Before coming to Amherst, I worked as the English Language program Coordinator for USAID/Kabul.   Then, In 2012 I became the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister for Academic Affairs in the Ministry of Higher Education, Afghanistan.  During my degree studies at UMass, I worked as a project assistant on CIE’s higher education project in Afghanistan.

Nyaradzai is originally from Zimbabwe.  Before coming to CIE in 2014 she was active in a number of educational programs. She volunteered at Mashambanzou Care Trust, a not-for-profit organization in Harare, where she contributed to community education programs that empowered youths with practical life skills and promoted positive behavioral change. Specifically, the program encouraged girls, who were the majority of high school drop-outs, to take greater control and interest in their health and welfare.

I am originally from Aceh, the most western part of Indonesia. I started my career as a volunteer at a local NGO, where I was involved in humanitarian assistance and an alternative education program for children affected by 30 years of armed conflict. Later, I joined the Henry Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, where I was involved in facilitating the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (2002–2003). My interest in working in the education and peacebuilding fields stemmed from those experiences.

Before coming to CIE, Vongaishe worked with World Education Inc. in Zimbabwe on improving the lives of orphans and vulnerable children and families with programs in basic education, school governance, vocational and life skills education, integrated literacy, girls and women’s education, HIV/AIDS education and prevention. She was involved in the evolution of in-school and out-of-school nonformal education programs. These NFE centers were designed to offer safe places for out-of-school children and youth to develop functional literacy and numeracy skills using an accelerated curriculum.

Javid completed his degree in International Education at UMass Amherst in February 2023. His dissertation was titled, Accreditation of Teaching and Research Universities in Afghanistan: A Policy Implementation Analysis. The dissertation analyzes the historical development of quality assurance and accreditation systems in Afghanistan and some developing countries. During his doctoral program, Javid published four articles in peer-reviewed journal articles, an encyclopedia entry, and a media review.

After leaving CIE, I returned to my previous position as a literacy specialist supporting mother tongue literacy initiatives among Darfur refugees in eastern Chad. It was good to be back with some new ideas and inspiration after my time at CIE. My team leader retired not too long after, so I am now the project coordinator and spend a lot more time in the office these days, writing reports and proposals.

Nolizwe's global experience in advocacy and policy work and in youth development organizations led her to CIE. She is a graduate of McGill University and holds a master’s degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Prior to her studies at UMass, Nolizwe taught African Studies and History for five years at the Johannesburg-based African Leadership Academy (ALA). While at CIE, she conducted research on youth livelihoods in Burkina Faso and completed a short stint in the New York City Department of Education.

During her degree program Jenn worked as a research assistant on the USAID Education in Crisis and Conflict Network project, whose research team was based at CIE.

Hafez AbuAdwan is from the Gaza Strip, Palestine. In a video interview, he describes his extraordinary journey from life inside Gaza to his journey west, Mr Abuadwan concludes: “a refugee has the power of achieving sustainable development. A refugee can actually make a change in their own society, economically, socially and politically. The world needs refugees to be empowered, so we can actually achieve peace and justice.”

After graduating from CIE, Surl Hee was involved with INEE's capacity development survey doing quantitative analysis under the initiative of Stephen Richardson. More recently she has been at home in Delaware supporting her two kids, Ahron and Einne, with their remote learning.  She looks forward to going back to professional work when her kids get a little older, and schools reopen!