Connections
DID YOU KNOW?
• 22% of all active alumni live outside of the U.S. Vo lum e 2 , Is su e 1 • 80% of all active alumni have graduated after 1998 • 23% of all active alumni have graduated While changing my watch on the flight from date in the past 5 years
Spring
2 008
Oh What a Year It Has Been!
Tokyo (where I had spent three actionpacked days at a JET Programme ConferThese statistics are based on the current ence, an alumni reception and a prospective (3/01/08) data for our student event), I realized that the one-year alumni community, and anniversary of the Institute’s alumni office will soon be changing “reopening” was that very day! A month dramatically! Check later I sit here, pondering what has tranout the details in the “Oh What a Year It spired over the past year in the way of new Has Been” story on services, activities, events, and other compage 2. mitments to our growing alumni community. The only word that comes to mind is I n t h i s I s s u e : “Whew!” Who Stopped By?
3 In the spirit of all annual reports, I thought it
Alumni Events
4 alumni plans” after one year, and to offer
The Institute Today Career Corner Catching Up With... Giving Back What’s New at GSIPS? What’s New at Fisher? What’s New at GSLEL? What’s New at GSTI?
Middlebury Minute What’s New at JMCNS?
Alumni Chapters
was time to pass along the “state of the
some “stay tuned” reports for exciting new services. It’s ONLY because of the incredible support of the Institute’s thousands of 8 alumni that these activities have been possible, and that we can look to the next year 10 (and the years to come) with enthusiasm. 6
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The Institute hosted 17 alumni receptions internationally in 2007 (versus 4 in 14 2006) in cities around the world, including: Bangkok, Beijing, Brussels, Copenhagen, 15 Dubai, Geneva, Kuwait City, Muscat, Moscow, Oslo, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Vienna, 16 with multiple events taking place in Tokyo and Geneva. Domestically there were 25 receptions (versus 9 in 2006) in Atlanta, Boston, Chi18 cago, Monterey, New York, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Washington, DC, 19 with multiple events in San Francisco, Monterey, and Washington, DC. 19 You can thank your hard-working, airmiles-
Where Are You?
20 collecting faculty, Board members, enroll-
MIIS in the News
20 coordinators and senior administrators for
ment managers, career managers, chapter
Class Notes
21 these events, as they constantly called and
Remembrances
32 I sure hope I can meet with the alumni.”
said, “I’ll be in X location for two days….and Watch for more events in 2008, beyond the 18 that have already taken place. For up-to-
information on receptions, offices staff, and the numerous daily upcheck out http://www.miis.edu/ dates we receive, we increased our “active” alumni by 857 in 2007, an inalumni-events.html . crease of 20%. • You are reading the third installment of the alumni e- I confess, I’m a “data-diva wanna-be”, at newsletter. We went from 5 pages least when it comes to alumni data. Data in our first edition, to 17 in Novem- collection, management and statistics ber. The spring 2008 edition is 33 play a large role in any alumni office. As part of the Middlebury affiliation, we are pages. merging our campus-wide data systems Congratulate yourselves (yay!!), for section by section (the program is Banner the strong increase in submissions for our alumni in higher education manof articles, photos, and numerous agement). This meant a LOT of time in class notes. The only way to con- 2007 was spent merging a range of tinue the e-newsletter’s growth (and spreadsheets, running reports, compiling interest) is to send in updates, story ever-changing statistics, making myriad ideas, etc. Send an email to corrections, etc. My wardrobe should alumni@miis.edu and before you include a large magnifying glass, trench know it, everyone will be celebrating coat, and tweed hat à la Sherlock your news! Holmes, for this role is part deductive reasoning and part investigative hunting • Alumni chapters are expand- when it comes to finding out where our ing around the world. 2007 saw an alumni are, what they are up to, and how increase from 4 to 14) and again, to reach them. Think of your Institute the accolades go to those alumni classmates and how often do you have to who volunteered to get everyone update your address book, and then multogether every few months, find a tiply that by 5000+. We are a very transigreat place to meet (and eat, drink tory community. There’s fun in the search and be merry), and keep you con- and hunt, I always say! Help us help you nected to the Institute. stay in touch…please send in updates There will be updates coming soon (addresses, employment, emails, etc) to to http://www.miis.edu/alumni- h t t p : / / w w w . m i i s . e d u / a l u m n i chps.html for information on newly infoupdate.html . forming chapters in: Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle, and Vancouver, as well as the expansion/redevelopment of the “oldtime” chapters in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC. Geneva, Paris, Tokyo, Denver….anyone ready to start a chapter?
What can you watch for in the coming year? PLENTY! On pages 6-9 you will read about the Institute’s Web 2.0 developments, as we launch new LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube sites, all of which you can use as alumni. Check out the MIIS logo merchandise (page 2) on the Institute’s new Merchandise site, part of Middlebury’s online bookstore. There are 15 new • Thanks to the help of many fac- items, with more to come in the next year. ulty sending email, the alumni, de- I cannot wait to get one of the quilted velopment, career and enrollment vests! (continued on Page 2)
Connections
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Oh What a Year It Has Been! (cont’d) Learn about on-going, expanding commitments by alumni to “give of themselves” (page 13), be it through supporting career mentoring, alumni chapters, employment resources, enrollment or financial contributions. We will finish an extensive data entry/research project that will finally place our alumni data pre-1992 (more than 13,000 files) into an electronic format, potentially tripling our alumni community. You can read about upcoming events and receptions (pages 4 and 5 ) for 2008. You will also hear much more about the continuing affiliation with Middlebury College (page 18), and learn of the many exciting, collaborative activities already underway. You’ll even be introduced to some of your new Middlebury alumni colleagues, as we continue to host joint events.
offering calendars, online reception RSVPs, direct links to social networking communities, alumni interactive maps, a more robust alumni e-newsletter service, and a searchable database, should be ready for use by late August/early September 2008. That’s my report to you, the Institute’s “stakeholders” per se, on what’s been done, and what there is still to do. As always, it’s a pleasure to meet you on the road (or on campus—drop by the Simoneau Alumni House), answer the phone and hear your voice, or open the inbox every day and see so many newsy reports.
Wishing you the best and, as always, hoping to hear from you Finally, we will launch the new alumni online community, soon, replacing the old site (http://www.miis.onlinecommunity.com/) Leah J. Gowron, MPA ‘97 with a new, updated, more efficient resource. The new site, Director of Alumni Relations
Calling all TESOL, TFL, MBA & T&I Alumni What’s New with You? Send in your updates and stories for the Class Notes. We love to hear from so many GSIPS alumni, but we also want to share your news, and your classmates and faculty want to read about, and celebrate, your many achievements! Submit your updates, news and photos to alumni@miis.edu and we’ll be sure to include them in the Fall 2008 e-newsletter, as well as the upcoming Class Notes Online.
Get Your T-shirts, Sweatshirts, and Other Logo Merchandise Online! Launched in early April, the Monterey Institute now has an online merchandise site, making it easy to purchase your MIIS logo items from anywhere in the world! New items include t-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, vests, keychains, pens, leather business card holders and portfolio cases, coffee mugs, travel mugs and nalgene water bottles.
Check out the new site at http://bookstore.miis.edu/home.aspx and wear the MIIS logo with pride.
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Guess Who Stopped by Simoneau!
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It must be conference season in Monterey and San Francisco, as we continue to welcome visiting alumni to the Simoneau Alumni House. If we missed you, we’re sorry! • •
All the Fun of Summer Camp…in a Second Language! Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy Summer immersions in Arabic, Chinese, French, or Spanish for middle/high school students.
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www.mmla.middlebury.edu
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or (802) 296-2459
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Beverly Carr, CD ’99 (Fairfax, VI), visiting alumni friends in the area; Amy Coughenour-Betancourt, IPS ’90 (Silver Springs, MD), teaching a career session for GSIPS; Adam Dolnik, IPS ’02 (Wollongong, Australia), speaking at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, hosting a GSIPS Career workshop, & at the Naval Postgraduate School; Henriette Eluh, T&I ’97 (Portland, OR), visiting friends in the area; Erica Fox, IEP’97 (Monterey, CA), reconnecting with former classmates; Genevra Garmendia, IS’ 97/IPS ’98 (San Clemente, CA), to attend the GSTI Career Fair and to arrange translations internships; Emanuela Gini, T&I ’85 (Villa Guardia, Italy), visiting with a friend; Richard Martin, MBA ’74 (Reston, VI), in San Francisco for a conference. Richard had 6 hours before his flight, and quickly drove down to Monterey to see the campus for the first time in 25 years; Luis Martinez, IPS ’95 (Seaside, CA), driving from a meeting at the Defense Language Institute. Luis came in to set up a grant writing internship with a local NGO that he supports; Han Meijer, IM ’95 (London, UK), in town for a conference; Mikiko Miki, IPS ’06 (Tokyo, Japan), attending the CEAS Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace events on campus; Tate Miller, CD ’99 (Beijing, China), in town for a trade conference coordinated by GSIPS. Tate is a former Assistant Dean for the policy school, and taught numerous trade mediation classes; Tim Miller, IPS ’92 (Santa Rosa, CA), a guest speaker in alumna Lana Lynn’s (MPA’91), Humanitarian Assistance seminar on campus; Mario Morales, IPS ’92 (San Francisco, CA), showing the campus to his family. We were thrilled when Mario spotted himself in the “Class of ‘92” photo displayed in the office; Ekaterine Novikova-Harmer, MBA ’03 (New Jersey), visiting Monterey with her family; Allison Rainville, TESOL ’00 (Asburnham, MA), visiting Monterey in advance of the CA TESOL conference in Sacramento; Jessica Sanders, IEP ’05 (Rome, Italy), visiting family & friends in the area; Natalie Sanders-Morton, MBA ’86 (Pleasant Grove, UT), showing the campus to her sons; Christian Toersloev (Denmark), visiting the campus with his family while on vacation; Rocio Txabarriaga, IPS ’93 (Waltham, MA), attending a meeting at the DLI; Simona Vezzoli, IPS ’97 (Oxford, UK), visiting friends in the Bay Area.
And the Winner Is….. We asked and you responded…the new/continuing name of the alumni e-newsletter is “Connections”. Thanks to everyone who sent in their vote!
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Alumni Events Oslo reception (above) in November 2007, with Professor Peter Grothe and Bangkok Alumni reception attendees in November 2007, (R)
We need your contact information to invite you to receptions & events. Please submit updates to alumni@miis.edu or online at http://www.miis.edu/alumni-infoupdate.html
Maryam al Hinai (TESOL ’03) attends an Institute event in Oman
Thanks to the support of traveling faculty and staff, we’ve hosted alumni receptions (or invited alumni to attend campus events) in the following locations to date in 2008: • • •
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Monterey, CA, with Middlebury alumni, April 22 Prunedale, CA, for MA IEP students and local alumni, April 19 New York, NY, with NY alumni and visiting TESOL alumni attending the international TESOL conference (along with Dean Renee Jourdenais, GSLEL, and prospective students), April 3 Washington, DC, with President Clara Yu, April 1 San Francisco, CA, as part of the International Studies Association Convention (along with Dean Ed Laurance, GSIPS, numerous GSIPS faculty, and prospective students), March 26 Monterey, CA, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Nuclear Disarmament Events, March 18-April 1 Geneva, Switzerland, with James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies Executive Director William Potter, and Professor/Senior Researcher Jean du Preez, March 10
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Monterey, CA, for GSLEL students and local alumni, March 7 San Francisco, CA, MBA Alumni quarterly Happy Hour, March 7 Tokyo, Japan, March 5 Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, February 28 Monterey, CA, Annual Fisher Fiesta for Fisher School MBA alumni, February 23 Monterey, CA, GSTI’s Annual Career Fair, February 22 Monterey, CA, GSTI’s screening of “The Whisperers” documentary film, February 21 San Francisco, CA, Middlebury Initiative West Coast Launch, February 13 Washington, DC, “Toast to the New Year” Alumni Chapter event, January 16 Tokyo, Japan, “New Year’s Greeting” event, January 15 with Professor Tsuneo Akaha, GSIPS Austin, TX, January 10
The latest edition of the Barking Otter, the IEP newsletter, is now live! DC Alumni during President Yu’s address, April, 2008
http://policy.miis.edu/docs/IEP/Newsletter/Barking% 20Otter%20v2i2.pdf
Please check the website regularly for additional events still to be planned for summer 2008!
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Alumni Events
Coming soon…watch for e-vites and details on dates, times and locations at http://www.miis.edu/ alumni-events.html • • • • • • • •
Minneapolis, MN, May 2nd Washington, DC, Development Project Management Institute (DPMI) and Monterey/Middlebury alumni “International Development” event, late May Beijing, China, with Professor Jason Scorse, late May Shanghai, China, with Professor Jason Scorse , late May Geneva, Switzerland, with Professor Carl Fehland, late May San Jose/South Bay, CA, June Washington, DC, “So You’re with State, too?” Mixer for US Department of State alumni and interns from Monterey and Middlebury, summer 2008 Moscow, Russia, with GSLEL Enrollment and Career Director Therese Tishakov, late July
Minneapolis/St. Paul Reception February, 2008
ISA San Francisco Alumni Reception March 2008
Tokyo Alumni in March, 2008
Global Majority announces two upcoming training seminars in international negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution, both entitled Promoting Peace through Dialogue. One seminar, to be held at the United Nations UniversityInternational Leadership Institute in Amman, Jordan, will focus on the Palestine/Israel conflict. The other seminar will be conducted in Costa Rica at the UNaffiliated University for Peace and will concentrate on environmental peacemaking and Latin American conflicts. Both seminars are two-week intensive resident courses and feature experienced international conflict resolution speakers, trainers, and experts. The courses are designed for upper-level undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals interested in gaining practical negotiation and mediation skills training in a diverse international setting. The seminars can be taken for academic credit or a certificate. Extensive information on both programs can be accessed through links on the Global Majority homepage www.globalmajority.org
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The Institute Today LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube: Communicating in a Web 2.0 World If the images that come to mind, when you read of LinkedIn, Facebook, Orkut, or YouTube, are of 16 year-olds, sitting in their rooms late at night, surreptitiously chatting with their cyber friends, then think again. Facebook’s demographics indicate that while 18.1% of their users are between the ages of 18-24, the 35-54 age user category hits a whopping 40.6%. Clearly professionals are utilizing social networking sites as the web 2.0 structure expands. With this in mind, the Monterey Institute has joined the masses, developing official sites on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube, with more to come in 2008. Spearheaded by first year MBA student Chris Krauskopf (MBA ’09), the Institute’s Enrollment Office took a proactive approach to developing these sites. Jill Stoffers (MACD ’00), Director of Admissions, has been the primary promoter of the Institute’s presence on the web, and hired Chris on the spot after speaking to him one afternoon about the importance of utilizing the technology that our prospective audiences were already using.
MIIS moves into the Web 2.0 world!
Jill states, “We kept reading that the social networking sites were hot resources for prospective students. Current MIIS students had already set up a MIIS group (and an alumna set up a MIIS alumni group) because the school had no official presence. So we figured we had to jump in. An example of the power of these networks: our six new Indian students all met on Orkut (India's largest social network) and had found housing here in Monterey before even confirming with us that they planned to enroll. When Chris came to me, passionate about the opportunities for the Institute in relation to these social networking sites, it was the answer I was looking for. I hired him to develop a web presence on these three [Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube] sites initially, with the goal to expand to other sites being used by large international communities.” Jill continues, “We have control of the initial framework, have developed terms of use with our attorney, and will moderate content, removing inappropriate material and responding to all inquiries. As a university-based site, we want to promote free conversation, but also recognize that we have to have modest controls in place as part of a larger marketing management strategy. By expanding the initial site from a focus on prospective students to the entire campus community and the larger alumni audience, we open even more avenues for networking, engagement, and enhanced communication between these three groups. Since we went public on Facebook at the beginning of February, we have had 532 people become fans of the Monterey Institute, with very little promotion. Some of the fans are current students; others are prospective students, Middlebury students and staff, and many, many Institute alumni. With the promotion of the site in the alumni e-newsletter, I predict that we’ll double our fans.” This effort wouldn't be possible without the work of three people: Chris Krauskopf, DongYoung Shin (IPS ‘08) and Yevgenia Mazur (MATI ‘08). They are great examples of our very talented students, and have been hired by the Enrollment Office to support components of the site. The school receives questions from prospectives on the discussion boards, which DongYoung answers. Yevgenia does an amazing job of keeping the events section current.
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The Institute’s YouTube channel is also getting traffic: the MIIS video was viewed more than 900 times! The Day in the Life of Interpreters video was viewed more than 1,100 times and according to Google Analytics, is now in the top 10 sites that T&I visitors are viewing. Jill says, “By having a Monterey Institute channel we can brand it, control content, and tag the videos with keywords so that anyone searching for videos on ‘green business,’ environmental issues,’ ‘terrorist financing’ etc. will find our videos with relevant content. In the near future, I would like to have video footage of the many interesting guest lecturers up on our channel. On a personal note, I am an alumna and since joining Facebook I have found a number of my classmates…and am now reconnected. Sites such as Facebook or Orkut make the world of our alumni seem so much more connected. Distance is no longer a barrier. Chris’s role in developing the sites, in adding additional new areas, and in training not only my staff but other administrators on campus in the value and impact of social networking sites has been enormous.” Sitting down with Chris provided the opportunity to learn more about his focus on social networking, and how we can engage our alumni community as part of the development of the Institute sites. Q: As a student why did you want to be involved? [CK] I could have taken a job at the library, or something where I could have caught up with a little homework while I was on the clock, it would have made for less stress, that's for sure! But I think we're in the middle of a paradigm shift in the technology of how people communicate and how they do business. That is just so exciting to me - it's the reason I wanted a business degree in the first place. So of course I was happy to find a project to work on that would give me valuable experience and I believe, really help MIIS - something I'm happy to do. Q: Why start with YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn? [CK] Well, for one thing, YouTube has the second most page views of any site on the internet, Facebook is top 10, LinkedIn is well established as the top professional networking site - so that made them attractive. But the most important reason to start with these three was that the MIIS community was already using Members of the Monterey Institute Community: them. We really followed the community to services they were already using and tried Send a digital photo of yourself and the informato add value by consolidating information, events and friends in one place. tion below to recruit@miis.edu :
Q: Are there plans for other sites? [CK] Absolutely! Not everyone is on Facebook, not by a long shot. And that is not our goal, to get people to use one service or another - again we want to follow the community to services they already use and make it easy for people to interact with the MIIS community. Five out of the top ten highest traffic sites on the internet are social networking sites, in addition to regionally popular sites, and each attracts a very different demographic base.
1)Your full name 2) The place you consider your hometown 3) Your affiliation with the Monterey Institute (i.e. staff, student, alum) 4) The specific school or schools attended (i.e. FGSIB, GSIPS, GSLEL, GSTI) 5) Year(s) of graduation or attendance
Obviously the MIIS community is so diverse that it bridges a lot of those demographic differences - so there is no one site that encompasses the whole community. In order to reach the global audience we want at MIIS we can't limit ourselves to YouTube and Facebook. Our priority is to move into sites that our community already uses. We are looking at Orkut, which is the #1 site in Brazil and #4 in India, and several others popular with Asian and Latin American users. It's a challenge to maintain so many online "subcommunities,” but we feel the effect will be to keep better contact with the global MIIS community and ultimately bring everyone together. [Editor’s Note: Since this interview the Enrollment Office has launched an official Orkut community (www.orkut.com), administered by Ashil Shaw (MBA ’09), one of the Indian students who met on Orkut as a prospective]. Q: Why do you think it's important to get involved in Web 2.0 content distribution channels? [CK] People's communication habits are changing. Unless you step back and try to wrap your head around it, you may not realize the degree to which that change affects us. It's present in our homes, work and classes, the way we plan birthday parties and the way we look for jobs and plan our careers. Fairly recent graduates may not be able to conceive of a Monterey Institute campus where every student has a laptop in every class, and we write and research proposals and group papers with online collaborative tools like Google documents and online bookmarking tools. But yet that's the reality today and that is the way that the next generation of MIIS students and grads will have grown up thinking.
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Q: Is this really a fit with the MIIS community? [CK] Absolutely. For one thing, the way this technology breaks down physical barriers from distance and borders, a diverse community like MIIS is in a position to benefit more than anyone. For another, these sites have the potential to be a platform and a microphone for a community that has great conversations and innovative ideas on important topics, but remains somewhat unknown. I found MIIS through a colleague of my Dad's, and I think word of mouth has always been how people find MIIS. These channels basically magnify word of mouth exponentially. As I said before, people were already using these tools – using them to both publicize events and projects going on around campus and to keep in touch over vacations when everyone scattered around the world. So really I see it as a natural extension of how MIIS has always worked, from finding new students, to engaging them while here, to keeping in touch with friends from all over the world once you graduate. Q: What features might be of particular interest to alumni? [CK] LinkedIn is the tool that is best suited for professionals. You can join the MIIS alumni group and search for classmates you've fallen out of touch with, or sort the group by alumni working in your field or living in your area. On YouTube, we created a dedicated alumni playlist which is a great way to promote what you're doing now and to see what old friends and other alumni are up to. We also have a community photo map, which can be viewed both on Facebook, and on the official MIIS webpage at http://www.miis.edu/ maps/community_map.html. Send us a picture and your hometown and we'll add you to our community photo map - it's a wonderful way to see just how diverse the MIIS community really is! Christopher Krauskopf, MBA ’09, was born in San Francisco California, and is a graduate of the University of California at San Diego. He has lived in Madrid, Spain and Aomori, Japan, and has a background in Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization. You can reach Chris at christopher.krauskopt@miis.edu, on Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=849820293 or on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/christopherkrauskopf. Jill Stoffers, CD ’00, is from Portland, Oregon, and is a graduate of Portland State University, and a Truman Scholar. She is married to alumnus Sammy Salama (IPS ’03), and has been the Director of Recruiting and now Admissions since 2005. Jill can be reached at Jill.stoffers@miis.edu.
Careers Continue...So Does the Support on Campus for Alumni The first job is the only job, and you’ll love it so much that you’ll have it forever… really? While students may think this will be the case in their career, seasoned professionals know otherwise. Regardless of the number of years it has been since graduation, the campus career staff are ready, able and willing to offer support as you transition from position to position, location to location, or enter new and exciting fields. Alumni can access the 800+ jobs that are posted weekly to the campus community. Go to http://mail.miis.edu/studentjobs (Ignore the title. Positions are posted for individuals at the young professional stage to Chief of Party, Sr. Directors, CFOs, etc.). The graduate schools subscribe to a wealth of employment listservs in a range of fields, and post those announcements daily. Once you enter the folder, check out the sub-folder that is relevant to your degree or employment interests. MPA Employment, for example, will host positions for project managers, international development opportunities, and non-profit interests. IB Employment lists business postings, as does ITP Employment, but with a trade policy twist. The main Inbox, and Local PT Jobs are least relevant to our alumni, as these areas list internships, local short term opportunities or other positions more relevant to the students. You will find additional career resources at www.miis.edu, as each graduate school offers a strong series of career-relevant websites, links for different industries and related resources. Contact information for the career staff is also available on the sites. • Graduate School of International Policy Studies: http://policy.miis.edu/careers • Graduate School of Translation & Interpretation: http://translate.miis.edu/careers • Graduate School of Language & Educational Linguistics: http://language.miis.edu/careers • Fisher Graduate School of International Business: http://fisher.miis.edu/careers Finally, when you are settled into that next great position, remember to let the alumni office know! Send an email to alumni@miis.edu so we can update your employment data. We use this information in developing statistics for rankings (Fisher Business School), and in providing general career “overviews” to our prospective students. Your success deserves to be shared!
Accessing the Institute’s Social Networking Sites: You’re Just a Click Away! LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site, launched in May 2003. With more than 3.2 million visitors per month, there are currently more than 30 million registered users, spanning 150 industries. Statistics such as these tell the whole story…networking is no longer just meeting people at events and conferences. There’s a whole e-community waiting to network, and our alumni are part of that audience. Initially promoted by the Fisher Graduate School of International Business since 2005, LinkedIn is now used Institute-wide, (the site still says Monterey Fisher GSIB, but please register regardless of your de-
Facebook is another social networking site, launched in 2004. Facebook allows users to join one or more networks, such as universities (the site began at Harvard University), employers, social interest topics, or geographic regions. There are more than 69 million active users worldwide, making it one of the top five social networking sites. While there are several informal Facebook sites created by students and alumni, the official Monterey Institute site went live
gree program) and currently has more than 500 members.
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a few minutes, and then you, too, are “linked in”…to alumni and colleagues working in your professional fields and industries.
To join the Monterey Institute’s LinkedIn site, I spent less than 10 minutes on the go to : http://www.linkedin.com/e/ site one Friday morning, and recongis/798/50ED2B12B3CD. nected with more than 30 alumni… several of whom had been “lost” to If you are already a member of LinkedIn, the Institute for years! Join today…I you can connect to the Institute group and know you’ll benefit from these netimmediately start networking, finding classmates and colleagues. If you’re new to works! LinkedIn, setting up a profile page takes only
facebook February 2008, and already has more than 530 fans. To join the site: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Monterey-CA/ Monterey-Institute-of-InternationalStudies/27983615240. The site allows you to connect with prospective and current students, alumni, faculty and staff. Add your own videos or photo slideshows or the calendar of events and activities, and be sure to check out the “Global Community Photo Map” which is displayed both on Facebook and on the
If you are new to Facebook, setting up your personal page (called a “profile”) takes only a few minutes. Your profile can be connected to other people’s profiles as a “friend,” or organizations as a “fan.” Once you get started the possibilities are endless. Add photos, search for friends, become a fan of MIIS or other organizations, join interest groups, send out messages on what you’re doing, what movies you’re watching, or survey people on their interests, etc…there’s no limit to what you can do!
to deliver many of the great events at MIIS, from lectures, to semesters abroad and even Peace Corps experiences - and as alumni, the Videos on the Institute’s YouTube channel are MIIS YouTube channel can be a great conduit organized into playlists, which can be considto share what you are doing with both the MIIS ered sub-channels that will correspond to par- community and 100,000,000 users on Youticular areas of interest and study. Those play- Tube. lists can be embedded on almost any page on the internet and playlists can be custom created Other playlists detail the five broad content areas of study at the Institute: for any class or purpose. * International Development & Social Change The Monterey Institute’s YouTube site is a While there is a 10 minute time limit for videos * International Peace & Security uploaded to a normal YouTube account, as an two way communication channel using * Language Education & Multilingual Comeducational content partner MIIS can upload online video. It is both a place to watch munication videos created by the MIIS community, and videos of * Sustainability & the Environment any length. a place to watch videos of interest to our * International Trade & Business Plans are students, faculty and alumni. The MIIS The new MIIS YouTube Channel can be found YouTube site provides a venue to aggre- underway at www.youtube.com/montereyinstitute. YouTube: If a picture is worth 1000 words, how many is a video worth? One thing is certain: online video is compelling, and it's here to stay. YouTube has more than 100 million users and has more daily page views than Google. Statistics from January 2008 indicate that nearly 79 million users watched over 3 billion videos during the month.
gate video content pertaining to any subject area important to the MIIS community.
official MIIS homepage (instructions are at http://www.miis.edu/maps/ community_map.html).
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Catching up...with Mary Graham Mary Graham (IPS ‘04 and former Fulbright Scholar to Mali) sent in this update last winter: I wanted to provide you with a solid update about my life since MIIS and my non profit. I have been working solely on developing my nonprofit, Practical Small Projects, ( www.practicalsmallprojects.com) since MIIS (some of which I did as a Fulbright scholar). I recently served as a panelist at an international conference on Peak Oil in Cork, Ireland ( http://www.aspo-ireland.org/index.cfm? page=speakers&letter=G ) alongside keynote speaker, Dr. James Schlesinger - former Secretary of Defense and Energy. I got to have dinner and drinks with him and some other key players in the oil and gas industry. I represented the "practical applications of renewable energy in Africa" player and was one of two women out of the 38 speakers! I will also be serving as a speaker at a Fulbright Academy of Science and Technology conference in Boston in January. I was invited and made a presentation last fall at the Millennium Challenge Corporation as my work in Mali led to scores dramatically improving in schools where PSP installed solar lighting ( e.g., 81% increase in percentage of Malian students passing the National Exam after we installed solar lights in a rural school and decreased infant mortality rate in maternity after solar lighting). We have had considerable success in the last couple of years increasing health, educational, and incomegenerating opL-R. A personal friend, Italportunities for villagers in Mali, ian Consulate Loriana DemAfrica. We've seen the infant bele and Mary mortality rate decrease in villages where we installed solar lighting in maternities. We've seen scores dramatically improve in schools where we also installed solar lighting and we've seen Malians create a successful solar business, which was previously beyond their imagination. I officially established PSP as a Section 501(c)3 tax exempt non profit organization in 2004 after spending two years living in Mali Mary has the privileged opportuand working with Ji Duma, a local NGO whose name in Bambara means "Give them Water.” nity to meet the President of Mali, Working with Loriana Dembélé, the head of Ji Duma and the second senior diplomat in Mali, provided me with a unique opportunity to learn diplomacy and grassroots development work Amadou Toure. simultaneously. When PSP builds wells, schools or maternities we employ Ji Duma to execute the work on the ground. Loriana Dembélé has over 40 years of experience working in Mali and an impeccable reputation for doing quality work. Of the over 150 wells Ji Duma has built, all but one are still delivering clean water. This success rate (over 99%) is almost unprecedented in the development world and is a result of the involvement of Malians working with Malians on these projects. In Mali, access to decentralized energy and rapid urbanization are wide-spread problems. PSP facilitates solar projects lages to do a lighting project. technology while explaining panel for private use. A natumoted through the process.
and pays Afriq Power, thus enabling it to go into vilThese projects result in locals training other locals in the benefits of solar and how the villagers could use a ral formation of micro-enterprises in villages is pro-
Afriq Power staff at work
Hope you are well!!
Mary Graham, IPS 2004 Update: Mary contacted us in February 2008 to say that she has just begun a new position with DAI (Development Alternatives, Inc.), but will still be involved with PSP. Congratulations Mary!
Catching up… with DPMI
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Distance Doesn’t Matter: DPMI Alumni Stay In Touch They may have graduated several years ago, but the DPMI (Development Project Management Institute) Participants of ’04 still share memories and reflections of their time in the program, and show how they continue to use the skills acquired in their professional lives. In fact, this group sends out regular “who’s up to what” emails, often with many insights into their daily professional lives. With their permission, we’re allowed to peek at how they’re doing…and I hope you enjoy their news as much as we do! (For additional information on how you, as alumni, can attend the DPMI program either in Monterey (May 2008 or January 2009), Washington, DC (May/June 2008), or Middlebury, VT (January 2009) please refer to http://policy.miis.edu/programs/cdpmi.html. Alumnus Joel Bacha (IPS ’02/TESOL ’04) started things off with a quick update and New Year’s greetings. Joel wrote “Happy New Year to all. As the year unfolded, Maiko (Tamagawa, IPS ’03) continued to work with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on international peace and security issues. She attended conferences and negotiations in Geneva, Norway and Peru with the Japanese delegation and representatives from other delegations from around the world. She completed her contract in November and moved to Bangkok, Thailand, eagerly awaiting her new position at the Japanese Embassy beginning in February. I moved on from Kanda University in February to pursue a more active role in international development with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Bangkok. Though I miss the classroom, I enjoy working with government officials and educators throughout the Asia-Pacific region. A recent publication on the linkages between education and happiness (http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/146_147/ ) had me working closely with colleagues in South East Asia and India. Our life in Bangkok has proven exciting to date. We've both taken up the contact sport of golf, and are enjoying the ’cool’ season (~70-85F) with jazz festivals, His Majesty the Thai King's birthday, learning some basic Thai and enjoying the extremely inexpensive and authentic Thai cuisine from the street vendors that line the sidewalks of our neighborhood. For those of you coming through Bangkok this year, we have a guest room for you to stay.” wrote, “Hey there all you MIIS folks! I am now in Nicaragua, after three years in Sudan with Save the Children. This posting is a short term (7-8 month) stint and I will be heading off somewhere else at some point to some thing for some one. I’m enjoying Latin America and learning a lot as my job description seems to change daily.” Pete passed on updates from two other classmates. He says, “I met Oksana (Chikina, MPA ’05) in the airport in Khartoum, as she was leaving after a 1+ year posting, and is currently working in Indonesia. Noah (Zahrobsky IPS’ 04) relocated with Catholic Relief from Kosovo to Lebanon with his wife and two children.” Akiko Tsujisawa (IPS ’04) continued the news, checking in from Nepal with this update. “Thank you very much for your email. It’s so nice to hear from you! As for me, I completed my election work with UNDP Sierra Leone last September, and started working for UNHCR Damak, Nepal as an associate field protection officer (UNV) in November. My life in Damak is going well. I enjoy my work here since many things (60,000 Bhutanese refugee resettlement to US, Refugee ID card distribution etc.) are happening. Although my contract period is short, I am happy that I can finally work for refugees!” Continued on page 12... Aaron Leonard (MPA ‘07 and past DPMI participant) of Pact, DC would like all alumni in the international development community to take a look at www.pactworld.org for information on professional development courses sponsored by Pact. For additional information, please contact Aaron at aleonard@pacthq.org
Catching up… with DPMI
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Then it was time for Justin Steckley (IPS ’04) to pipe in! “Thanks for the notes Joel, Pete and Akiko - amazing! Joel: Norma, Sebastian and I might just take you up on your offer the next time we are in SE Asia. I have been warding off offers to go back to that region since we left in 2006. Sometime towards the end of 2009 we should be back in the development saddle again. This time we will be armed with health and logistics experiences between the both of us...watch out! We are living in Florida and "patiently" waiting for Norma to finish her nursing degree so we can go back overseas and live the rest of our lives out of our suitcases - oh yeah! In the meantime, I decided to give corporate America more of my time and energy. I manage raw materials, production control and finished goods for one of Emerson's divisions. It is fun, but not near as fun as being in the trenches overseas. This time away from development has allowed me to reflect and understand that NOTHING is perfect in this world and this is no truer than developmental contexts. Stay safe everyone!” Myra Emata-Stokes (MPA ’04) added the next bit to this cheery email, with her update from the USAID office in Pakistan. “Hi all! It always makes me smile to receive an email from one of you! I thought the days of all nighters were supposed to be over when I graduated! It was pretty crazy this week at work, with developing budgets for FY 08 and 09, and preparing information for Congress, all of which meant a few 14-hour days. We have been staffing up, designing new programs, developing systems, etc. like a whirlwind. It’s a unique circumstance; I really like being involved in starting something new. My time here in Pakistan is drawing to an end. I’m also trying to see Nancy Irvine (MPA ’04) on my way back to DC, in Bahrain [Nancy is with the Peace Corps in Bahrain]. I’m really looking forward to some down time though. Joel, I’ll be in your backyard as my next post is in the Philippines!!! This is my dream post and I’m so excited to be going there. I’ll work in DC for a few months in the Asia and the Near East Bureau and head to the Philippines in July. The funniest of things is Michaela Egger (IPS ’05) is here in Pakistan too! It was nice how we hung out in Kosovo and I expect I’ll just have to see her in the Philippines as well. Akiko, I didn’t realize you were so close to me in Nepal. You are all welcome to visit me in the Philippines!” Bobbi Gray (MPA ’04) is the California connection for this merry group, and had exciting personal news to report. Bobbi writes, “I have a few updates of my own. On January 4th I gave birth to a 6 pound, 10 oz. bundle of joy. His name is John. We'll be calling him Jack for short....so I guess I've joined the ranks of parenthood. Justin and Noah started a lovely trend! As for work...I am going back in early March. I'm leading 6 different impact evaluations and am learning new things every day (using Spanish and French as well, I joke I make a worldly tour daily as I'm skyping with people in Benin and Bolivia in the morning, and calling people in India late at night). As I tell any MIIS students looking for internships, it's DPMI every day! I have evaluations going on in Benin, Burkina Faso, India, Bolivia and the Philippines, three of them are randomized control trial evaluations and the others have quantitative components but have a greater concentration on qualitative methods. It's a lot of work, but quite fascinating as I'm working with professors from Yale, Boston University, University of North Carolina, etc. I find it funny that once you start working internationally, saying "I'll stop by Bahrain to visit Nancy" is as easy as another person saying, "while I'm in DC, I'll drop in and see so-and-so.” Last but not least, Vladimir Cernavskis (IPS ’04) checked in from Bahrain. While based in Moscow, he’s currently on a project there with McKinsey & Company through the spring. Vladimir ends his update with, “…if anyone is traveling through Bahrain let me know. Would love to get in touch with you!” Let’s see…that’s 11 alumni, 10 countries, two US states, four NGOs, three government agencies, two IOs and two companies. Oh, and two babies in 2007 for these former DPMI participants. I can’t wait to hear what they accomplish in 2008!
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What will Your Legacy Be? Maureen Minnes, IPS 1994 Making a Difference Submitted by Lisa Crawford-Watson
When Maureen Minnes first stepped onto the Monterey Institute campus in the early nineties, she received a clear and present sense that she could learn how to make a difference in the world. She saw, among legendary Monterey architecture, heard among some 57 languages, witnessed in the diversity of faces that she had already become engaged in a global community. What Minnes could not have anticipated quite so vividly was the differences her Monterey Institute education would make in her own life. “Attending MIIS was a favor I did for myself,” said the ’94 graduate. “It was a real, lifealtering and enriching experience. It helped me with my cross-cultural understanding. We always had to work in groups, which included people from all over the world. I had instant cross-cultural training, which gave me a deep appreciation for others’ similarities and differences.” Minnes perseveres to make a difference in the world through her global travels, as well as her career in recruiting, both at National Geographic School Publishing, and through her own business, Minnes Consulting, out of Carmel Valley. Minnes continues to make a difference at the Institute by engaging local alumni in active support and participation with their alma mater, through reunions and events. “People who graduated from the Monterey Institute are doing important, relevant work,” said Minnes. “Just look at what they are doing—from working on AIDS in Africa, to interpreting for astronauts—to recognize an interesting and accomplished set of alumni. This is how the Institute makes a difference and why I have remained a fan.” Minnes has further demonstrated appreciation and engagement with regular financial contributions to the Institute, including her most recent gift of a planned estate gift to the Monterey Institute Legacy Society. “The milestone birthday I recently had makes one think about whether she has left her mark,” said Minnes, “whether I have made a difference. I couldn’t think of a better way to make some impact by leaving my resources to the Institute to continue their mission. “I am such a fan of President Clara Yu; her good stewardship is another reason I give. Something will come of it and is coming of it now. I can see that the school is moving in the right direction. You want to leave what you can to people who are going to take care of it and make sure it makes a difference.”
What will your legacy be? Planned gifts including bequests, stock gifts, charitable remainder trusts and other modes are becoming a popular way for alumni to make a meaningful contribution to their alma mater. For more information on these and other giving opportunities at the Monterey Institute, please contact Shirley Coly at 831-647-3595 or by email at give@miis.edu.
What’s New at GSIPS?
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MONTEREY INSTITUTE PARTICIPANTS IN NEW ORLEANS WINTER DEVELOPMENT PRACTICUM MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS TO KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS January 16, 2008 – (reposted from http://policy.miis.edu/newsitem.html?id=33) Eleven MIIS students participating on the MIISion New Orleans Practicum are working with Neighbors United to make a positive impact on areas adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina. In cooperation with Freret Neighbors United and Neighborhood Housing Services, MIIS participants, joined by students of Middlebury College and developed the protocol for adminispublicity, and trained over 40 resident volunteers of conduct the household survey. The Team also develanalyze the potential for crime in Freret, by making such things as housing conditions, overgrown areas, ongoing recovery, the Freret neighborhood has been zone" which guarantees grants from the City of New ernment for reconstruction efforts. Data from the two ever database in the area that can be used for neighborhood development.
the Bronx Community College, tering the survey, wrote the the Freret neighborhood to oped a survey instrument to block-by-block observations on etc. As part of New Orleans' selected as a target "recovery Orleans and the federal govsurveys will provide the first-
This project is a continuation of the “Team Monterey” projects that took place in 2006 and 2007, bringing a series of GSIPS student teams to the small town of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Dean (then professor) Ed Laurance recruited four students in the Graduate School of International Policy Studies - Eric Groonis (MPA ’06), Cynthia Meurling (MPA ’06), Patrick Heiman (MPA ’06), and Monika Szewczyk (IPS ’06) - plus Enrollment Officer Mary Lineberger (MBA’03) to join him in applying their academic and professional experiences to tackle the task of determining where to dedicate the resources. Alumni continue their contributions to the Monterey Institute In November 2006, the team deployed to Bayou community well after graduation. These pages are filled with La Batre to conduct a needs assessment. A the news of those who helped us to host events across the fishing and shrimping town of 2700 people that world, networked with current students to provide mentorhad endured massive flooding, Bayou La Batre ing, and advised potential students on the many reasons to is characterized by high unemployment, povchoose MIIS for their graduate study. This academic year, erty, and ethnic diversity – approximately 35% In October 2007, an increasing number of alumni also made gifts to the Instiof the population is Asian. The resulting astute's annual fund - yet another way to have a direct impact Professor William sessment recommended implementation of a on the quality of programming and services available to our home repair project. Two further visits were Arrocha (GSIPS) & Ashley students, faculty, and alumni. made in January and February 2007 to identify Arrocha (MPA’96 & and assist local partners to further develop the Gifts from alumni and friends have helped to fund the activiDirector of Student project plan. ties of the Alumni Office around the world. Annual fund Affairs) welcomed their donors have also supported student attendance at profesIn March 2007, the team finalized a project sional conferences, participation in the International Profesnew baby girl, proposal on behalf of their project partners, sional Service Semester, and scholarship aid that replaced Catholic Charities of Monterey Diocese and Giovanna. loans in financial aid packages. Please look for updates on Catholic Social Services, Mobile. It was subthe Institute's fundraising in upcoming issues of this newsmitted to Catholic Charities USA, which had letter. In the interim, we invite you to become one of the collected donations exceeding $100 million for many donors who are making a difference at MIIS by visitrebuilding the Gulf Coast. In April, the grant was ing www.miis.edu and clicking on the "Give to the Institute" awarded and $500,000 was allocated for the button. Every donor and every dollar really does make a administration and materials costs anticipated difference. by Catholic Social Services, Mobile. As a matchContact: Beth McDermott, Senior Development Officer beth.mcdermott@miis.edu, 831-647-3509
ing grant, it will be supplemented by money and volunteer labor committed by Catholic Charities of Monterey Diocese. As such, this team was responsible for planning and funding a Bayou La Batre home rebuilding project worth $1 million.
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What’s New at Fisher? ecomentum is a start-up green marketing company started by three Fisher alumni. Peter Brumis (MBA '06), Ian MacBean (MBA '07), and Elan Mevasse (MBA '06) met at the Fisher School where they became more aware of the impacts of climate change on the environment and the business possibilities of incorporating environmentally and socially responsible business practices into business operations and strategy. ecomentum's leadership mixed these new directions and insights with the Fisher International MBA program to develop the framework and direction of the company.
ecomentum founders (L to R): Ian MacBean, Elan Mevasse and Peter Brumis
In the summer of 2006, Peter and Elan worked together on their International Business Plan, developing an international expansion plan for The Clorox Company. This challenging project placed the team in direct contact with senior managers at Clorox and their insights contributed to a new green product launch and a major strategic acquisition. The relationships developed through the IBP experience have yielded lasting benefits, including potential partnerships with Clorox to help launch their new GreenWorks line of environmentally friendly cleaning products. Ian was a year behind Peter and Elan and did not have the chance to participate in IBP with them. Instead, the three first collaborated in planning the second Fisher Fiesta, an event Ian also chaired the following year. These events also contributed to the rise of ecomentum helping us establish a network of like-minded professionals and mentors with experience in international entrepreneurial efforts. He also was a committee-level member of the school's NetImpact chapter and helped plan annual daylong forums which advocated sustainability in the Monterey Peninsula and beyond. ecomentum is born from the Fisher School experience - from the skills to engage brand managers and corporate strategy professionals with innovative recommendations to a broad knowledge of what sustainability means and how it can be applied to companies large and small worldwide. Not to mention a talented and diverse student body that has contributed to getting this project off the ground in a number of ways! Submitted by Elan Mevasse
Ranking Success at the Fisher Graduate School of International Business As MBA alumni, do you ever wonder why you are surveyed so often for employment-related details? It’s all part of the extensive ranking system that takes place with MBA schools, and we’re pleased to report that the Fisher School is ranked among the best!
Check out these 2007 results: In the 2007-2008 edition of “Beyond Grey Pinstripes” (published by the Aspen Institute), the Fisher School was ranked 40th on a list of Global Top 100 schools for demonstrating significant leadership in integrating social and environmental issues into its MBA curriculum. Fisher received special recognition for Course Content (13th), Student Opportunity (26th), and Student Exposure (35th). In a survey of over 900 schools released by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review, the Fisher School was distinguished as having one of the top 25 entrepreneurship programs, ranking 13th in the graduate category, along with programs at USC, Babson College, UCLA’s Anderson School, and Northwestern’s Kellogg School. To read more outstanding survey successes, check out http://fisher.miis.edu/school_rankings.html. As alumni, you can play a direct role in these survey results, simply by continuing to update the alumni office (alumni@miis.edu) with your employment information, and completing future surveys (1st year graduates especially!) in a timely fashion. Congratulations Fisher School!
“As part of a survey that solicits information from some 600 business schools worldwide, to be counted among the top 100 schools is gratifying for our faculty and students,” said Dr. Ernest Scalberg, Dean of the Fisher Graduate School. “To be ranked within the top 40 places us among the very best schools and speaks to our strong curriculum and distinctive real world application projects in the areas of sustainable, responsible, and environmentally sensitive business.”
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What’s New at GSLEL? Her research interests focus on the role that attention plays in second language acquisition and on how language learners process linguistic information. She has published research on input enhancement in a volume entitled Attention and Awareness in Foreign Language Learning and Ruth Larimer, PhD; Past Dean, GSLEL 1996- on the collection of protocol data in a vol2008 ume entitled Cognition and Second Language Learning. To read more from the Discourse & Repartee, check out http://language.miis.edu/ Reprinted from http://language.miis.edu/ alumni/communique.html . newsitem.html?id=20
L-R: Cristyn Elder, Robert Oprandy, Kathi Bailey and Cristyn’s husband Tyler Johnson (TESOL ‘01) in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
As part of her English Language Fellowship, Cristyn Elder, TESOL ‘00, helped her Guatemalan counterparts organize the 2nd annual 2007 Regional Teacher's Conference in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The theme of the conference was "English for Communication: Building Bridges for Success.” “In working with the US Embassy in Guatemala City and the US State Department, we were very fortunate to be able to invite Kathi Bailey and Robert (Bob) Oprandy, a former GSLEL professor who is now at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, to the conference. Kathi was our opening plenary speaker and Bob was our closing plenary speaker. Kathi was in Guatemala for about a week and Bob was there for 12 days. We had about 200 Guatemalan K-16 teachers attend. This is the only conference of its kind in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.
I will always be an Institute supporter and a friend of our grads. Keep in touch at larimerr@gmail.com
You Say Good-bye, and I Say Hello…
With the departure of Dr. Ruth Larimer in January for a position as the Peace Corps’ Country Director for Fiji, the Monterey Institute welcomes Dr. Renee Jourdenais to her new position, Dean of the Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics. Renee has been at the Institute since 1998 and is an Associate Professor and most recently Program Head of the TESOL/TFL program (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages / Teaching a Foreign Language). After almost 10 years in the school, she brings a keen understanding of its students Good-bye Alumni! Reprinted from GSLEL’s Discourse & Repartee and programs, as well as considerable administrative experience to her new appointFall 2008 ment.
TESOL/TFL Makes a Mighty Impression at International TESOL Conference At the recent TESOL Convention in New York (April 3-5, 2008), more than 20 GSLEL faculty, students and alumni presented at 21different sessions, certainly making a strong impression on the thousands of TESOL faculty attending from around the world! Congratulations to the following for their hard work and contributions to the conference:
Professor Kathi Bailey Shelley Chang (TESOL ’08) Marina Cobb (TFL ’04) Cristyn Elder (TESOL ’00) Professor Lynn Goldstein This is a note to let you know that I am doing Jenny He Cogswell (TESOL ’07) Previously, Prof. Jourdenais taught courses something I never thought I would do: leaving in the Applied Linguistics program at George- Guy Kellogg (TFL ’91) the Monterey Institute! I would not do this for Joyce Kling (TESOL ’88) just any reason, but I was offered a position as town University, and in the MATESOL program at George Washington University. She Stuart Landers (TESOL ’04) Peace Corps Country Director in Fiji, and I Professor Lisa Leopold could not resist. I guess, after being around all has also held ESL positions at the University Jessica Massie (TESOL ’04) of Florida and at Northern Virginia Commuyou international folks for such a long time, I Tarana Patel (TESOL ’01) really wanted another international experience nity College. She worked as a language test Christine Pearson Casanave (ED ’77) of my own. I left the Monterey Institute in Janu- development specialist and consultant for the Allison Rainville (TESOL ’00) ary for a month of training in Washington, D.C., Center of Applied Linguistics in Washington, Lara Ravitch (TFL ’02) Maricel Santos (TESOL ’94) and then to the South Pacific. I am sure it will DC, where she develProfessor Sarah Springer (TESOL ’03) be really fun to learn new things and be in the oped language testing Professor Patricia Szasz (TESOL ’06) position to help volunteers do their work. It will materials and conducted Therese Tishakov (TESOL ’04) be a steep learning curve for me, as there are training and assessment Troy Titterington (TESOL ’92) no TESOL (TEFL) posts there, mainly environ- workshops. Jenn Uhler (TESOL ’05) mental officers and a minimum of cyclones and Cara Wells (TESOL ’07) coups on my watch! Dean
Renee Jourdenais
What’s New at GSTI?
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Happy Birthday to You….We Think? We think there may be more cause to celebrate at GSTI than just the usual reasons (great jobs, successful examinations, upcoming internships, fascinating summer projects for faculty) at this time of year…..as we think this might be the 40th anniversary of the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation! Graduate schools were introduced on the campus in the early 1990’s, and thus we should be correct and say that it’s really the birthday of the first T&I-style classes. After the Institute received funding from a New Jersey based foundation in 1966, the first T&I courses (including Chinese) began in 1968, coordinated by Dr. Elizabeth Trahan. Certificates were offered for the first few years. Current GSTI Professor Carl Fehland was an early student in the classes, graduating in 1974 with an MA in "Spanish and International Studies,” with a "Certificate in Translation for Spanish.” GSTI Professor Holly Mikkelson graduated in 1976 with the first full degree offered for T&I students - the MAICC (MA in Intercultural Communications). Actual degrees in translation, translation and interpretation, and conference interpreting started in the late 1970’s. GSTI also offered certificates in medical and court interpreting in the 1990’s. The most recent GSTI degree is the MA TLM (Translation and Localization Management), with the first class graduating in 2006. We know that the educational focus on translation and interpretation has evolved as the profession has changed. For all of that they have accomplished, we’re serving the GSTI alumni, faculty, staff and current students a BIG piece of cake…congratulations on forty great years!
What’s That You’re Saying? GSTI Hosts West Coast Launch of The Whisperers February 21st had a packed audience in the Irvine auditorium, to watch the West Coast premiere of “The Whisperers” (“La Voix des Autres/ Die Flusterer”). Sponsored by GSTI and the International Association of Conference Interpreters USA region, The Whisperers offers a rare glimpse inside a profession that many admire but few understand. The documentary follows six interpreters, belonging to different generations, through the jungle of international communications from the Chancellery in Berlin to Strasbourg, the Hague and Brussels, from Geneva as students, to Djibouti as professionals, and into the history of their profession, dating back to the Nuremberg trials. The film was wildly received by the audience, with many of the “insider” jokes being understood only by the TI community! Organized by alumnus and GSTI faculty member Barry Olsen (CI ’99), a private reception for invited alumni career fair recruiters and local professionals followed the film. If this film is available on Netflix, or on the web, it’s well worth watching. You’ll leave the film with a far greater appreciation and respect for the incredible work and training that goes into a career in translation and interpretation! Google Alerts: Another Way to Stay Connected! Want to find out who's speaking on campus? Interested in reading about what's happening at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies? Curious about which faculty students and alumni are publishing in their fields? Why not join Google Alerts? At http://www.google.com/alerts you can register for key phrases, individuals, etc. Just type in Monterey Institute of International Studies on the first page, and you'll receive a daily digest to your email account with any story, blog, press release or other web-based announcements with the Monterey Institute title in it. Several staff have registered, and they receive an average of 4-6 postings a day. Just one more way to keep posted on what's happening at the Institute!
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What’s New at GSTI (continued) GSTI Annual Career Fair Brings Alumni to Campus—and They are Hiring Students! If you walk around the campus in late February, you might wonder why so many students are wearing suits? A quick look at the campus career calendar would explain the wardrobe, as it’s time once again for the GSTI annual career fair. The fair has evolved over the years, and now bring in students from the other graduate schools who are interested in project management and government careers. Thirteen companies were represented by more than 17 alumni at the 2008 fair. Students and local alumni “worked” the fair, speaking to recruiters about internships, contracts and full-time opportunities. In addition to the 40 companies and vendors on site, there were 17 attending the fair as virtual organizations, with students leaving resumes for dissemination to the organization reps by the GSTI Career Office. We thank the following alumni for their support and guidance: Monique Alfara (TI ’00) Stanford Hospitals Cindy Brown (TI ’96) Medialocate Leire Carbonell (CI ’03) iInterpret Mei-Ling Chen (C ’99) Richard Schneider Enterprises Denise Choate (TI ’81) Language Quest Jenny Miller Garmendia (IS ‘97/IPS ’98) Project Aware Keum Hee Jeong (TI ’98) Google Moonju Kim (TI ‘06) Apple Fan Yang (T ’06) Medialocate
Kelly Ku (TI ’04) National Instruments Isabel Tan Lee (TI ’08) Communicaid, Inc. Umbry (Eunwoo) Lee (TLM ’06) High Tech Passport Teresa Marshal (TI ’00) Google Scott McGrew (TLM ’07)Medialocate Melissa Wheeler (TLM ‘07) Medialocate Johanna Parker (TI ’06) Stanford Hospitals Lorna Silva (TI ’00) Global Language Solutions
For more information about the GSTI Career Fair, please contact Jeff Wood, Director of Career Services and Enrollment Management for GSTI, at jwood@miis.edu or 831-647-3531.
A Middlebury Minute: If, as alumni, you’re wondering what’s new with the Middlebury affiliation, here are some examples of new programs, events, and activities made possible through the affiliation process: • ConnectEd Conference, January, 2008: This higher education conference brought more than 400 participants to Monterey to attend three days of panels, keynotes and other events. Topics included: the expanding global education marketplace, how technological innovations will shape global education, and how transnational issues will be incorporated into curriculum in the future! • The first joint MA program (MA in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language): Study options include either four summers at Middlebury Language Schools, or two summers at Middlebury, with one academic year at Monterey between the two summers. • Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy: A new summer language program for grades 7-12 in Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish, offered in Colchester, VT, Amherst, MA, and Atherton, CA. The Academic Director is Paul Magnuson (TESOL ’93). Numerous alumni were part of the curriculum design team, including Kojo Hakam (TFL Chinese ’01), Selah Ward (TFL Spanish ’07), Mandy Bartok (TFL French ’07), Amel Farghaly (TFL Arabic ’08), and Jiaying Howard (TFL Chinese ’84). • Development Project Management Institute (DPMI): DPMI will be offered at Middlebury College in January 2009, during their “J” term. • Professor and Director of International Organizations and Nonproliferation Program, Jean du Preez, taught a “J” term course at Middlebury in 2008 on nuclear weapons and nonproliferation.
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What’s New at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (JMCNS) If you’ve never taken a look at the JMCNS website (www.cns.miis.edu), there’s no better time than today! With the Center’s mission of training graduate students, thereby building a worldwide community of nonproliferation experts, publishing both on-line and print resources on all aspects of WMD (weapons of mass destruction), providing background material to the media, and creating seminars and on-line tutorials to be used by high school and college instructors and the general public, the site offers something for everyone, and has earned a reputation as one of the world’s top internet resources on nonproliferation topics. If you’ve been on the campus in the last 18 years, you cannot help but notice the role that the JMCNS plays—providing research internships to more than 30+ students each semester, linking international agencies and students professionally, with senior researchers teaching a host of courses at the Graduate School of International Policy Studies via the Certificate in Nonproliferation Studies. If you’re an alumna/us who has benefited from the JMCNS, put up your hand…you’re in excellent company! In the next newsletter we will highlight the newest research center on campus: the Center for Globalization & Localization at the Fisher Graduate School of International Business.
Alumni Chapters Alumni Chapters in Your Neighborhood? Offers from alumni to start chapter groups are rolling in! By late April http://www.miis.edu/alumni-chps.html should have full details on these chapters, the alumna/us points of contact at each, and some information on upcoming events. In the interim, the brand new Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN chapter, co-coordinated by Lara Bollweg (MBA ‘03), Gary Montensen (ITP ‘04) and Paulita Garcia (IEP/MBA ‘03) is hosting their kick-off chapter event—and if you are in the area, we hope you’ll attend! Date: Friday, May 2nd Time: 7:00-9:00pm Place: Pracna - St. Anthony Main - 117 Main SE Minneapolis (www.saintanthonymain.com/pracna.html) RSVP: alumni@miis.edu by April 28th Parking: street meters or in a ramp located behind Pracna on 2nd St. & University Ave. The Washington, DC chapter, coordinated by Jennifer Ullman (IPS ‘93) is currently working with the Institute’s alumni office to coordinate a large reception or picnic this fall. Watch the website for details and updates! The Beijing chapter, co-coordinated by Tate Miller (CD ‘99) and Kim Todd (MBA ‘95) will be hosting a reception in May, in conjunction with a visit by GSIPS professor Jason Scorse. Details coming soon! We look forward to seeing you at a reception, happy hour, informal mixer or other chapter activity in the future!
Where, oh Where, Are You???
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We miss our ‘older’ alumni that made the Institute strong from the very beginning. We would love to hear from you and are sure many would like to be back in touch with their classmates, too. If you recognize anyone in this photo, please let us know! We have hundreds of photos missing names and years. Contact us at alumni@miis.edu
The Monterey Institute in the News Dr. Sharad Joshi , a postdoctoral fellow at the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies at the Institute, recently had an article published at AsiaTimes Online. The article is entitled: Siachen Glacier: A ridge too far. It can be accessed at http:// www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IK09Df01.html and deals with the conflict between Pakistan and India over this Kashmiri region. IPS ‘08 candidate and IPSS Fellow to the WTO in Geneva, Lara Birkes had an op-ed piece published online for the Middle East Times. The article, Lessons from Morocco, draws on Lara’s insight and experience as a Fulbright Scholar in Morocco. Published on November 15th, 2007 her piece can be found at http://www.metimes.com/Business/2007/11/15/opedlessons_from_morocco/7863/ Dr. William C. Potter, director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, contributed to the recent issue online of “The National Interest.” Posted on November 15th, 2007 the continued dialogue can be found at http://java2hot.ulmb.com/? p=1300 Dr. Glynn Wood, professor at GSIPS, publishes a weekly column in the India Express addressing key issues of US politics. The site can be accessed at IndianExpress.com Nikita Desai, IPS ‘07, continues to update her blog at http://nomadnikita.blogspot.com/2007/11/back-to-school-but-businessschool.html Access it to get the latest news on Nikita, her travels and studies. IPS ‘08 candidate Josh D. Friedman, contributed online to worldpress.org in November of 2007. Available at http://www.worldpress.org/Asia/3002.cfm the article is entitled “Deuces High: How the US Can Bring an End to Myanmar’s Crackdown on Democracy.” PRWeb, Press Release Newswire announced a new position for MBA ’06 alumnus Adam Wooten. Adam joined Elanex as General Manager for the United States this past November. Adam also received a MAT degree from the Institute in 2006. Congratulations Adam. M. Casey McCarty, IPS ’07 contributed to a joint article entitled “Violence on the Mexican Border” to the website of the International Relations and Security Network (ISN ETH Zurich). The full text can be found at http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=18581 and was published at the end of January 2008. Davis A Paulides, MBA ‘92, was recently appointed as Assistant Vice-President at Home Federal Bank. The announcement was made in January and was also published on the 25th of January online at the Idaho Statesman (www.idahostatesman.com). Congratulations Davis. TESOL ‘05 alumni, Jennifer Uhler and Jeff Mattison were interviewed in mid-February for The ELT World Japan Blog at http://elt-japan.blogspot.com/2008/02/teachinf-withoutborders-interview.html. The interview was a discussion on Teaching Without Borders.
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TESOL...T&I...TFL...Send in your updates—we miss you!
1965:
Regina Todd (TESOL), after receiving her degree at the Institute, went on to accrue units for her PhD in Russian Studies, including time at Middlebury. She later worked at MIIS training students in preparation to study and work abroad. She has also taught Russian Language and Civilization at Middlebury, Montana State University and Windham College. While her credits include the translation of a best-seller, her most recent achievement is in the publishing of the story of her life, My Struggle for Survival. The book begins with the Stalinist terror and goes on to relate the siege of Leningrad, her escape from the Soviet Union and her work in the United States. 1970:
Dr. David Savignac MA Russian, 1970
Dr. David Savignac (RS) recently retired from the National Security Agency after a career of over 36 years in US Government service. He attended MIIS when it was the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, received both a BA (1966) and an MA (1970) in Russian Language and Literature, and later was awarded a PhD in Slavic Linguistics from Stanford University. While at the Institute he was the student body president (1965-1966) and served as the editor of the Institute's newsletter, L' Actualité. In the latter part of his career at NSA, he founded the Center for Applied Machine Translation (CAMT) and through it greatly expanded the use of machine translation throughout the Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense, and other governmental agencies. His accomplishments at the CAMT merited him the prestigious National Intelligence Medal of Achievement (2003) and, upon retirement, NSA's Distinguished Service Medal. Dr. Savignac plans to continue his machine translation work at a private computer consulting firm in suburban Maryland, directing most of his efforts towards creating and augmenting machine translation lexicons.
1976: Cliff Kasend (IPS) has spent 22 years as a bilingual Special Education teacher. For many years now he has been out of the classroom doing conflict resolution, impartial hearings and mediations. Living in New York and working as an educator for the New York City Education Department, Cliff looks forward to reconnecting at upcoming Institute events in the area. So are we Cliff and we’ll see you there!
Thanksgiving in Leipzig with the Garretts.
1984: Diana Mabel Martinez Fernandez (IPS) has been running the show for several cruise ship companies since her graduation. Such adventures include work with Costa Cruises: Mediterranean, Caribbean, Alaska, Cuba, and to date is working with Cruceros Australis out of Punta Arenas in Chile. You can find them at www.australis.com. Diana was also Expedition Leader onboard m/v Terra Australis and is now living on land, training personnel for future jobs. 1987:
Dr. Theodore Karasik (IPS) checked in with Dean Ed Laurance recently. Two years ago, he was promoted to Senior Political Scientist at RAND where he now works on the Persian Gulf and Eurasia. He travels to the Gulf six or seven times per year, as well as to Turkey and Russia and will be heading back to Bahrain later this year. His many publications include “War and Escalation in South Asia” and “Beyond alQaeda.” New publications will be appearing later this year on Central Asia as well as chapter contributions to several other publications. Ted’s wife Eve is now a senior partner at her law firm in Century City and they have two daughters, ages 11 and 8. Ted’s contributions to his fields are an exceptional resource globally and for future professionals. Crister Garrett (IPS), son of GSIPS professor Steve Garret and past teacher and staff member at MIIS in the mid-1990s sent us this great family picture. He’s now the proud father of two daughters, ages 6 and 4 months! While living in Germany has had its perks, the family may be moving back to Wisconsin later in the year. We look forward to the update. Crister has been in the thick of the entire Bologna Process and changes in the European education system. He’s been helping to build an area and international studies program that is technically anchored in the United States but largely about transatlantic themes. You can visit the website at www.americanstudies.uni-leipzig.de 1988: Congratulations to John Kreiger (IPS) who recently joined the firm of Lehman, Lee & Xu in Beijing. Mr. Kreiger joinied the firm as a licensed New Mexico (USA) attorney, specializing in contract law, corporate law, alternative dispute resolution (mediation and arbitration), international trade and intellectual property. Prior to joining Lehman, Lee & Xu, Mr. Kreiger owned and operated his own law firm, John Kreiger & Associates, in the United States. Mr. Kreiger has lived and worked for more than 14 years in East and Southeast Asia in 13 different nations, including as managing lawyer at Lehman, Lee & Xu's Shenzhen office in 2003. Lehman, Lee & Xu is a prominent Chinese corporate law firm and trademark and patent agency with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau, and Mongolia.
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1989:
Ralph Whittum (IPS) checked in with Prof. Wood about his experiences getting ready for the post as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon. From music to Thanksgiving dinners, it sounds like Ralph is off to a great start and we’re looking forward to updates soon.
1991:
Working from home helping various non profits with their grant writing and other projects, Connie Calderon (IPS) keeps busy with her work and a growing, thriving family in the Bay Area in California.
Connie Calderon and her beautiful family
1992: After more than 7 years in Washington, Philipp Steger will leave the OST at the end of June. His tenure as Austrian Science Attaché to the USA and Canada has been both exciting and rewarding. Exciting, because he had the rare opportunity of building a new institution, the Office of Science & Technology (OST), which will likely function as a model for similar such Austrian offices in other parts of the world. Rewarding, because he was fortunate enough to work with dedicated, highly qualified, and enthusiastic colleagues in and outside the Austrian Embassy, who were instrumental in bringing about the many recent successes of the OST. Following his time in Washington, he will move to Maine to pursue his lifelong dream of being a full-time writer of fiction. Prize Draw for alumni submitting class notes updates By submitting an update for the Class Notes, your name will automatically be entered in to the new “Submission Prize Draw.” One lucky alumna/us will receive a complimentary long-sleeve t-shirt with the MIIS Logo (check out the merchandise site at http://bookstore.miis.edu/home.aspx). The draw will take place one week prior to the release of the Fall 2008 e-newsletter (approximately late October). Join in the fun by sending in your update!
Marlene A. Kemp-Dynin (MBA) received a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Georgia in 2005. Her dissertation was entitled 'The Company Words Keep': A Corpus-Based Analysis of Collocational Patterning in Business Terminology. She is currently employed as a consultant and is writing a business dictionary.
1993:
Berta Aug (IPS), enrollment director at the Institute in the 1990’s, has recently become partners in a limousine business. They service the entire Chicago area as well as neighboring states. They do corporate events, weddings, concerts, proms, nights on the towns, and airport pick-ups. They offer online reservations, email confirmations and corporate accounts. Find Berta and her new company at www.asaplimousine.net
1994:
Atle Jensen (MBA) passes along a photo of himself with President Clinton, taken at a VIP-dinner-party when President Clinton visited Bergen to hold a Business Leader Seminar for 2500 people in the Grieg Hall. Lucky enough to get a ticket, Atle was celebrating his 41st birthday the same day—what a present! He had a chance to talk to President Clinton and says that he is a very charismatic individual. Conner Gorry (IPS) has been working almost exclusively as a professional writer since her graduation from MIIS. She writes for the Lonely Planet as well MEDICC Review, the International Journal of Cuban Health and Medicine, for which she is also managing editor. You can find the journal online at www.medicc.org/mediccreview. Conner and her husband have been based out of Havana from more than five years now and we’re sure she’ll have some interesting stories to share in the very near future.
Nami, to the left, arrived first followed quickly by Noah
Cathy Lemeshewsky (IPS) announced recently the birth of her two beautiful twins, Nami and Noah, born just one minute apart from each other. Atle Jensen (MBA 1994) with former President Bill Clinton
1995: Artur Dmochowski (IPS) recently finished his six-year turn as Minister, Head of the Economic section of the Polish Embassy in Rome. After his return to Poland Artur started to work for Polish Television, as Director of a new channel – TVP Historia. It was launched in May, 2007. Congratulations Artur!
1996: Fumio Miyoshi-Evans (T&I) and her husband, Peter O’Meara Evans (IPS ’97) sent in a New Year’s update to say that early in the new year, they would be moving to Jerusalem where Peter will be working with the US Consulate-General as US Security Coordinator for Palestinian and Israeli security issues. While the past year has included travels all over the world for the family, Fumio is focusing on taking care of their daughter Rikki who, at age 3, is already becoming fluent in Japanese and English—lucky girl!
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1997:
After spending 3 years as the business development director of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Boston office, Nancy Henderson (IPS) and husband Lon (and by then 2 children – one born while they were at MIIS) moved home to New Hampshire in 2000. They are the owner/innkeepers of Sunset Hill House – a resort inn and conference facility in the NH White mountains. Nancy is the Vice Chair of Lodging for the NH Lodging and Restaurant association, and as chair of the Government Affairs committee she’s busy with their lobbyist and members to shape policy. They were also named “innkeepers of the year” in 2004. The most fun award? Wine spectator for their wine list (two years now). In addition to their two daughters, Nancy and Lon hope to be adopting an older child from China in the next year! If there is ever a desire to get a group together in the Northeast, they would love to host it.
Gigi Gokcek (IPS) spent the next few years after graduation studying at UC Santa Barbara where she earned her MA and PhD in Political Science. From there, she went on to a tenure-track position in the School of International Studies at the University of the Pacific. Gigi recently took a position at Dominican University of California in San Rafael where she is now a fourth-year assistant professor. Back in 1999, Gigi married fellow alum Todd Geidt (IPS ‘97). Todd works for the University of California’s Office of the President in Oakland where he is a committee analyst for the UC Academic Senate. The two met during their orientation at the Institute. So many connections are made here—we love these stories! 1998: JoEllen Gorg (IPS), as the Management Officer for the US Consulate in Peshawar, is living through some pretty exciting times. She is responsible for managing the infrastructure and staffing needs of a diplomatic post with more than 40 US citizens and over 100 Pakistani national employees. “The work of the Peshawar consulate is central to efforts to combat terrorism in Pakistan and the region,” JoEllen writes. “I am proud to be here despite the challenging environment. Peshawar, located in the North West Frontier Province, is an extremely challenging work
Class Notes environment. It requires a high level of precautions and restricts my ability to move about and experience as much of the local culture as I would like. It is in a conservative area and I rarely see women out in public and when I do they are usually in full burka...I try to keep a low profile. In private gatherings I have met a number of local Pakistani women who are dynamic in their fields, such as education and medicine. These women are inspiring as they have overcome many challenges to emerge as leaders. The fact that they have chosen to live and work in Peshawar shows a commitment to local civil society that is encouraging.”
A related achievement is that he has been serving on the Board of Directors for the Ferrari Club of America's Pacific Region as a Director-at-Large for the last two years. This has given Steve great pleasure and incredible opportunities he would not otherwise have had. If that is not enough, Steve has another position with the Ferrari Club. He is the Editor of the Ferrari Pacific Newsletter, a regional publication with a distribution of 600. He occasionally writes articles about cars and events. As an editor, he mostly assigns and recruits for content about their regional activities. It is a great medium for Steve to showcase his photography.
Alejandro Martinez Zurita (CD) is curSteve Souza’s cover shot. His photos for “all things Ferrari” were featured in issue #79, August 2007
rently the Deputy Director of Economic Promotion for Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico. He works to promote Mexican business domestically and internationally. Alejandro says that while at MIIS, he worked as assistant to Professor Procassini which helped him to develop real world skills and insights by developing a case study on the WTO dispute between the US, Venezuela and Brazil on fuel standards. Apparently MIIS and Alejandro’s past employment have served him well and Mexican businesses, large and small, are lucky to have him on their team.
Pamela Poole (MAT French)
1999: Steve Souza (MBA) While attending the Institute Steve was introduced to the concourse events (car shows) in August held in Monterey. Perfect! Over the years since his return from Japan he has attended dozens of shows and now volunteers at the events. In addition, he travels to Ferrari events around the country to both engage in his photography hobby and pursue his passion for the Ferrari marque. It was during this pursuit that he gained exposure and a reputation for producing good photographs.
has worked since her graduation as a freelance translator, a college French professor, and a technical writer. She has always kept her long term goal of moving to France to start an online community for Francophiles. Pamela says that her MIIS degree and training made it possible for her to achieve all these dreams, giving her flexibility and freedom to design a custom career. Good luck to you Pamela and we’ll be sure to check out your exciting work at francophilia.com (which boasts more than 350 members to date).
Class Notes 2000: Based these days in Chicago, Brandie Brunner (T&I) works 20-35 weeks per year for the US State Department interpreting in French and English locally and abroad for professional exchange programs, anti-terrorism trainings and other projects. Brandie also interprets for other organizations, including McDonald’s Corp. She is also a translator and works on marketing and financial documents for various companies. Of her work, Brandie says: “It’s not about the word-for-word, it’s about being able to analyze the message.” We’re sure her colleagues and MIIS peers would agree. Congratulations to Dora Majoros (CD) on her wedding in Brussels in April of last year. Her honeymoon just happened to coincide with the last weeks of the Australian election and made for some interesting times as she and her husband drove along the coast from Adelaide to Sydney. On the professional front, Dora will be changing her title soon within the Directorate General’s office and will now be in the accounting policy division.
Massimo Geloso Grosso (CD) is a Trade Policy Analyst in the Trade and Agriculture Directorate of the OECD. He has been working in the OECD for the last seven and a half years in the field of trade policy and economics. He is also a PhD student in economics at the Groupe d’Economie Mondiale of Sciences Po University. His current research focus is in the area of trade in services. 2001:
In January of this year, the University of Manitoba published an exceptional piece on IPS alumna, Mavis Matenge. The article (available in full at http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/index.asp? sec=2&too=100&dat=2/14/2008&sta=3& wee=3&eve=8&npa=14892) stated that Mavis is now at the Arthur V. Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice at the University where she is beginning her doctoral studies in peace and conflict as a Commonwealth Scholar. It is very prestigious for the Centre to have a Commonwealth Scholar placed there.
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“I am writing this email to let you know that I Mavis says she established a new company called Saloob is “determined to (www.saloob.jp) in Japan. Saloob is an IT make a differconsulting company and does many different ence in Africa, by businesses in Japan. One of our main busicontributing to nesses is head hunting & HR recruiting in the the continent’s job market in Japan. I would like to announce peace and conto current students/alumni who would be flict resolution interested to find a job opportunity in Japan to initiatives.” She contact me. We are particularly looking for has worked in Japanese or Japanese speakers as appliareas of democcants. We have extensive network/contacts ratic governance Mavis Matenge, IPS 2001 throughout IT, Finance and other industries and peace buildso that we are quite confident that we could ing in Southern be of help.” Africa and with refugee communities. “My heartbeat is for peace and justice Ross Taggart (IPS) Sreelakshmi Sita Sonty was married to for those who are marginalized. I am Ross Gordon Taggart. Gerald E. Williams, a civil magistrate, doing this for victims of armed conofficiated in his office in Arlington, Va. On February 21, 2007, flicts—not me. You don’t see their a Hindu priest performed a religious ceremony at the Taj Exfaces or suffering in the fine print. I otica, a hotel in Benaulim, India. Ms. Sonty, 27, is keeping her strive to be a voice for them,” explains name. She is the desk officer for Syria at the State DepartMavis. ment in Washington. In 2004, she worked as an action officer at the United States Embassy in Baghdad, reporting on develAmong her other credits, Mavis also opments in the Iraqi cabinet. She graduated from Amherst received a fellowship at the Refugee and received a master’s degree in international relations and studies Centre at the University of economics from Johns Hopkins. She is a daughter of Sarada Oxford, England and has interned at Purna Sonty and Dr. Sriram Sonty of Flossmoor, Ill. Her father Human Rights Watch and other oris an ophthalmologist at the Midwest Eye Center in Calumet ganizations that work with asylum City, Ill. Her mother teaches online courses in Sanskrit for seekers and refugees. She has Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University in Hyderabad, India. served as a UN Volunteer as a Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS project Mr. Taggart, 41, was until January the desk officer for the officer at the Dukwi Refugee Camp in United Arab EmirBotswana. ates at the State Department. He is Petr Lebeda (IPS) announced the on a one-year asbirth of his second son Hugo (October signment away 3) and the establishment of the thinkfrom the departtank Prague Global Policy Institute ment, working in Glopolis . Washington as a legislative assistant for foreign affairs to Senator Bar- Sita Sonty and Ross Taggart, published bara Boxer in the NY Times, March 4th, 2007 as part of a Brookings Institution fellowship for government executives. He graduated from the University of Arizona and received a master’s degree in public policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. He is the son of Petr & family Nancy Taggart Hoffman of Penn Valley, CA, and the late John Adam Taggart, and a stepson of Ray Taggart. The Isao Matsuyama (MBA) Anbridegroom’s father taught English at Carlmont High School in nouncement of an exciting new venBelmont, CA. ture and job opportunities from Isao:
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Class Notes
sweet little village and sitting on a park bench overlooking a small pond, Michael asked ----- and Shebnum Udum (IPS) Shebnem spent a year as a Research well obviously, I said yes. We Associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies are having a wonderful time Charles Tsai (CD) l eft the 2002: (JMCNS). After she finished her tenure at the Center, she started the Agency for International Trade Informa- enjoying being engaged. PhD program at Bilkent University's International Relations Departtion and Cooperation in April 2007 to ment in September 2003. She specializes in Turkish foreign and pursue studies towards a PhD in Eco- Other than that, I'll keep this security policy, European security, Middle East and nonproliferation nomics, and is currently enrolled in the short and sweet. I'm spending studies. Currently she is writing her dissertation on the debates in my time continuing to settle in Master’s programme in international Turkey for civilian nuclear technology transfer. economics at the Graduate Institute of and reconnect with Washington, DC.” Recently, she was offered work with the JMCNS as a consultant for a International Studies in Geneva. One more alumnus for the ever-exciting case study on Turkey for the project "Forecasting Nuclear ProliferaGeneva receptions and events! tion Developments in the 21st Century.” Also, Dr. Michel Gueldry Sarah Young (TESOL) is an from GSLEL approached her to write a chapter in the volume he is adult ESL specialist at the CenAshley Garrett (MPA) wrote this editing about the impact of language and culture on US ter for Applied Linguistics. past holiday national security. Shebnum says: “It is so rewarding to work Through CAL’s Center for Adult season, with them, and is exciting to feel that the connection with English Language Acquisition “Seasons MIIS does not expire with graduation.” and adult ESL assessment Greetings! I team, she provides professional hope this From her spacious apartment, in the centre of Colombo Sri development to adult ESL practifinds everyLanka, Toshiko Kitahara (MPA) writes: “I finished my one enjoying tioners and users of BEST Plus work in Afghanistan and had a long break. I enjoyed travela wonderful and BEST Literacy assessing to some countries including China, Tibet, the Maldives start up to the ments. Her recent article “Effects and Sri Lanka, and started learning Chinese.” holiday sea- of Instructional Hours and Intensity of Instruction on NRS Level son - cold Toshiko sends out a very sincere thank-you to all those Gain in Listening and Speaking.” and stormy who supported the construction of the first girl’s school in is available to download at weather for Ragh, a very rural district in Badakhshan Province. Curwww.cal.org many of us! rently more than 800 girls are studying at the newly constructed Bibi Maryam School. I have been Ashley Garrett & her lucky fimeaning to Adam Dolnik (IPS) sent us a Earlier in 2007, Toshiko had gone to Colombo to work lovely photo of himself, his wife with the Red Cross tsunami recovery operations. She is ancé! Congratulations & we look write for Katerina, their daughter Tatiana now responsible for disaster preparedness, youth activi- forward to the wedding pictures. months and the latest addition to the but someties, vocational training and capacity development of the family, their son Max. He was how belocal Red Cross Society. tween job hunting, moving and settling born at the end of August of in and Michael and I making it official - 2007 and everyone is in good Check out the website of Audrey Scott (MBA) and her husband health and even better spirits! Daniel Noll at http://uncorneredmarket.com/ They are always looking things have gotten a bit crazy around for comments and feedback to help improve their content. “China has here. Yes - the big news from us is that over Thanksgiving, we decided to make massive internet controls but at it official and got enleast it has internet,” Audrey regaged! We are both so excently wrote to us. They expect to cited and loving the fact that post a lot more frequently, catchwe have the rest of our lives ing up on their Central Asian exspent together - on one contiperiences and writing about their nent, in one city and one current travels in China. Later this house. For those of you year they hope to make it to Africa wanting more details - we and Central and South America in were in Amsterdam for 2009. Thanksgiving, playing and having fun in that fabulous After 5 months living in the Former city. On a long and meanderSoviet Union, China is a whole A member of the Tsai famCongratulations to the ing bike ride through the surrounding new world. They now make their ily ready for a raucous New areas of Amsterdam we stopped in a Dolniks home in Urumqi in the western Year! part of China and Audrey says, “...we’re doing well and still talking to each other after almost a year of travel and being together 24 hours a day!”
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2003: Congratulations to Mehdi Ben Abdallah (MBA ‘01, CD ‘03)! Mehdi and his lovely bride Sophie were married on October 20th, 2007 in Tunisia. He says: “It has been a long road since we got engaged 18 months ago, and we finally took the decision to do it only 2 weeks before the big day!!!” All the best to Mehdi & Sophie ED Brzytwa’s (CD ) trade policy degree at the
Ed Brzytwa, CD 2003
Monterey Institute paved the way for his current work at the US Department of Commerce. He is responsible for analyzing and coordinating policy on non-tariff barrier issues in the International Trade Administration, primarily with respect to the World Trade Organization Doha Development Round of international trade negotiations. Ed currently serves as an International Trade Specialist at the Office of Multilateral Affairs at ITA, but has also served at the Trade Compliance Center covering foreign trade barriers related to the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreements. Ed has participated in multilateral negotiations, free trade agreement negotiations, and many bilateral meetings on behalf of the Department of Commerce and the U.S. government. Prior to joining DOC, Ed was a Fulbright fellow at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in Austria, where he earned a Master of Advanced International Studies degree. He has also earned a Bachelor degree in the Classics from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.
Of his ongoing affiliation with MIIS, Ed says: "The Monterey Institute provided me with the knowledge, skills, and access necessary for a worthwhile and exciting career of public service in the international trade policy field. The entire chain of the Institute, from students to professors to administrators enabled me to succeed and grow after graduating. I believe I am in a rare situation where my work is incredible similar to what I studied in graduate school. Many thanks to all who made this possible."
Emmee Haun (MBA) Emmee writes, “Sorry for the mass email but such is life when you have ignored everyone for the past six months. So here is the latest.... My mom came to Oman in Emmee Haun & her mom in Dubai January, 2007 for a visit and absolutely loved it here! We were all over this country and also had a short visit in Dubai. In February, I met some friends for a 10 day visit to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand and in March two of my best college friends came to visit me in Oman. Cyclone Guno hit Oman later in the year in June and was my first, and hopefully last, up close and personal time with a hurricane of the Indian Ocean. We had two days of torrential rain and winds with a result of thousands of people losing their homes and lives. As if the storm wasn't enough, I then lost water and electricity for a week - not a fun time in 110 degree weather. I finally couldn't take it anymore and went to stay with a friend from the embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for a few days. Although the government of Oman did a TERRIFIC job of handling the storm, destruction was everywhere and left Oman in a state that few had ever seen. In August I headed off on my first ever African safari trip and without any hesitation I can say this was the best trip I have ever taken in my life. Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world with a significant percentage of the country living on less than $1 a day. However, one would never see this level of poverty as the people are the most generous, loving people I have ever met. We were also up close and personal with animals I had never seen before. And when I say up close and personal I mean 5 feet away from hippos and elephants. It was one of the most amazing experiences! And now the big news - I have accepted a position with a consulting company here in Oman, so I will be here at least another year - maybe longer. This was a long, drawn out decision but I really enjoy my life here and the money is great. Not to mention the status of the US economy right now.... Want a great vacation??? I have an three bedroom apartment so don't hesitate to come for a visit!” One of Yoanna Gouchtchina’s (CD) projects with Investment Advisory Group International, LLC. was awarded a “residency” in a special economic zone.
Yoanna accepting the award from Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Sergey Ivanov
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.2003 continued:
Jonathan Essner and Evren Sarac Essner (both IPS ) presented Keita Sugimoto (MPA) and MPA ‘96 alumna Yasuyo Recently sitting at the table with the USTR, last fall at GSIPS discussing careers with the UN, among other issues. Jon is Yamaguchi were both feaIPS alumna Lita Echiverri led the For-
Little Jack Kaspar sure is happy to have mom at home!
eign Agricultural Service as the Capacity Building Representative during CAFTA talks. She is now developing the Monitoring and Evaluation staff, which is a brand new area within their development branch. She says: “Who knew that Prof. Laurance’s data collection and analysis would come back to haunt me?!”
Felicia Burzell (MPA) recently celebrated her son Jack Kaspar’s first birthday! She’s thoroughly enjoying being a stay at home mother and says that 2007 was the fastest but greatest year of her life. Felicia maintains contact with the basket weaving cooperative she worked with in Ghana and actually is selling their baskets from home just to keep one foot in the door of the international development scene. Since graduating in 2003, Janell Jenkins (IPS) has worked for a variety of NGOs applying all the organizational theory she studied with Professor Eliason. She currently works as a program officer for IREX where she manages two civil society programs in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
2004: Congratulations to Emily Schroeder (IPS ), now Emily Alexander, on her recent marriage to Paul, whom she met while she was a UN Volun-
now a Nonproliferation Analyst at Lawrence Livermore National Security and has begun work for the newly created Global Security Department as well.
tured in two United Nations Forum articles about Japanese UN staff members. You can find the articles at http:// unforum.org. Yasuyo is numEvren has spent the past three years at ber 39 and Keita is number 43. the IAEA as a Policy Officer in the ExCongratulations! ternal Relations and Policy Coordination Office but is now seeking new opportunities in the Bay Area.
teer in the Sudan. There are some exciting career even experience the Olympics, alopportunities lining up as well so we expect exciting though I anticipate next summer being a bit stressful with the crowds adding news soon! to the already ample congestion. I Lora Saalman (IPS) checks in with the following hope that everything is going well for update as the first female foreign national pursuing everyone!” a PhD at Tsingua University in China: Wendy Raynor (MBA) works for “Apologies for the mass email, but I just wanted to Louis Vuitton/LVMH as store manager pass along a much belated update and good news and one of four people in the US in the MBA MIT program (20 in the world). regarding my PhD work at Tsinghua University to She is working with two Columbia family and friends. graduates and one ESSEC graduate and has been the quickest to be proIn the past few weeks an article that I wrote on Sino-Indian-U.S. relations from the vantage point of moted of the group. Her business plan was recently accepted by the company the U.S.-India nuclear deal was published in the and she has been asked to present it Chinese language journal Contemporary Asiato the North America CEO next month Pacific Studies. to asses the possibility of rolling it out in a few stores. LVNA has done some This is doubly exciting since it is my first in-print Business Plan type projects with Coarticle and in Chinese no less! The journal is also lumbia in the past and wouldn't mind reputable enough to qualify for our 4 published presenting the possibility to their West articles requirement for graduation. Coast operations if the This semester will be my last as far as class requirements are concerned and I will take my qualifi- Business School needs cation exams and make my dissertation proposal some topics for before a board of professors in the spring. If all IBP next year. goes according to schedule, I am hoping to complete my studies in 2009. This allows me time to
We would like to take a moment to thank Kayo Yamada (IPS) for all of her past assistance with alumni receptions in Tokyo. Kayo worked on human trafficking issues at the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (UNIAP) last year and after a very long process, her report on human trafficking in Thailand has been published. The report can be accessed at the UNIAP website http://www.no-trafficking.org/content/Reading_Rooms/thailand.htm and is entitled Human Trafficking in Thailand: Data Collation and Integration of Selected Human Trafficking Information. This report was also presented at a UN seminar in Bangkok with more than 50 representatives from the Thai government, UN agencies and both international and local NGOs present.
Kayo at a recent alumni reception in Tokyo
Class Notes 2004 continued: Bobbi Gray (MPA) had the pleasure to experience a real world “Monterey Model” recently. She writes that Freedom From Hunger, where she works as a Research and Evaluation Specialist, was awarded $6 million from the Gates Foundation to integrate health protection services with microfinance financial services. This project brought together partner institutions from Burkina Faso, Benin, Bolivia, the Philippines and
India. English obviously was not the primary language and so they worked with I-Interpret which is an interpretation business in the Bay Area—all of the interpreters were GSTI MIIS alums!
Hans Risser hard at work for the UNDP
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Cicely Rude (TESOL) recently published a book with Corwin Press entitled, How to Succeed as a Substitute Teacher: Everything You Need from Start to Finish. Cicely is currently a Visiting Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Benerd School of Education at the University of the Pacific. Kimberly Petersen (IPS) was recently
elected as the Mayor of the City of Watsonville, in California. Congratulations to Kimberly and to the Hans Risser (IPS) has been working with the City of UNDP since 2005 in Serbia and Montenegro Watsonand has just started a new posting with the ville for UNDP in Geneva. He works for the Bureau for its insight Crisis Prevention and Recovery as a Proin voting gramme Specialist for Armed Violence Prevenfor such tion and Cluster Munitions. In 2004, In this picture: L-R: Celine Detraz (TI ‘99), Leire Carbonelleffective Hans was married and is now the Aguero (TI ‘03), Pablo Chang-Castillo (TI ‘02) and Julien leaderproud father of daughter Ella Grace. Basseur (TI ‘05). Bobbi is in the middle. ship!
Melanie Eltz (IPS) is currently working for the Microcredit Summit Campaign, in Washington, DC, as a Program Associate. The Campaign brings together microcredit practitioners, advocates, educational institutions, donor agencies, international financial institutions, NGOs and others involved with microcredit around the world to promote best practices in the field, to stimulate the interchanging of knowledge, and to work towards reaching their many goals. Prior to this and directly after MIIS, Melanie worked as a JPA at the World Bank Group in the Africa Region with the Global Environment Facility Regional Coordinator. She worked on several projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily on the Namibia portfolio. Melanie Eltz
2005: Emma Johnson (IPS) wrote: “I really enjoyed seeing how MIIS ranked in the Foreign Policy survey, that was fantastic. As for me, after returning from Geneva in July 06, my main focus was planning for the big wedding and reception. In the beginning of December I interviewed for, and accepted, a position with the University of California’s Education Abroad Program as an Executive Assistant to the four Directors. I recently got a great promotion at work. I am now in charge of all of the study abroad programs in France, Germany, Hungary and Russia for all of the UC students. UC’s study abroad system is unusual as one office manages all of the study abroad programs for all of the UC schools.
In the meantime, I have been going to see speakers in L.A. through the L.A. World Affairs Council to keep up my international politics interests. I have also joined the United Nations Association Santa Barbara chapter since I have been back so that has been good as well. Other than that, things are great here, Jim and I are happy and Jim has started school doing a degree in computer network engineering.”
Jim and Emma at their wedding; Emma and the groomsmen. Looks like a fun celebration. Congratulations!
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Class Notes
2005 continued: Clint Watts (IPS) has been working on a study at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, entitled “Al-Qa’ida’s (Mis) Adventures in the horn of Africa.” Clint says that none of this work would be possible without the skills he learned at MIIS and that there were two other MIIS grads working on the same project. Clint was the co-editor and one of the authors; and Jim Phillips (Certificate in Nonproliferation Studies ‘05) was another author/collaborator. The report can be accessed at http://www.ctc.usma.edu/aqII.asp Sean DeBlieck (IPS) is finally getting settled in Seattle and he’s deep into his work with the GAO. The family is adjusting to the climate and the time change and the views from Sean’s office do not sound too bad either; Mt. Rainer to one side to remind him of Mt. Fuji and a view of the Puget Sound on the other. Surrounded on all sides (and in the building) by coffee shops, we’re sure that he must be getting more than a little tired of coffee by now! Roshi Pejhan (IPS) would like to let all MIIS alumni know that The Women’s International Perspective (http://www.thewip.net) is regularly seeking female writers to contribute. If you are interested, please contact Roshi at info@thewip.net
Markus Naerheim, (IEP) published his third novel, The City, in January 2008. The City tells the story of Jack Wild, a young man from Arizona who moves to San Francisco in search of a future. Jack arrives in the city with no friends, no job, and no place to live. Upon arrival, he meets and falls in love with the adventurous and outspoken Elizabeth Brown, who finds him a room to rent with her eclectic friends. The novel follows the adventures of Jack and his housemates as they challenge each other’s perceptions, accept their differences, and inspire each other to pursue their dreams and succeed.
“While the novel explores the intense, often absurd, and occasionally humorous lives of young people in the city,” Markus said, “it also has a larger purpose of presenting the often harsh reality of contemporary American urban life. I wrote this novel because I felt a disconnect between the poverty, vioMarkus Naerheim lence, and inequality of urban America, and our country’s image as a place of economic opportunity and political freedom. Above all, I wanted to explore the attitudes and beliefs of a group of contemporary Americans at the start of the twenty-first century in an increasingly globalized world.”
“In order to understand one’s culture, it is necessary to have a point of reference. With The City, I was able to write objectively about American culture because of my multicultural background,” Markus said. “My writing is based on my experience: the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met, the stories I’ve been told, the books I’ve read, the jobs I’ve had, and my formal education. In my novels I focus on human relationships and the construction of identity. I like to get inside my characters’ heads and explore the emotions that motivate their behavior, for better or worse.” For more on Markus and his work, visit www.markusn.com. Having recently finished a four month post with an environmental NGO in Istanbul, Hulya Ozonen (IPS) has accepted another job offer for humanitarian relief and development foundation, the International Blue Crescent. Her job, as Fundraising and Public Relations Manager, is to promote the foundation and increase publicity and visibility of their projects and other activities.
Jennifer Stout (MBA), now Jennifer Williams, wrote in to tell us of her new job and recent wedding to Nick Williams—congratulations! Her new position is House Party & Events Director for NamasteDirect in San Francisco. NamasteDirect is a microcredit non-profit organization that has raised over $400,000 since its founding and helps women in rural communities of Guatemala and southern Mexico. This is Jennifer’s first foray into the non-profit and fundraising world and seems to be a perfect fit for her experiences, passions and skills. Check out the organization’s website at http://www.namastedirect.org Just back from a vacation to Lake Baikal, Marina Vorona (IPS) is currently a Lead Researcher and Analyst at the Investment Advisory Group International, LLC in Moscow. She is involved in establishing in Russia a state-of-the-art facility that will conduct some of the research and development for global pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Roche, Merck and others. It is a very innovative project for Russia. Marina sees enormous potential from the private sector in this endeavor and is excited for the potential to exA stunning shot of Lake Baikal pand Russia’s development capabilities.
Class Notes 2005 continued: John Kastning (T&I) is currently in Chennai, India, but will be back in DC soon to start training for his next assignment as a Foreign Service Officer in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Kim family
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Former Coordinator of Student Services at the Institute, MacKenzie Hizon (TESOL) returned from a recent honeymoon trekking trip in Nepal and shared a few pictures with us. You can access them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/view_point/ sets/72157594345358860/show. MacKenzie married Josh Hizon on June 30, 2007 at her parents home in Gig Harbor, Washington. MIIS alumnae Elana Solon (TESOL ‘06) and Nicole Waltermire (TESOL ‘06) attended.
Roshi Pejhan (IPS) is currently working with an international online news services based locally in Monterey, the Women’s International Perspective (The WIP, www.thewip.net)) It is a non-partisan, worldwide news service of female contributors and the organization is committed to representing unheard voices in global media and generating solution-based dialogue on international issues. They currently have readers and writers from 124 countries worldwide.
Dave Kim (IPS) started his PhD program in International Relations at Korea University in Seoul. He is focusing on US-Korea relations and security issues in the 21st century. Dave and his wife Ruth also welcomed their new baby girl Sarah this past year.
Daniela Franco (IPS) is now a Fellow with Catholic Relief Services (as are alumni Precious Sancho (MPA ‘07), Andy Schaefer (MPA ‘07) and Monika Szewczyk (IPS ‘06). She spent a week at orientation in Baltimore and is now in Cameroon on assignment. Prior to her training, Daniela did a short-term consulting job in China and an internship with an immigrant organization in New York City.
2006: Jennifer Giroux (IPS) recently moved to Zurich to begin employment with the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich. More specifically she is a Researcher in the Crisis and Risk Network (CRN) department (http://www.crn.ethz.ch/) in the field of Critical Information Protection (CIP) and terrorism. Her duties include doing Internet and science-monitoring (summarizing Swiss government reports, studies, articles, and books in to specific topics), building up expertise on terrorism, organizing conferences, networking, and other related activities. In addition to this post, ETH will also be sponsoring Jennifer’s PhD studies which begin Fall 08. She will maintain her research duties at CSS, however 30 % of her time will be devoted to her PhD research. We also take this opportunity to extend our warmest congratulations to Jennifer on her recent wedding!
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Leanna Heiman (MPA) is working for the Eurasia Foundation as the China Program Associate. She manages the Foundations activities in China and currently they have a partnership project with a grassroots organization in the Qinghai Province. Leanna offers technical support to the Foundation’s partner in Looks beautiful China and is responsible for program imJennifer! plementation, budget management, program reports and donor relations. Leanna is married to Patrick Heiman (MPA ‘06).
MacKenzie and Josh Leanna Heiman and students
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2006 continued: Kristina Rich (TFL) is making great progress as ‘the ESL Department’ in the Colonial Heights Middle and High School systems. A recent article for the Richmond Times Dispatch section (full article available at http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/ search.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-01-300165.html) referenced a video project that Kristina conducted with her students to present about their countries. She recorded them with a digital camera that she got after taking a special moodle class last summer. The students did a great job and the article was on the first page of the Metro section. Exciting for Kristin, the school district and the students. Serena Olsen (IPS) after lobbying in DC last year for the National Federation of the Blind, moved back to Monterey with her husband, a T&I alumnus. He is now teaching at the Defense Language Institute and we expect to see much more or Serena as she is now so close to campus! Edo Forsythe (TFL-Russian) received a promotion to Senior Chief Petty Officer (Navy E8, the second highest rank) and is currently directing the Military Cryptology Continuing Education program for the Navy, based in Maryland
Congratulations to Cristian Ion and Rebecca Schauer on the occasion of their wedding this past April in Park Rapids, Minnesota.
2007: Vitalie Diaconu (IPS) spent a great deal of his time focusing on Conflict Resolution while on campus. It is serving him well now in his new post as Senior Advisor at the Moldovan Ministry of Reintegration. The recently established ministry is responsible for negotiations with Transnistria to find a solution to the ongoing conflict. He writes to Professor Bill Monning: “I remember the day of my presentation when I said that I hope to work on the settlement of the conflict, but I could not believe that I would work directly in the ministry responsible for negotiating the conflict. I have to recognize that my skills and knowledge acquired at MIIS help me a lot in my work as a Senior Advisor. “ After heading to Zambia as Camp Operations Coordinator with FORGE, Alyssa Pyke (IPS) is now living in Lusaka for a year. FORGE (FORGEnow.org) is an implementing partner of UNHCR in Zambia. It is in its fifth year of operation and has a strong reputation and presence in the three refugee camps in the country. Alyssa
works on grant writing, setting up an M&E system and coordinating operations amongst the refugee camps.
Cait Pollock (IPS) just started working with a company called Emerging Energy Research as an Asia-Pacific Wind Energy Analyst. The job, she says, is “phenomenal” and she is slowly adjusting to the Massachusetts weather. Congratulations to Robb Hawkins (IPS), who is joined by several other MIIS alumni, including Andy Hay (IPS ‘05) in the upcoming Foreign Service 137th Junior Officer Class.
Amir Murtaza’s (IPS) paper, Unheard Voices has been selected for the forthcoming Children and Migration Conference in Cork, Ireland the 9th-11th of April 2008. Amir works for Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid as a Program Consultant. He is based in Karachi, Pakistan.
Naoko (Yoshida) Dunnigan (MPA ‘00), Heather Ramsey (IPS ‘94) and Abdallah Ben Hamallah (IPS ‘05) each work at the Institute of International Education in San Francisco.
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Written by Ed Laurance, Dean GSIPS The faculty, staff and students of the Monterey Institute of International Studies mourns the sudden death of one of its most distinguished graduates, Sarah Meek, who was killed in an automobile accident on October 26th, 2006 in South Africa, her home and place of work. Sarah was a December 1994 graduate of the Graduate School of International Policy Studies. Upon graduation she became the Program Manager for the Program on Arms Control, Disarmament and Conversion at MIIS, directed by Professor Ed Laurance. Sarah was the co-author of the first influential policy paper on the global problem of small arms and light weapons - The New Field of Micro-Disarmament- published by the Bonn International Center for Conversion. She then took the position of senior researcher with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria, South Africa from 1996-99, earning a global reputation for field and policy research on armed violence in Africa. Her next post was with the NGO International Alert in London, where she focused on conflict prevention. She was also instrumental in the formation of the largest international NGO dealing with the global small arms and light weapons problem, the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). She returned to the ISS in Pretoria in 2002, where she was Head of Development upon her death.
In memoriam for Sarah Meek
Sarah was the model MIIS alumna. Having mastered a second language, policy knowledge and professional skills at MIIS, she deployed to where she could best use them, in the conflicted areas of Africa. She worked tirelessly to solve one of the world's most critical problems, reducing the negative effects of the excessive availability and misuse of small arms, including the tragic impact on children. She remained one of the most loyal supporters of MIIS. She sponsored four MIIS students as interns at ISS under the International Professional Service Semester. She continuously provided GSIPS faculty and staff with news of job openings and updates on new professional skill requirements. She became a close colleague of her mentor at MIIS, Professor Ed Laurance, and was one of many MIIS alumni in this field who formed a close-knit group that gave MIIS a well-deserved reputation.
(IPS 04)
The MIIS community shares with all who knew Sarah so well a deep sadness at learning of her death. In addition to her many accomplishments in her short life, Sarah was a superb human being. She was a gracious woman who mastered the turn the other cheek approach to life better than anyone. If she didn't have a kind word to say about someone, she didn't say it. And she still achieved at such a high level. Well done Sarah. Peace be with you and all of us.
Sarah’s mother and sister with Dean Laurance at the bench dedication in her honor.
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Remembrances: Munir Khalidy (IPS ‘71) a longtime Arabic studies teacher on the Monterey Peninsula and a vocal champion of the local Arab and Muslim communities, passed away in late 2007. Khalidy, who taught for years at both Monterey Peninsula College and the Army's Defense Language Institute, died Sunday after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 73. "He was one of a kind. I'm going to miss him very much," said Zed Alhadi, owner of a Monterey auto sales company, who met Khalidy in the early 1970s when Alhadi came here from Indonesia, and took classes with Khalidy.
"He would make the class interesting," Alhadi said. "At the same time you were learning Arabic, he would mix it with history and stuff like that." A native of Beirut, Lebanon, Khalidy came to the United States when he was 18 and received a business administration degree at Fresno State University. He moved here to study at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
After retiring from teaching, he worked as a consultant to companies seeking to do business in the Middle East. "He was an open-minded guy who was helpful to fellow Arabs," said Siham Munir, a DLI instructor who worked with Khalidy. "We lost a good member (of the community), and we are going to miss him." Ms. Takako “Koko” Matsunaga (IPS ‘02) passed away on October 24, 2006.
He taught at DLI from 1960 to 1976 and at MPC from 1974 to James Mied, (BA Chinese ‘73/ 1997. Besides Arabic, he MBA ‘89) passed away May 2007. taught classes in geopolitics and Middle Eastern economics.
Correction: In the Fall 2007 issue, Brano Gal’s wife’s name was misspelled. We apologize for the error. Her name is Ms. Ivka Kozuska (Galova). Congratulations again to the happy couple. How could we forget? In the last issue, we announced Ryan Binns’s (IEP ‘99) wedding but forgot to include a picture. While we don’t have one of the wedding party, Paul Chetirkin, (IEP ‘99), Matt Brookhart (IEP ‘99), Joey Brookhart (IEP ‘00), Elizabeth Giffen (IEP ‘99), Rosa Vasquez (IEP ‘00) and Melanie St. James (MPA ‘00) were all in attendance.