Zanzibar International Film Festival, Tanzania.
He has organized national film retrospectives in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America. His current focus is using films to enhance cross-cultural understanding and respect for the U.S., China, Africa, and the African Diaspora through The ChinaFilm Project and The BlackFilm Project. [10-06]
David Kahler (Ed.D in 1983) david_kahler@worlded.org
David is vice
president for Asia Programs and Special Projects at World Education
Boston. In that role he provides technical oversight to project work in Pakistan,
Nepal, India, Thai Burma Border, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Indonesia, China and
the Tibet Autonomous Region. Over the past two years, David and
Australian colleagues have established World Education Australia, Ltd.
(WEAL) as a micro-finance unit providing services to World Ed Boston
projects in the region (and in Africa) as well as developing its own
portfolio of micro-finance programs in PNG, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and
Bangladesh.
In June 2006 David joined about 20 other former Senegal IV
(1964-66) RPCVs in San Jose, CA for a 40th reunion of the group's
departure from Senegal. John Kahler, whom some CIE members will remember,
is now 30. My how time flies.
During a recent visit to CIE to bring a prospective new degree candidate David commented: Great to have been at CIE. Keep the faith - it takes a long time to grow
people like us! [11/06]
Gail von Hahmann (Ed. D. 1984) gailvh@gmail.com
An update from Gail who has moved from Kabul to Karachi.
I’ve been at Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi since November ’05 helping to train staff of the Human Development Program, a new initiative at AKU that trains early child development workers (ECDWs) and does research on their interventions with families. A colleague in Kabul connected me with AKU. The University began as a hospital and first offered nursing degrees to women (new for Pakistan 20 years ago). Now it has a Medical School an Institute for Educational Development and is planning a Faculty of Arts and Science.
I’ve met some wonderful young (and not-so-young) professionals here (mainly women), in medicine, sociology, psychology, public health, along with senior faculty from around the world. I’ve enjoyed talking with them about brain development and continuing to goad my theory that good educational principles and practices for children, adolescents and adults are pretty similar. Tomorrow I will go to Hyderabad ( Pakistan) to visit ECDWs at the projects’ community site. Late in August (2006) I’ll offer a Global Learning Partners (founder, Jane Vella) training of trainers course for ECDWs and other AKU-HDP staff. I must say I’m missing the Kabul days when there was a good little ‘clump’ of CIE-ers to get together with. I know there must be folks here in Karachi, or at least in Pakistan. Any clues for me? [7-06]
Sibeso (Mukoboto) Luswata (Ed.D 1982) sluswata@unicef.org
-Sibeso.jpg)
DRE met with Sibeso at a meeting of the Education Rehabilitation and Development Forum held in Juba, Southern Sudan in June 2006. Sibeso is now the Chief of Education for Unicef in Southern Sudan. She is based in Juba but spends much of her time traveling. She supported the Government of Southern Sudan in launching the “Go to School” national campaign on April 1 st that marked the start of the new school year using an unified calendar for all of Southern Sudan. She travels and works with all 10 states in the Southern Sudan, doing coordination and helping to over see the distribution of texts, exercise books and pens for pupils in lower primary. [6-06]
I have been working for UNICEF for some years now, first in South Af rica and then in Uganda. Recently I have been given another even more challenging assignment in South Sudan. As you are aware, South Sudan and the government of Sudan in Khartoum signed a peace agreement after more than 21 years of fighting. I now have the opportunity to lead the UNICEF Education team as Chief, Education for South Sudan to lead the process of Reconstruction and transforming education in South Sudan. This I must say is a big challenge as the education indicators for South Sudan may be the worst in the world. Less than 3% of children who begin first grade never complete primary education. Less than one percent of girls complete primary education. About only seven percent of the teachers in the system are trained.[11-05]
Recent news from Michael...
I remain as director of International Studies here at Murray State University, a job I took in 1998. This has turned out to be a very good year academically, as at last the university powers that be have taken on the task of furthering internationalization goals through the strategic planning and other faculty-sponsored activities for next year. It's so important in this outlying, mid-sized state institution and I feel some satisfaction. It seems that sticking with something is what makes a difference in the end. We have also bucked the downward trend in international student numbers, which takes much face-to-face contact, some of which I, along with the provost and other staff, have concentrated on in several countries: Morocco, Cyprus, Turkey, Indonesia, and several other Asian countries. Getting international students to enroll is very involved and is a major topic in the literature, especially since 9/11. I published an article this year in the Journal of Public Affairs (out of Missouri) this year on this subject. Colleagues involved are thinking of doing a book on the topic. Other than seeing Jan Droegkamp a couple of years ago at her home, I have not had contact with CIE folk except at Christmas time. [February 2006]
Update: After five years of living and working in South Africa, Will has returned to the head office of the Academy for Educational Development in Washington, D.C. [February 2006]
Earlier, Will had written describing his work in South Africa:
I am starting my third year on the NetMark Africa Regional Malaria Program, still employed by AED since the day I walked out the CIE door. NetMark Has formed public-private partnerships with multinational and national companies, international donors, and ministries of health to create commercial markets for insecticide treated nets (ITN) for malaria prevention in sub-Saharan Africa--i.e., we are getting the commercial guys to sell ITNs and net treatment kits on a national scale at reasonable prices. The public sector doesn't have the funds to do the job themselves.
We have started up in Zambia, Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana and soon in Mali. USAID just increased our budget ceiling by $50 million so we will be moving into other countries in the coming years (e.g., Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, etc.). Almost as challenging as a contentious Center meeting.[December 2002]
After getting married in February 2003 (see wedding website), I have been living in the Philippines for the past three years. In January, 2006, I commenced working part-time for the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Northern Luzon Office, which is in Baguio. I will go to Baguio for one week per month, and be involved in the general administration of the church office, especially as it relates to contacts with overseas partner churches.
I am really beginning to feel settled into my life here in the Philippines, and as a married woman. I continue to hone my agricultural skills, and am beginning to believe farming may not be beyond me forever; I have started harvesting brocolli that I successfully nurtured in the church garden, after my somewhat failed attempt at breeding chickens. If anyone is interested in an internship in the Philippines, drop me a line! [1-06]
This is to let you know that I have started teaching
an online course in cross-cultural communication and
culture shock. It is a basic introduction for anyone
about to go and live in a new and strange place. It's
a self-paced course that should take about six weeks
to complete. It is what they call asynchronous, which
means we don't all have to be online at the same time. You log on, study the materials, do the assignments
and add your contributions to the class discussion
forum. I just check every day to respond to questions
and comments.
Check out the syllabus. [10-07]
I've been in Indonesia most of the time since completing my doctorate way back when. For 12 years I was with Russ Dilts on an FAO IPM training project. From 2002 to 2005 I did lots of short term consulting which is a part of my life that I'd just as soon put behind me. I was able to keep my kids in shoes, but that is about it.
Yes, new wife and two little children, 3 years and 6 years. I am becoming an expert on primary schooling in Indonesia by following my little boy's career. There are some pluses, but mostly the system is a mess.
I seem to be orbiting Russ Dilts. He and I have both been recruited by DAI as regional advisors for a water resources project. He gets to run North Sumatra and I have Aceh. Banda Aceh and Aceh is a truly amazing place. There are people from 100's of NGOs running around trying to do good things and some of them truly are. However, there is a fair bit of competition among groups to get projects or get sites to do projects.
Our project is interesting as we are not in competition with anyone. We do training and capacity building for drinking water facilities, community organizing, sanitation, and watershed management training. We are going to be getting into the issues of illegal logging. Not cutting trees, but trying to help organizations that are building houses (some 100,000 need built) to avoid lumber from trees that have been illegally cut. Hope we can live this one out. [July 2005]
Mokubung is a Senior Research Fellow attached to the Assessment Technology and Education Evaluation Program at the Human Sciences Research Council and seconded as a Professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
In a speech recently he stressed the importance of developing African scientists.
One of the challenges in our part of the world, i.e. South Africa, and most certainly Africa, is to create conditions that will be conducive to the production of high-level scientists to give meaning to the expressed desire to make Africa the continent of the 21 st century. This is imperative in its own right and more especially if we wish to be competitive in the global economy, if we want to preserve our sovereignty and integrity within the community of nations, if we are committed to achieving economic prosperity and to establishing social peace and stability.
Mokubung has served since 1998 as chair of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), a statutory body responsible for the development and implementation of the National Qualifications Framework. He also served as the chair of another statutory body, the South African Senior Certificate Council (1998-2003), a body responsible for monitoring norms and standards of the Senior Certificate Examinations.
He is the author of numerous academic journals; author of Student Culture and Activism in South African Universities (1984); editor of Pedagogy of Domination (1990); and co-editor of Reflections on School Integration (2004). [June 2005]
Michael (Kip) Koech (Ed. D. 1982) amiacfed@yahoo.com
After serving as Kenya's Ambassador to UNEP for two (2) years, Kip was appointed the founding Director General of the Kenya National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in Feb 2002, a position he held till March, 2003. After that, Kip returned to Kenyatta University in April, 2003 where he teaches courses in environmental services to undergraduates and postgraduate students. He is also a consultant in the area of environmental management and training.
In Feb 2000 he was appointed Kenya's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In that role Kip travels widely covering environment and sustainable development related matters locally and globally. He was in New York in the Fall of 2001 attending the UN General Assembly meeting in preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) scheduled to be held in Johannesburg in September 2002.
From 1993-98, Kip was on secondment from his faculty position to the post of Director of the National Environment Action Plan (NEAP) . The NEAP is part of Kenya's national agenda 21. After completing that task, Kip returned to Kenyatta University to continue teaching in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, a Faculty which he founded in 1990 and subsequently served as its first Dean. In December 1998 Kip was appointed the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Kenyatta University in charge of Finance, Development and Planning.
Kip and Barbara, his wife were in Amherst in May 2005 for their daughter Chemattaai's graduation at Hampshire College, after which Kip presented a paper at International Association of Impact Assessment (IAIA) annual conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Boston at the end of May. After this conference, they returned to Nairobi.[May 2005]
top of pageMark is now the Deputy Office Director Economic Growth for USAID with a $70 million annual budget for Afghanistan’s economic development. [April 2006]
Mark bumped into Jane Benbow at AIR in Washington and had this to say about what he has been doing. He is considering taking a position in Kabul in the future if things work out.
I've been at the InterAmerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture for the last ten years. IICA is the organization responsible for agriculture within the inter-american system that includes the OAS, IDB, PAHO and CIM. IICA receives dues from its 34 member states in the hemisphere. I've been working in poverty reduction programs all over Latin America and the Caribbean, mainly community-driven development and strategies for community investment, as well as on issues of ag health, food safety and trade negotiations for agriculture. [February 2005]
Masila
Joined North Carolina Central University as an Associate Professor in
August 2001. He is currently teaching courses on Human Growth and Development,
Foundations of Education, Multiculturalism & practice of Schooling,
Developmental and Psychological Foundations of Education, and Cultural
Diversity. His research areas include Teacher Training and Diversity,
Character Education and Training, and Development in International Education.
For more see http://www.nccu.edu/soe/faculty_staff/pmmutisya/index.html
Prior to coming to NCCU, he taught at Fayetteville State University from
1991 to 2001, and was Assistant Coordinator for African American student
Affairs for two years and Resident Director for two years at North Carolina
State university, 1987 to 1991. He previously established and taught Kiswahili
in several universities including, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
(Afro American Studies), North Carolina State University, and UNC-Chapel
Hill.
In addition to teaching, Masila conducts cross-cultural trips to Africa.
He is currently writing a book tentatively titled "Conceptualizing
African and African American Family and Identity: An Intra-cultural, Intercultural
and Cross-cultural Perspective" under contract with the National
Social Science Association Press. [July 2004]
I
stopped off for a quick hello at Hills South (looks comfortingly the same!)
while visiting the New England area. So first I took a quick glance to
see the latest postings, and it was delightful to see some dear, familiar
faces and to get an up-date on everyone's diverse - and quite impressive
- career tracks. My, what an honor to be included among such illustrious
company!
As for myself, after spending nine years in Colombia (a fantastic country),
I have been back in Guatemala since 1999, working as a consultant for
a number of NGO's and GO's, large and small. These have included: the
"Quality Learning" Program design and evaluation for the Regional
Office of Plan International; NFE methodology for community participation
and education with the Guatemalan Ministry of Health; teaching a community
development and participation module in an MPH program offered at the
University of San Carlos; PAR on indigenous communities' changing views
regarding sending their children, particularly their daughters, to school,
conducted with a small but growing micro-credit-for-women project called
Friendship Bridge; and of course, training and materials development,
specialized publications and illustrations on related topics. Wonderful
fun - and, of course, a spectacular learning experience, as fieldwork
always is.
More recently, my life was shaken by my initiation to the African context during 2004 in
Ethiopia and Ghana. I was involved in supporting a Non-formal Education for Children and Adults in underserved
regions of Ethiopia,including pastoral nomadic areas, and the Youth Education and Skills pilot project being
implemented as part of the USAID BEPS initiatiative in remote cocoa-growing communities in Ghans's Western
Region, with a focus child labor and functional literacy for out-of-school youth.
I was fortunate to visit two such interesting countries, and have been well and truly bitten by the bug! The parallels and divergencies between the Latin Americana and African contexts have been an ongoing source of reflection, as was the opportunity to "cross-pollinate", to combine methodolgies and approaches to meet the special challenges. I am actively seeking opportunities to return to Africa for a more extended period.
CIE publications accompanied me to the field, as usual: in this case I made good use of Widening
Literacy, Nuturing Participation, and the Literacy Linkage Program's Action Learning Manuals, all of which
were shared with local colleagues in the field. It was like having friends along to advise and support... [December 2004]
I have, for the past five years, been happily employed by AFS Intercultural Programs in Manhattan. http://www.afs.org/ I don't know if you are familiar with AFS... most people who are familiar remember a foreign exchange student they had in their high school long, long ago and are surprised to know we are still around. For those who haven't had that experience, AFS is an exchange program. We work mostly with high school aged participants both coming to the States and US kids going abroad, primarily for year-long programs. We also do exchanges of teachers and community service participants and a host of other programs funded by the US State Department.
In short, I am Director of Program Operations and
Training and one of several areas that I oversee for AFS, is participant
support which includes everything from travel, design and implementation
of cross cultural orientation programs, quality management and direct
support/counseling of participants both here in the US and overseas while
they are on their
program.
My husband Mostafa and I would love to come visit
Amherst one of these days. My oldest daughter Kenza was born there and
would like to see it. If I do, I will of course come by the Center and
visit. [March 2004]
After doing his masters in CIE, Mohammed went on to complete a doctorate in the Research and Evaluation program at UMass. He recently returned to campus for a conference celebrating the career of Professor Swaminathan. He sent us the following notes about his current activities.
My family and I live in West Hartford, CT. We often visit Amherst, which we consider our hometown. I have been working with the Connecticut State Department of Education for the last 10 years. I work with the Bureau of Student Assessment and Research, and my main responsibilities include test data management and analyses, psychometric analysis, research activities on assessment, report processing for the media and the public, and producing technical reports of our tests. I have been active in research on testing, authored or co-authored research papers that were presented at professional conferences or published in journals.
I am also involved with testing activities outside our department. I am consultant for The Donath Group (a testing firm in Mass.) who develop computer adaptive tests, and Education Development Center who, among other activities, conduct education projects in developing countries. I help the latter group develop tests to evaluate the impact of some programs. [May 2003]
Beverly reports that she has lived in several places since the CIE resident years. I did thirteen years of administration and then returned to the classroom where I'm doing what I thought I'd never get a chance to do -- teaching "MUSIC APPRECIATION" exclusively, with a global flavor!
Beverly also provides kudos for her daughter Lydia Diamond. She's a successful playwright who has a play, "The Gift Horse" going up at the Goodman in Chicago for the month of Feburary. http://www.goodman-theatre.org/press/122801gift.html She's 32 now, and a really fine adult! She's even going to earn money for her work! [January 2002]
I
have been living in an old house in Somerville, MA (just outside of Boston)
for the past 6 years. Partner Jeff Teixeira is a bilingual Portuguese
3rd grade teacher in Cambridge, MA, and has many hobbies: studying the
sciences, making beer and other fermented substances, and repairing ancient
steam heating systems. Daughter Samira, age 5, is quite a diva--singing,
dancing and drawing her way through every day. She has brought us more
joy than we imagined possible.
When not having fun with Samira, sharing fermented
beverages with Jeff or protesting the war or another injustice with both
of them, I do a lot of political work in Somerville and Boston on progressive
campaigns to win and enforce living wage ordinances, to hold developers
accountable and to support union organizing and contracts. I also work
half-time as a research
associate at the Labor Resource Center at UMass Boston. UMass Boston is
very different from UMass Amherst; we serve primarily working adults,
many of them low-income. For the past 4 1/2 years I have focused on learning
about Massachusetts economic development system, and helping unions and
community groups to try to redirect that system from corporate giveaways
to creating good jobs and meaningful access to those jobs. I am particularly
excited about a labor/community campaign I am working on this year to
win Corporate Tax and Subsidy Disclosure in Massachusetts, which will
allow us to hold corporations accountable for the hundreds of millions
in state and local funding they get each year, under the false claim that
they are 'creating jobs.' A great web site that can give you information
on corporate accountability efforts across the U.S. is: www.goodjobsfirst.org.
We expect a challenging year necessitating a lot of organizing and many changes, given the State budget crisis, the poor national economy, the defeat of bilingual education, the looming war in Iraq. We are grateful to have each other and many friends to help us get through. We wish all of you peace and sustenance (in whatever form you prefer!) in the year to come. Please email, write or visit! [January 2003]
Mary
is a research project coordinator at UCLA's Center for the Study of Evaluation,
focusing on test accommodation for English language learners, including
computer testing and linguistic modification of test items. She has trained
test item writers for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the American
Institutes of Research, as well as members of the California
Education Research Association.
Her team's recent funding sources include the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA, formerly OBEMLA), and the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST).
In years past, she taught college composition, computer applications, and copyright law, most enjoyably to digital artists and culinary students at the Art Institute of Los Angeles. She enjoys hearing from Center friends.
Mary still enjoys fiction writing and New England
contradancing. She now studies yoga and singing. She misses the terrific
CIE parties. Hollywood just can't compare with Amherst conversation and
dance talent. The climate, however ...(December
2002)
After
getting her masters at CIE, Becky went on to get her doctorate in Public
Health at Harvard, with a specialization in HIV/AIDs issues. She joined
the Centers for Disease Control and was ultimately posted to Uganda where
she works in collaboration with USAID. In a recent communication she provided
this update on her activities:
We're still in Uganda and both Jono and I are working for CDC on HIV/AIDS (IFE) Programs. I have just switched from my assignment to advise USAID on their HIV/AIDS programs to a position working directly on CDC's programs.
We also just had a second daughter--Alana Malaika--who's just three months old and adorable. Kellen, our first daughter is two and a half and a bit jealous but doing great. Please pass along greetings to anyone who might still remember me! [October 2001] top of page
Anita Nazareth is now in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates where her husband, Shaun, works as the Senior Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy. Anita writes:
I just landed a job as Advisor-Education Planning with the Abu Dhabi Education Zone. The work is right up my alley and mainly deals with the implementation of their Vision 2020 plan which has a significant education component. This is the first time I have worked with an essentially "developing country" with lots of funds for anything and everything. The are planning to emulate the Singapore Experience in Mathematics, Science & Technology..with computers in every classroom and for every student. My main difficulty here is that most business is conducted in Arabic. However, most personnel in Ministry of Education speak reasonable English..so it's not too bad.
They are looking to adopt a baby girl to join their son Christopher. Anita is going soon to Vietnam to explore possibilities of adoption from there. They are hopeful that a new addition to their family will arrive by June of 2002. [December 2001] top of page
Bérengère is the Director of the Population Communication Services program at the Academy for Educational Development in Washington, D.C. The program has recently published a two volume set entitled Empowering Communities (one a trainers manual, and the other a participant's handbook). The English version will soon be out in a second edition and the French version was published early in 2001. For more details see the PCS web site at: http://pcs.aed.org/staff/Berengere.htm
Bérengère's recent travels have taken her to Ruanda to work on AIDS education, and to South Africa where she is assisting a local NGO with the redesign of its 24-hour HIV/AIDS Hotline. PCS is working in conjunction with LifeLine to respond to the public's demand for information as the rate of new HIV infections in this country skyrocket. Bérengère and the organization's director are updating volunteer counselor's manuals and computer programs, as well as preparing employees to train new volunteer counselors.
During the past 15 years, Bérengère has designed and implemented information, education, and communication (IEC) interventions throughout the world. Her qualifications as a registered nurse and adult education expert enable her to provide state-of-the-art training to health staff in interpersonal communication/counseling (IPC/C) skills. She develops IPC/C training and self-instructional manuals and conducts Training of Trainers workshops for a range of audiences. Dr. de Negri also provides technical support for family planning, reproductive health and AIDS/HIV programs. [3/2/2001]
After my year at CIE (1999-2000), I returned to teaching at SIT. This year, I've developed two new courses for our curriculum based on work I did at CIE last year: Program Monitoring and Evaluation and Issues in Literacy and Development. I'm teaching both of these this semester; it's really fun to bring new depth to these areas of our curriculum and I am enjoying teaching both of these very much. I have also been working on various projects.
Last summer, I led a team of our faculty at SIT under a contract with CARE to produce a desk study of tools, frameworks, and indicators for evaluating civil society strengthening activities in Africa. We produced a huge inventory of tools for them, which has now been distributed to CARE country program personnel throughout Africa. I was able to present something about this work at the American Evaluation Association's International Roundtable in Hawaii last November as well.
I have continued to work on the NCSALL study of
staff development for ABE teachers which I've been engaged with since
1997. We are in our final year of the study, doing 
the
in-depth data analysis and writing up the report. The report should be
finished by July 2001. I have worked primarily on qualitative data analysis,
as well as doing some of the interviews. The analysis process has been
fascinating and fulfilling and it feels great to finally be able to answer
some of our questions. I have learned much from my fellow research team
members, all of whom are CIE folks: Christine Smith, Judy Hofer,
and Marilyn Gillespie.
In addition, this year I have been responsible for an internal evaluation of our department's Global Partnership, post-graduate diploma program in NGO leadership and management, based at BRAC in Bangladesh Last fall, I went to Dhaka to set up the evaluation team and to finalize design of the evaluation, for which we received a Ford Foundation grant. Last month, I returned to Bangladesh to facilitate a reflection workshop of graduates, graduates' supervisors, and faculty. It was a wonderful experience to hear the testimonies of graduates and to see former students of mine from all over the world. I also learned a great deal from the "reflection workshop" model as a tool for data collection and analysis.
I'm set to go back to Mali for World Education in May this year to begin a strategic planning project with OMAES, a Malian NGO with which I worked in 1988 and 1989 and again in 1992. Then they were a fledgling NGO then. Now they are one of the lead NGOs in the country and seeking to do some strategic planning to position themselves to work on strengthening civil society.
Other than work, I am enjoying my beautiful family. Pilar is seven and Sajo is three and they are giving Steve and me both great joy and gray hair. I am not doing so well at balancing work and family, always feeling torn in one direction or the other. My goal for this year and next is to figure out a new configuration for my life that will fit my current priorities and interests better. Wish me luck! [Mar 4, 2001]
Hilda came north from Hartford where she lives and continues to work as a free-lance consultant. She came by CIE to pick up a copy of her dissertation from almost 20 years ago! In her words It looks ancient! but the topic of participation by village women in Nonformal Education seems just as relevant today as in the past. What does she remember most about her time at CIE? Tuesday meetings and the retreats was the prompt answer.
When asked about contact with other CIE folk she recounted how she had met Gail von Hahmann on the street in Dar es Salaam in the Fall of 1999. Hilda was in Dar working on a UNDP disaster management project in the Prime Minister's Office. She and Gail spent some time together sharing ideas and a few meals and reflected that the last time they had spent time together was in 1975. Hilda says she is always open to possible consulting opportunities, so if you have an idea do let her know. [11/15/00]
Ash Hartwell met Musa Moda in Nigeria in the Spring
of 2000. He reflects on their conversation below.
Studying
at the Center for International Education, much less writing a dissertation,
is generally not viewed as a revolutionary act, nor one for which you
should be put under house arrest. Musa Moda's doctoral dissertation Promotion
of Social Change Through Adult and Nonformal Education in the Nigerian
National Mass Literacy Campaign, seemed to send the wrong signal to the
authorities then in power in Nigeria. On his return home in 1984 he was
called in for questioning by security forces, put under observation, and
spent some time in jail. One would not have thought that the study of
the role of education in promoting social change, and recommendations
for improving Nigeria's program of Universal Primary Education and the
National Mass Literacy Campaign was subversive. But Musa had the misfortune
of returning to Nigeria shortly after a military coup brought into power
the regime headed by General Mohammudu Buhari. Under Buhari the National
Security Organization (NSO), acting to stifle critical voices, carried
out a purge, jailing hundreds of journalists and critical thinkers. Musa
got caught up in that campaign and suffered the consequences.
I met Musa after this was long past. In April 2000
Musa was one of about 100 senior education policy-makers in Nigeria gathered
in a national workshop to 
present
to international development agencies a broad proposal for the review
and rehabilitation of Nigeria's education system. Shortly after the demise
of the Buhari regime, and the dismantling of NSO in 1986 Musa was released
from suspicion and exonerated. His work was recognized, and he played
an important role in planning and implementing the National Mass Literacy
Campaign. Musa has established a reputation as a leader in community education
and literacy. In early 2000, he was appointed the director of the Social
Mobilization Unit of the newly established Universal Basic Education Commission(UBEC),
headed by Prof. Paye Obanya (formerly the director of UNESCO's Regional
Education Office in Dakar). Today UBEC is playing a central role in Nigeria's
education system reform.
Musa was really excited to meet a fellow CIE member, and passes on his greetings to the Center, to DRE, Bob, Sally and others who remember him from those days in Hills South. [November 2000]
Yong-Hyun Kim (Ed.D. 1984) yonghkim@liu.edu Yong Kim and his family visited CIE again in late July. Yong-Hyun was accompanied by his wife and two of his three children. When he left CIE, his daughter Jisun was three years old and she is now a junior in college. |
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James Mangan (Ed.D. 1981) mjmangan@indo.net.id
The article compares two approaches to integrated
pest management (IPM) for farmers in Sichuan Province For more information on IPM in Asia check out: http://www.communityipm.org/index.html [July 2002] |
Jim
worked with the FAO Inter-country Program for integrated pest control
in rice in South and Souteast Asia from 1991 to 1997, and was IPM
training officer for China from 1995 through 1996. He has been working
since 1999 in Indonesia as Team Leader on a technical assistance
team for an ADB funded project to train farmers in Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) for estate crops (cashew, coffee, cocoa, pepper
and tea). This training involves large scale training systems to
organize and train farmers in "farmer field schools",
an approach first developed by FAO with considerable input from
CIE alumni. Jim, shown in the picture modeling correct(?) pruning
procedures for Cocoa trees for some farmers in Kalimantan, currently
lives in Australia. An article he and his wife published in the
Fall 1998 issue of Agriculture and Human Values discussed some of
their work.
of
China. One approach utilizes an NFE-style learning strategy called
Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in which farmers learn to do their
own investigation of insect populations in their fields and to manage
their fields to preserve the beneficial insects. The older method
which the article refers to as economic threshold IPM primarily
relies on pesticides rather than beneficial insects/spiders for
pest control. That approach monitors insect levels and applies pesticides
when their level reaches a point where economic loss from crop damage
will occur. The article reports on research which demonstrates the
greater effectiveness of the FFS approach both in farmer understanding
of concepts and in measures related to crop yield and pesticide
application|
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