THE GALLAGHER FOUNDATION 2022 IMPACT REPORT


Celebrating 20 Years


The Gallagher Foundation supports the visions of young leaders to positively impact their developing countries through college scholarships and membership with a community of scholars and alumni who share the same commitments.
The Gallagher Foundation believes that young educated leaders will bring peace and prosperity to the world.
Passionate, optimistic, and able to inspire others to affect positive change
Honest, uncompromising in their values, and driven to do what is right
Responsible for their conduct and perseveres in the face of adversity
Embraces the ideas and experiences of others and accepts challenges to grow through new perspectives
Dedicated to their communities, countries, fellow Gallagher Scholars and lifelong learning
It’s especially gratifying to see our earliest Scholars now shaping, supporting, and building on the legacy that Jerry & Ellen established in 2002.
20 years – although it’s a brief period by historical measures, two decades can be transformational. We certainly believe this is the case when we witness the impact that Gallagher Foundation Scholars are having all over the world. Drawing from our parents’ belief that education is the key to global peace and prosperity, our community of Scholars continues to make this vision a reality. Gallagher Scholars are building careers in fields that ignite their passions; starting families that will grow from their nurturing; and impacting their communities in a myriad of positive ways.
Every Gallagher Scholar is part of our extended family that now reflects the strength and diversity of your heritage, experiences, beliefs, and dreams. You have taught each of us a great deal in a short period of time – most importantly the positive impact and hope for the future that dedicated young people provide all of us. It’s especially gratifying to see our earliest Scholars now shaping, supporting and building on the legacy that Jerry & Ellen established in 2002.
On behalf of the Board and our family, congratulations on making the first two decades of the Gallagher Foundation a resounding success. We’re excited to see where each of you helps take this community and we’re grateful for the example and inspiration you provide along the way.
This year marks the 20 th anniversary of the Gallagher Foundation. I am proud of how far we’ve come in 20 years and I know that Jerry would be, too. We marked 20 years with a wonderful Saturday Night Live themed celebration attended by so many of you in September.
The impact Gallagher Scholars are making in their communities gives us so much to celebrate. Our world has faced great challenges in recent years and I believe that our mission that “young leaders will bring peace and prosperity to the world” is more important now than ever before. Throughout this Impact Report you will see examples of Gallagher Scholars living out our mission in their everyday lives.
Every member of the Scholar community, our Country Directors and Staff, the Board, and partners make up the fabric of these 20 years of the Gallagher Foundation.
The impact Gallagher Scholars are making in their communities gives us so much to celebrate.
Jerry Gallagher was an extraordinary man who loved to build things. Jerry had a successful career helping build many companies. He and his wife, Ellen, built a strong, loving family. Included in his family were the Gallagher Scholars. Jerry loved to interview potential candidates to hear about their vision for their country and the role they would play in it. One of his great joys was talking with the Scholars and graduates.
“What is most important in life is that I can look at myself in the mirror and know that I tried to do the right thing.”
2022 marked the 20th anniversary of the Gallagher Foundation. The Gallagher community celebrated with a Saturday Night Live-themed virtual event, highlighting the impact of the Foundation over the past 20 years, and celebrating our 2022 graduating Scholars. Current Scholar Luxolo Mdolo (South Africa) wrote and performed a song for the event. The song shares a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” This is a call for change urging fellow Scholars to stand up now! We must all stand up and be the best we can be.
I see a world full of pain
A world inhumane
People only giving when there’s something to gain
No dark can drive out dark, only light can do that
No hate can drive out hate, only love can do that
It’s the heaven of peace
It’s the heaven of peace
Hatred is the loudest if forgiveness is absent
Let the weapons go silent
There’s no peace in violence
It’s the heaven of peace
It’s the heaven of peace
So stand up now!
So stand up now!
And let your voice fill the echo
So stand up now!
So stand up now!
Be a leader where you are
So stand up now
And be the best you can be
A glimpse of some of the many ways our
SOUTH AFRICA (since 2002)
72 Total Graduates
22 Current Scholars
MEXICO (since 2004)
67 Total Graduates
22 Current Scholars
TURKEY (since 2005)
62 Total Graduates
8 Current Scholars
40 graduated Scholars supported the Foundation’s Candidate Selection process
22 graduated Scholars served on their country’s Advisory Council
27 graduated Scholars participated in the Mentor Program
*Numbers represent 2022 participation
This past year the graduate Advisory Council in Mexico has been working on a couple of initiatives. First, we started planning an integration initiative called “Get to know another Gallagher”, a frictionless program to connect graduates for a brief “coffee” chat. The other initiative focused on improving communication within the Mexican Gallagher community. We are still defining the scope and ambition of the project. Watch for more details on both of these initiatives in the coming year.
Our current Scholar group is stronger than ever. This year we incorporated the newest generations in Mexico (18th and 19th) with two new states of Mexico represented in our community: Michoacan and Yucatan. This past year our Scholar community donated a memorial tree in the Memorial Park on the Monterrey Tech campus in tribute to our Scholars. Our community continues to grow as many of our graduated Scholars get married and have babies and we are grateful to all the graduated Scholars who give back to our Gallagher community. We continue to focus on our philosophy of diversity and equity in a multicultural community that represents our country.
94%
Brenda Jiménez Country Director, Mexicoof Mexican current Scholars agree or strongly agree that the Foundation’s new mental health support plan provided the support and resources they needed this year.
This past year our Scholars began their post-Covid academic journey, adapting and adjusting socially and academically to the resumption of in-person lectures, tutoring, academic workshops, etc. The highlight of our year was the Leadership Summit, which included a video featuring 10 graduated Scholars who spoke on their experiences in the Gallagher community and their achievements after graduation. The event coincided with the 20th Anniversary celebration of the Foundation which was live streamed as part of the program, allowing us to witness the memories and achievements of the past 20 years of the Foundation. Despite post-Covid transitions, the year held positive impact and growth for our Scholars. Feedback from Scholars has been encouraging and motivates us to build on current achievements.
Wiedaad Dollie Country Director, South Africa100%
This year the Advisory Council focused on two strategic initiatives to build better communication and engagement in the graduate network. To this effect, the first Fireside Chat was hosted by a panel of graduated Scholars in association with the South African Anxiety and Depression Group, which was attended by over 20 graduates. One of our graduated Scholars hosted a graduate meet-up in Johannesburg attended by graduates across different cohorts, providing an opportunity for graduates to re-connect. The Advisory Council is proactively working on steps to ensure that the graduate community is inclusive and accessible to all.
of South African current Scholars feel extremely or moderately connected to the Gallagher Scholar community overall.
During the 2021-22 academic year, Scholars took courses in person and online. This hybrid system gave them some flexibility but also held some downsides as Scholars have missed their friends and campus. Despite all the changes in a hybrid learning system as well as updates on the campus, all our Scholars finished their semesters well, overcoming all the difficulties they have faced. Despite the “social” changes around the campus, our Scholars in Turkey have bonded this year. Economically, socially and academically the changes have affected them, but all of them have learned to overcome the challenges. They have provided support to each other, and our graduates have supported us all as well.
Elvan Zihnioğlu Country Director, Turkey100%
As this is our first official year having the Advisory Council in Turkey, we immediately felt the need to update our graduate database so we can have a better understanding of expectations from the graduated Scholars. Of the 58 total Turkey graduates, 44 responded with their updated information and answered a couple of questions about their interest in ideas within our group. We realized there is an increasing trend to work and live outside of Turkey, so we decided to have an “Ask Me” session with members living in foreign countries.
of Turkish current Scholars are either moderately or extremely satisfied in the ways that the Gallagher Foundation strengthens and equips them as leaders.
To me personally, being a leader means setting an example. That’s why I’m always trying to be the best version of me. If I become who I’d like to see, if I become the woman that could inspire myself, my younger self, then I can actually lead people and I can help people to be the best versions of themselves as well.
Community means that we are people from all over the world and even when we come from very different backgrounds and very different places, we share the same passion to bring peace and prosperity to the world.
It has brought me so much joy to see the scholarship community move from strength to strength! We are building a very powerful network of individuals that will not only be change-makers in South Africa, Turkey, and Mexico, but all over the world!
When I look back, there is one thing that I see very clearly; that the support of the Gallagher Foundation during my undergraduate education has made a gigantic difference. Obtaining my bachelor’s degree would be extremely difficult for me without your scholarship, if not impossible. Your values and proactive behavior to support education inspires me a lot.
When I look back, there is one thing that I see very clearly; that the support of the Gallagher Foundation during my undergraduate education has made a gigantic difference. Obtaining my bachelor’s degree would be extremely difficult for me without your scholarship, if not impossible. Your values and proactive behavior to support education inspires me a lot.
Meryem Gedemenli, - Meryem Gedemenli, graduated Scholar - Turkey - graduated Scholar - Turkey – Safa Naraghi, graduated Scholar - South AfricaLEADERSHIP: Attending Medical School exposed me early in my medical career to public health and the upstream factors and barriers to social and economic resources that have an impact on people’s health status. This awareness planted a seed and laid a great foundation for my career in public health.
I derive great fulfillment from participating in and leading successful and productive teams. I am fortunate to have found myself in leadership roles since early in my career in public health and hence, leadership is and will always be applicable to my professional pursuits.
I am privileged to have been part of the team that led support for the National Department of Health in South Africa for COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. In my role as the Nation Lead Facilitator, I witnessed firsthand how the right people, and the right mindset can impact a seemingly insurmountable public health concern and bring it under control in a relatively short time. This experience has left an indelible mark of optimism and hope in my heart. I now have an unshakable belief that it is possible to galvanize our nation into action to solve any health system issue, so long as there is solidarity. Gallagher Foundation selects some of the most amazing and dynamic individuals. Being part of this community of Scholars has made the most impact on my educational goals and career path.
COMMUNITY: The most important aspect in my education as a Gallagher Scholar was having the opportunity to study at Tecnológico de Monterrey. Attending a prestigious university in Mexico opens many doors through the powerful connections developed with professors, students, and graduates. I firmly believe that the Foundation has impacted my education and goals in every single way. I am grateful to the Foundation for providing the opportunity to study in a place I dreamt of since I was a child and inclusion in this community. I have implemented the Foundation values in my life, and they have shaped my career and life path.
The Gallagher community has empowered me to do and achieve anything I dream. I remember when I was a Scholar and I was introduced to some graduates. They talked about their jobs and their goals, and I felt empowered and confident picturing myself in the future. I thought, “I can do whatever I want that can benefit me and the people around me.” The Gallagher Foundation community has become my second family and will always be. They are my family and for me, family is everything.
IMPACT: My education as an electrical-electronics engineer, my minor in economics, and all my extra pursuits have allowed me to bring together and manage teams to realize my dreams in AI.
I am working on a social impact app that uses voice actors to build a library of essential literature to provide quality content for visually impaired students ranging from ages 8 to 20. Turkey does not currently have much audiobook content available to the general public, and the available content is behind paywalls or logistically difficult to access. My goal is to increase the availability of classics and critical literature to hundreds of thousands of visually impaired Turkish students.
I hope to be the founder of a semiconductor factory here in Turkey to create microchips which could become scarce in the future. Building one here in Turkey will impact both the nation’s economy and also help all industries currently using electronics.
Gallagher Foundation 2022 Graduating Scholars
Tecnológico de Monterrey – Mexico
• Mariana De Abril Ayala Miranda - Digital Systems and Robotics Engineering
• Daniel Carrillo Silva – Chemistry
• Iqui Balam Heredia Marin - Mechatronics Engineering
• Carlos Eduardo Rolón Arroyo – Mechanical Engineering
• Carlos Tovar Guagnelli – International Relations
• Iris Alexsandra Tuton Jasso - Engineering - Sustainable Development
University of Cape Town – South Africa
• L eonora Dube - Information Systems
• Modjadji Maake - Medicine
• Gabriella Mogale - Finance and Accounting
• Nompilo Mpanza - Science
• Sgwili Nzama - Finance and Accounting
Boğaziçi University – Turkey
• İlayda Altıok - Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Yunus Kaan Arslan - Electrical and Electronics Engineering
• Müşerref Çetinkaya - Sociology and Political Science
• Mustafa Demir - Turkish Language and Literature
“Our mission is more important now than ever before.”