Javad Ahmadi completed his degree requirements at the end of 2016 and returned to Afghanistan. His dissertation focused on capacity development and workplace learning at the Afghan Ministry of Education, Department of Planning.

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.

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.”

During and after studying at CIE, Sonia has been working with the Human Resources department of UMass Amherst, first as a multicultural evaluator and adult education trainer.  More recently she became the Project Manager with Partnership Worker Education with a focus on career ladders development and multicultural workplaces.

Husband and wife CIE graduates, Ashley Clayton Hertz and Darren Hertz, recently relocated to Bangkok, Thailand. Ashley completed her doctorate in September 2017 and is now consulting remotely with the University Research Co, LLC supporting Reading within Reach (REACH) to develop tools and resources for members of the Global Reading Network.

As my Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship at the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in Pristina, Kosovo comes to an end, here are some of my reflections.