Sustainable Development

Agriculture

Aid Effectiveness

Climate Change

Gender Equality and Diversity

Evaluation & Program Effectiveness

Millennium Development Goals

Health in Relief & Development

Working Groups

Speaker Biographies

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Andrew Ryskamp, Executive Director, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
Andrew Ryskamp joined the Christian Reformed World Relief in 1974 as an agronomist in Bangladesh. Since that time he has served in the Philippines, Sierra Leone, and has headed up the domestic programs of CRWRC in the US, both for programming and fund-raising. His passion is to see community transformation principles implemented world wide- and to be so well understood that it would be a natural part of church ministry in North American communities.

Andrew has been the Executive Director of CRWRC since 1998. He has a Masters Degree in Development Administration from Western Michigan University. He and Kris, his wife, have two sons (22 and 18). Andrew and Kris are both active in urban justice ministry through their local church in Grand Rapids.

Angela McClain, Program Development Officer, Pact
Angela McClain joined Pact in 2001 and is currently Program Development Officer with its New Business Development Unit. She is also Gender Coordinator for Pact's Gender Task Force, where she manages a 31-member working group to implement Pact's Gender Action Plan. Prior to her work with Pact, she conducted a number of studies on gender and development focusing on issues such as domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, gender equality in the workplace and women's development. An experienced trainer and facilitator, she has worked with gender advocates and civil society activists in China, Kenya, Philippines, Russia and Zambia.

Ms. McClain holds a bachelor's degree in political science with a concentration in international relations from Johnson C. Smith University.

Arunabha Ghosh, Consultant, United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report
Arunabha Ghosh is a Consultant at the UNDP’s Human Development Report Office and co-author of HDR 2004: Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World. He worked on the rights of indigenous people, international migration, and the rise of culturally intolerant movements around the world. He recently delivered a lecture on the integration of immigrants at the Universal Forum of Cultures in Barcelona.

He is currently working on violent conflict and human development, having lately researched the shifting focus of international aid towards countries affected by violent conflict. Arunabha is also an Associate with the Global Economic Governance Programme at the University of Oxford. He was recently part of a project to assess policy options for developing countries facing financial crises.

Arunabha has previously researched on developing country negotiations in the World Trade Organisation, with special focus on the TRIPS Agreement. He has written in the Indian press about the digital divide and higher education funding policies. His research interests also include the Kashmir conflict and the ideological roots of Indian foreign policy.

Arunabha holds an M.Phil. in International Relations and a First Class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Balliol College, Oxford. At Oxford he was a Radhakrishnan Scholar and subsequently the Marvin Bower Scholar of International Relations. He graduated in Economics with top honours from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. He is fluent in English, Hindi and Bengali and is learning Spanish. View Arunabha Ghosh's Presentation on Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World

Barbara Marshall-Bailey, Director, NOAA Office of Diversity, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
Barbara Marshall-Bailey is originally from Lawrenceville, New Jersey and has been an employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since December of 1996 serving as NOAA Diversity Manager, and Director, NOAA Office of Diversity. Prior to her current position she worked for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as Chief, Office of Change Initiatives, Chief Office of Diversity, Chief, Affirmative Employment and Diversity Programs Section, and full-time EEO Investigator. While at the IRS she also acquired extensive experience in complaints processing, affirmative employment and management programs. Barbara has also worked in the private sector and for volunteer organizations such as Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).

Barbara received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Houston in political science and Afro American Studies, and has completed graduate studies at Howard University. She has also attended the IRS Graduate School of Management, National St. Louis University and the Federal Executive Institute. Barbara has received certification and/or qualification in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children (MMTIC), the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI), the Apter Motivational Style Profile (AMSP) and other understanding differences tools. Barbara has a certificate in Diversity from the National Training Laboratories (NTL) and is currently working toward the completion of her Organizational Development Certificate.

Barbara has led NOAA to be recognized as a leader in the field of diversity in the federal sector as evidenced by numerous recognitions: Winner of the Trainer’s Conference Distinguished Service Award for the design of the NOAA Diversity Change Agent Course; recognized by the National Partnership for Reinventing Government Task Force for diversity “promising practices” in 1998; Interviewed by Katherine Naff and J. Edward Kellough for the article “Managing Diversity in the Federal Sector – An Examination of Agency Programs” in which NOAA was ranked in the top ten (2001); featured in Diversity Inc. Newsletter – “Which Federal Agencies Value Diversity? An In Depth Study Rates them” by Linda Bean, March 2002; Interviewed and featured in Diversity Inc Magazine “Navigating the Storm, How One Federal Agency is Charting the Course to Diversity”, August 2003. Barbara has been the recipient of many awards and recognitions and holds membership in numerous professional and community organizations.

Chris Matias, Executive Director, Public Policy & International Affairs Fellowship Program
Chris Matias is currently the Executive Director of the Public Policy & International Affairs Fellowship Program, a national program dedicated to recruiting and training students from diverse backgrounds for professional service in government, nonprofits and international organizations. Chris has over a decade of experience in nonprofit management with an emphasis in organizational and program development. His career started in East Harlem, New York as the Associate Director for Harlem RBI, a youth leadership program combining athletics and educational programs which has since received national recognition. Chris went on to form a nonprofit organization in New York to work for the advancement of Hispanic communities and served the organization as President and Executive Director for five years. He moved on to complete a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Jack Downey, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Academy for Educational Development (AED)
Jack Downey is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Academy for Educational Development (AED). At AED since 1987, Mr. Downey is currently responsible for assuring smooth program operations and new business and strategy development for the organization. Previously, he served as head of AED’s development and planning office, tracking, monitoring, and coordinating responses to development opportunities; developing institutional relationships with multilateral donors; and for long-range institutional planning. Prior to joining AED, Mr. Downey's focused on community development and rural enterprise systems for USAID in east Africa; on renewable energy and rural enterprise systems at the Volunteers in Technical Assistance from 1979-1986; and on vocational education in the Peace Corps in Kenya from 1975 to 1978. Active in the Washington Chapter of the Society for International Development for the past decade, he currently serves as chair of the institutional members’ group, and is the immediate past Chapter President.

Janet Crenshaw Smith, Co-Founder and President, Ivy Planning Group
Janet Crenshaw Smith is co-founder and President of Ivy Planning Group (Ivy), a leading management consulting and training company that focuses on diversity, strategy and change management. Their clients include Viacom, Nike, MetLife, Lockheed Martin, and JP Morgan Chase. Ivy received the Working Woman magazine Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, was recognized as one of the Top 50 minority or women-owned companies by DiversityBusiness.com and was a Black Enterprise Magazine Emerging Company of the Year Finalist. Last year, Ms. Smith was named one of “Fifty Influential Minorities in Business” by Minority Business & Professionals Network. She is author of The Diversity Action Book: 143 Things To Go Do! which has sold more than 50,000 copies worldwide. Janet lives in Maryland with her husband and business partner, Gary A. Smith Sr., and their three teenage sons.

Jorge Zeballos, Consultant
Jorge Zeballos was born in Washington, DC but grew up in Lima, Peru. After graduating from high school, Mr. Zeballos emigrated to the United States where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Rutgers University.

An engaging diversity consultant with particular expertise on matters related to the Latino community, Mr. Zeballos has developed a unique workshop that explores the racial identity of Latinas and Latinos, which he has presented at various conferences nationwide, such as the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute and the White Privilege Conference. He has appeared on the award-winning show, Puerto Rican Panorama that airs on ABC’s Philadelphia affiliate, to discuss race and racism in the Latino community.

Mr. Zeballos’ expertise also includes facilitating community dialogues on race and race relations, and workshops on sexual orientation and other topics related to diversity. In addition, Mr. Zeballos serves on various boards and commissions including the Advisory Board of the Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development; the Minority Concerns Committee, Vicinage 13 of the Superior Court of New Jersey; and, the Center for the Study of White American Culture.

Mr. Zeballos currently resides in Flemington, New Jersey with his wife and two daughters.

Joseph Hobson, Facilitation and Training Associate, Institute of Cultural Affairs
Joseph Hobson directs the Culture of Participation team in Washington, DC for the Institute of Cultural Affairs in facilitation, training and consulting. He is a current member of International Association of Facilitators and has his masters in Urban Studies. Over the past 15 years, he has conducted leadership training both internationally and across the United States.  He has developed markets for and conducts 2-day trainer series in facilitation methods and strategic planning courses.  He brings over 20 years of experience in facilitating strategic planning for non-profit organization as well as in-house trainings for public schools, state agencies, community groups and youth organizations.  Joseph has served as an advocate for No Child Left Behind and Title 1 legislation for the New Jersey Statewide Parent Advocacy Network.  In this capacity, he directed activities of the North New Jersey Parental Information Resource Center, which conducted parental involvement and train the trainer leadership development seminars for public school administrators, parents and community leaders.  

Joy Shiferaw, Gender Equity and Diversity Manager, CARE
Joy Shiferaw is the Gender Equity and Diversity Manager based in Human Resources in CARE’s Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Joy has worked for CARE for five years and has played a central role in advancing gender and diversity issues within organizational systems, policies and practices. She currently reports to the Director for the Human Resource Management unit, and the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. She focuses on providing technical support to Atlanta divisions and works in partnership with Madhuri Narayanan, the Senior Advisor for Gender and Diversity in Country Offices, and Elisa Martinez, the Senior Program Advisor for Impact Evaluation and Gender Equity to ensure that GED is integrated into both organizational and programmatic work. She has also taken the lead in developing the organizational diversity gap analysis tool and in developing and implementing the diversity training curriculum which as been piloted both in Atlanta and in Country Offices.

Joy graduated from the Fletcher School, Tufts University with a Masters in International Law and Diplomacy, and a concentration on Gender and Diversity in Development. Joy is from Ethiopian/Filipino background and prior to CARE worked with Food for the Hungry International and USAID in Ethiopia.

Previous to joining AED, Ms. Nicholas worked in the professional staffing industry as a Senior Recruiter & Counselor and a Personnel Specialist. She also worked at George Washington University's Human Resources Benefits Department as a Senior Personnel Clerk.

Ms. Nicholas holds a Master of Arts degree in Human Resource Development from Bowie State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Personnel/Industrial Relations from Norfolk University.

Kenneth Jay Giunta, Vice President, American Council for Voluntary International Action (InterAction)
Kenneth Jay Giunta is the Director of Membershi[ and Standards for the American Council for Voluntary International Action (InterAction), the nation’s largest coalition of international development, disaster relief and refugee assistance agencies. He served as Interim-President and Chief Executive Officer for ten-months during a presidential search process that began four weeks after joining InterAction.

Prior to joining InterAction as Vice President of Operations in January 2000, Mr. Giunta was Senior Director for Corporate Resources and Marketing and Secretary to the Board of Directors at the Overseas Development Council (ODC). While at ODC, Mr. Giunta played a central role in managing ODC’s ongoing transition to an independent, international public policy research organization. In this capacity, he regularly met with U.S. and international foundations, governments, corporations, research institutions and individuals to raise financial resources for ODC and establish research, outreach and institutional partnerships. He also initiated and coordinated the first-ever meeting between a United Nations Secretary-General and private independent policy research organizations from around the world.

Mr. Giunta joined ODC having spent two years as an independent consultant with the international consulting firm of Vortex International, Inc., of which he is founder and President. Mr. Giunta provided his clients with a variety of services including in-depth international marketing and sales analysis, fundraising and management counsel, direct marketing and special events.

In 1989, Mr. Giunta served as the Chair of Mayor-Elect Sharon Pratt Kelly’s Transition Subcommittee on International Trade and was subsequently appointed Deputy Director and Acting Director of the District of Columbia’s Office of International Business (OIB). While at OIB, he developed and helped implement urban economic development policy and was directly responsible for developing and implementing an international trade strategy for the District of Columbia. He established and served on several public-private partnerships that fostered new and substantive dialogue among the municipal government, business, universities, foreign enterprise and non-governmental actors throughout the city and in Greater Washington.

Mr. Giunta has, for many years, served as an officer on several international and community boards, and remains President of the Board of the Spanish Education Development Center, a community-based organization in Washington, D.C. and a Trustee of the Washington Chapter of UNA-USA.

Mr. Giunta is a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Tufts University. He received his Masters Degree in International Affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy with a concentration in comparative politics, developmental economics and international business. He is married to Tara Kalagher and has three children.

Linda Compton, Personal Life Consultant
Linda Compton is a Personal Life Consultant, Coach, Teacher, Therapist, Diversity Trainer & Facilitator, Mediator, Retreat Facilitator and Planner. Creativity, Spirituality, Psychology and Travel are my primary interests and foundation of my life.

So what does all this mean?  It means I support and assist individuals to see clearly what they perceive as problems and/or issues. It means I support you to remember, acknowledge, recognize, transform, design, and recreate the parts of your life that you want to be different.  I support you to see the truth of your life as you have known it and to receive the gifts of the events that have helped to shape your life.

My private practice is individuals, couples and groups. The intention is to support people to become more aware of their thoughts, assumptions, habits, intentions choices and what is actually clear about their life. When individuals are clear, you have more mental, emotion space to use your natural abilities and powers to achieve clarity, balance and well-being.  Clarity will motivate you to make clearer decisions and conscious choices that will bring you closer to the life you desire. So, I dialogue, coach, teach, counsel and support through modalities that cause positive personal growth and change. 

I create workshops and teach classes for Women's groups and Foster Parent groups.  My classes have been Self Care for Women, On The Clock, (a class about time management), You Can Heal Your Life, Stress and Stress Management, Self Esteem and How to Raise A Child With Self Esteem.  Women On The Edge, In The Meantime, Roots of Weight and more; all classes and workshops for women.  More recently I do workshops in The Law of Attraction; learning to attract what you want instead of what you don't want. 

I create and facilitate The Endless Dreamer Spiritual Retreats for Women in Mexico, Costa Rica and in June of 2005, St. Martin/Sint Maarten/St. Kitts and Nevis.  We give ourselves time to work on ourselves in beautiful islands where we see ourselves in nature and other women.

As a Diversity Trainer and Facilitator, I have worked with Lee Mun Wah since 1994 and am the lead facilitator in his new film, Last Chance for Eden.  I also facilitate The Color of Fear.  Diversity Trainings have taken me to most of the United States, Bermuda, and Canada.  I have worked with numerous Universities and Colleges, Government Agencies, Hospitals, Schools, Corporations, Nonprofit Agencies and other organizations.  The question I ask is: "What is hurting you so bad that you feel you have to hurt me to heal it?"

I have a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Mills College in Oakland. Ca. I received a Masters Degree in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, Ca. Education motivates me to move beyond what I see and hear.  It helps me to accept my being, question my beliefs and remain open to new ideas and knowledge.  It pushes me towards the unknown where my healing and gifts are. 

I am open to create classes for your group and to see you in individual sessions.

Luke Visconti, Partner and Co-founder, DiversityInc
Luke Visconti is a partner and co-founder of DiversityInc, the magazine and DiversityInc.com. He is responsible for setting the editorial agenda and direction of DiversityInc and DiversityInc.com.

He also oversees marketing and circulation and has guided the company through the creation of DiversityInc.com, transition to paid circulation, launch of the print magazine, creation and implementation of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, launch of the career center and creation of the benchmarking practice.

He is a recognized leader in this field, having appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor," "Hannity & Colmes," CNNfn's "Money Morning," Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg Television, WABC-TV and "The Fortune Business Report" on NY1 Cable News. Mr. Visconti has also been quoted on diversity issues in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, BusinessWeek, Fortune and The Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Visconti is a frequent lecturer on the business benefits of diversity to corporations, business groups and non-profit organizations, most recently including: Pfizer, ESPN, United States Navy, National Association of Minorities in Cable (NAMIC), Public Relations Society of America, Association of National Advertisers, Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Project, Bennett College and the American Bar Association. Mr. Visconti has been appointed to the United States Navy’s Diversity Senior Advisory Group (DSAG), is a member of PRIMER (Puerto Ricans in Management and Executive Roles) and has been appointed to the Bennett College for Women’s Board of Trustees.

Mr. Visconti and his business partner, Foulis Peacock, founded DiversityInc in 1998. Their company has no outside investors.

Marco V. Aguilar, Executive Director, Hispanic Council on International Relations
Marco V. Aguilar is the Executive Director of the Hispanic Council on International Relations (HCIR), where he is responsible for the development, external relations and daily operations of the organization.

Prior to HCIR, Mr. Aguilar worked with the United Negro College Fund’s Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP). While with the IIPP program he managed the core academic institutes of the educational project that provides students who are traditionally underrepresented in the field of international affairs with the education and training needed to pilot them towards promising careers in the international arena. He also coordinated partnerships for special programs such as Cross Hemispheric Centers of Excellence Teacher Training with the Hispanic Scholar Ship Fund Institute; a Distributed Learning Program on Chinese language with the University of Hawaii; and a U.S.-Africa School HIV/AIDS Initiative aimed at secondary students in Africa as well as underdeveloped communities in the U.S. with the World Bank.

Mr. Aguilar has also worked with the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala in a USAID funded legislative modernization program. There he led two comparative legislative studies. One on the Central American region and HIV/AIDS and the second was a comparative legislative study on Ethics and Propriety in Latin America. He also participated in the planning and opening of congressional offices in the interior of the country. He has lived in Asia and in other parts of Latin America teaching English.

Mr. Aguilar holds a Masters degree in International Studies from Durham University in the United Kingdom and an undergraduate degree in American Studies from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Mark P. Ketcham, Vice President and Director, Center for International Training, Academy for Educational Development
Mark P. Ketcham serves as AED's Vice President and Director for the AED's Center for International Training which is comprised of 30 staff in Washington and 125 staff overseas who implement activities in 31 countries supported by field offices in 13. The Center develops training strategies and arranges and manages training programs in-country, in third countries and in the US to address human resource constraints to development. Activities have included some of USAID's largest training initiatives. Mr. Ketcham has served with AED for nearly 20 years and has been involved with the organization's diversity efforts during that time on a variety of levels. Most recently he served on a senior-level task force to develop the organization's diversity mission and plan. Currently he serves as co-chair of the AED's Diversity Council. Mr. Ketcham holds a BA in socio-cultural anthropology from Catholic University. He has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco.

Mark Chichester, Director, Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP)
Mark Chichester is the Director of the Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) at the UNCF Special Programs Corporation. Through fellowships, institutional capacity-building and research, the Institute seeks to enhance U.S. national security and competitiveness by promoting excellence, international service, and global awareness among a broader, more diverse cross-section of the American citizenry. Mr. Chichester has lead development efforts that have to date resulted in millions of dollars in federal and private sector funding and contributions for the Institute, and he frequently is called upon to address international workforce development and foreign policy issues in a wide variety of forums—both foreign and domestic. Most recently, Mr. Chichester organized a conference co-sponsored with the Army’s Eisenhower National Security Series on cultural competence and diversity as national security imperatives, which led to a meeting at The Aspen Institute this fall to chart a course for engaging leading international affairs institutions on the subject.

Mr. Chichester has served as a strategic advisor to international media clients and he co-founded and was chairman of Horizon Interactive, an interactive multimedia startup. He was nominated by two District of Columbia mayors and confirmed by the City Council to consecutive terms on the District of Columbia Human Rights Commission. Mr. Chichester is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations; he serves on the U.S. Army’s Eisenhower National Security Series Working Group; he serves on the board of The Ogenis Group; and he chairs the board of the Woodridge Youth Organization in northeast Washington, DC.

Mr. Chichester holds degrees in business and law from The George Washington University. He participated in the Managing Global Business executive education program at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and in the University of Denver’s International Career Advancement Program (ICAP) at the Aspen Institute. Mr. Chichester is a native of Washington, D.C., where he attended The Sidwell Friends School.

Mary E. Casey, Consultant
Mary E. Casey has been in the field of training and organization development for twenty years. Mary’s background includes working with Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States and Europe. As a trainer and consultant, Mary brings a wealth of experience having developed and implemented leadership development programs in such organizations as American Express, Land O’ Lakes, 3M, General Mills, Dupont Europe, The Welsh Government Office, and many more. As a resident of the United Kingdom for six years, Mary has also experienced first hand the issues of diversity and culture and has provided global and transnational team training for organizations such as GlaxoSmithKline, Deloitte and Touche, Satellite Industries, Land O Lakes, and others.

Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee Mary Ellen McNish has served as the general secretary of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) since July 2000.  She is the chief executive officer of the oldest Quaker service organization in the United States.  Organized in 1917 to provide an alternative to military service for young members of the Religious Society of Friends (known as Quakers), AFSC works for peace, justice and human dignity in more than 40 locations in the U.S. and in 22 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East-Europe.  It has a staff of more than 400 people.

Because AFSC and its sister service organization, British Friends Counsel, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 on behalf of the work of Friends following both World Wars, Mary Ellen is often called on as a Nobel Laureate to speak out on behalf of those working for peace in the world.  In 2001, she represented Quakers in Oslo, Norway at a celebration on the occasion of the 100 th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize.

On many travels and events, she represents AFSC’s work on the root causes of violence, including poverty, oppression and marginalization.  As AFSC general secretary, Mary Ellen was invited in 2001 to participate in a delegation of leaders of large, faith-based organizations on a fact-finding visit to the Middle East, where they met with Israelis, Palestinians and religious leaders in the region.  She also participated in the preparatory meeting in Geneva, Switzerland for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in 2001 in South Africa. 

Among her travels overseas to become more familiar with the nature and scope of some of AFSC’s most challenging work, Mary Ellen led a delegation to North Korea in 2001.  She met with political and cultural leaders and reviewed AFSC agricultural projects there organized to assist in food production.

Because her life is directed by a strong belief in Quaker principles, Mary Ellen’s practice of faith-based service includes a fifteen-year association with Friends General Conference (FGC).  FGC is a Quaker organization that serves affiliated yearly and monthly meetings, hosts a large annual gathering, and offers programs and services to help meetings nurture their spiritual leadings and Quaker values. 

Before assuming her position with AFSC, Mary Ellen was executive director of development at Weil Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital and the assistant vice president for development at Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University in Philadelphia.

Mary Ellen has over twenty years of progressive responsibility in non-profit management, including positions with the Young Women’s Christian Association of Camden County, New Jersey, the Burlington County (NJ) Community Action Agency, and Planned Parenthood of Maryland.

Mary Ellen was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania where she spent her formative years.  She holds a B.S. degree in education from East Stroudsburg University and a M.S. degree in business from Johns Hopkins University.

Mary Ellen lives in Philadelphia with her husband.

Prior to her position with DBP, Ms. Hawkins had an extensive corporate career with Verizon (Bell Atlantic), where she was Director of Marketing Communications the Large Business Data Solutions Line of Business. Ms. Hawkins was also Director of Strategic Alliances, where she managed strategic relationships with organizations across multiple market segments – African American, Hispanic, Asian American, General Consumer, Seniors, Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender and Native Americans. Some 30 percent of the markets Verizon serves are multicultural, and two-thirds of the Hispanic population in the United States is concentrated in four of our largest markets - New York, Florida, Texas and California. That diversity is reflected in all marketing and business initiatives. Her work focused on a core business objective; to make current and potential customers in various ethnic and minority communities feel good about the Verizon brand resulting in attracting and retaining loyal Verizon customers and increasing their monthly spend year-over-year. Working with groups like, AARP, National Urban League, National Consumer’s League, Securities Industry Association, and AAPD Ms. Hawkins worked proactively by market segment with lines of business leaders, the corporate foundation, marketing divisions and the office of public policy to craft affinity programs and offerings to drive measurable business results in the general consumer group as well as small and large business. Her work was often tied to the Office of Diversity and Corporate Compliance to insure an integrated approach to maximize the overall corporate effort towards Diversity & Inclusion.

Ms. Hawkins had an extensive broadcast career during which she produced international broadcasts and events for CBS, NBC, ABC, Turner Broadcasting, ESPN and the U.S. Information Agency’s WORLDNET - a global satellite network, which linked all of the American Embassies. The culminating event of her tenure was the Presidential election and first U.S. State visit of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.

She is a frequent speaker at industry conferences including, National Restaurant Association, GMAC, Bennett College CDO Forum. And she represents the firms work with organizations like The Executive Leadership Council, HACR, and eWomen Networks.

Ms. Hawkins lives with her husband in the suburbs of Washington D.C. They are very active in their church where together they teach a course on “My Image in the Mirror” and they lead the Boy Scout & Cub Scout Program. Monica also directs a 100+ member Dance Ministry for girls and women ages 3 – 65.

Pamela Paul, Vice President and Director of Professional Development and Diversity, Academy for Educational Development (AED)
Pamela Paul is the Vice President and Director of Professional Development and Diversity at the Academy for Educational Development (AED). She is responsible for leading AED’s initiatives to incorporate diversity into all aspects of the organization and to provide professional development that meets the individual needs of AED staff globally, and strengthens the capacity of the organization.

Prior to joining AED, Dr. Paul led diversity initiatives for over fifteen years in the public and private higher education arena where her work focused on institutional change, curriculum transformation and faculty recruitment and retention. She has also provided consulting and training services to government, public and corporate sectors over a period of twenty years. Dr. Paul holds a bachelor’s degree from Douglass College, masters degree from Rutgers University and Ph.D. from The University of Maryland, College Park.

Phillip Hesser, Senior Program Officer, Center for Leadership Development, Academy for Educational Development (AED)
Phillip Hesser is a Senior Program Officer with the Center for Leadership Development at the Academy for Educational Development (AED). His activities in support of economic and social empowerment engage him on both sides of the Atlantic. He is Program Director of Leadership Initiatives for Southern Africa, bringing together educational and leadership programs and awards to support a new generation of visionaries drawn from rural communities and historically disadvantaged groups. He is the editor of the forthcoming Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Public Service – Where Do We Go from Here?, the proceedings of the 2003 Center for Leadership Development Symposium on “Creating the Environment for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Public Sector Workplace,” which he helped to coordinate.

Formerly Administrator of the Ford Foundation-supported Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship Program, Dr. Hesser has served as lecturer at four US and African universities, Protection Officer for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, editor of several publications/periodicals, and human rights commissioner and mediator for the City of Rockville (Maryland). He holds bachelor’s degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and master’s and doctoral degrees from Binghamton University (New York).

Ricardo Villeta, Chief Management Officer and Senior Vice President, Academy for Educational Development
As Chief Management Officer and Senior Vice President for the Academy for Educational Development (AED), Ricardo Villeta, supervises the corporate and administrative daily functions of AED's Human Resources Department, the Corporate Benefits Department, the Contracts Management and Grants Department, the Facilities Department, and the Information Technology Department. Serves as AED's Affirmative Action Officer and is responsible for monitoring compliance with EEO guidelines and other government regulations, as well as do internal investigations of any reported incidents.

Ricardo received a MBA from George Washington University and a B.S. from Georgetown University

Ricardo has spent a considerable amount of time overseas working in Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Swaziland.

Sarah Romano, Program Associate/Community Youth Development, Institute of Cultural Affairs
Sarah Romano graduated in 2003 from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, with a degree in Spanish and International Affairs. For the past year, Sarah has worked as a trainer and facilitator on the Community Youth Development (CYD) Initiative at ICA. She recently developed and piloted the new CYD Assessment Workshop which seeks to strengthen youth organizations’ capacity for youth-adult partnering in organizational decision-making, and has presented at several conferences, including the Center for Youth as Resources Annual Summit in D.C. and the Partnership for After School Education’s Annual Conference in New York. She served as the Global Coordinator for CYD thread of the ICA International’s August conference in Antigua, Guatemala. Previously, Sarah worked at the Center for International Policy on the Cuba Project, focusing on education and advocacy related to U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba.

She received her BA in International Studies and Latin American Studies from American University and a Master’s in International Affairs with a focus on economic and political development from Columbia University.

Dr. Suzanne Kindervatter, Director, Gender and Diversity, InterAction
Dr. Suzanne Kindervatter is Director of Gender and Diversity at InterAction, the coalition of 160 US NGOs working in international development, relief, refugee assistance and advocacy.

Under Dr. Kindervatter’s leadership, InterAction promotes gender equity in the policies, programs, and organizational practices of InterAction members as well as national and multilateral development and humanitarian assistance organizations. In 2003, InterAction has launched a broader “Diversity Initiative,” building on its successful gender equality efforts.

Prior to joining InterAction, Dr. Kindervatter served as Director of the Better Life Options for Girls and Young Women Program at the Centre for Development and Population Activities and as Technical Services Director at OEF International. Since 1971, she has worked in 20 countries, where she learned about discrimination as well as empowerment from women and girls at all levels of society. Her areas of specialization include: education; gender and development; evaluation; participatory training; and organizational capacity building.

Dr. Kindervatter played a leading role in organizing NGO participation in and follow-up to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women and the NGO Forum ‘95 and promoting implementation of the Platform for Action by national governments. She is a founder of the national network, US Women Connect.

She holds a Master’s degree in Asian Studies from the East West Center, University of Hawaii, and an Ed.D. in International Education from the University of Massachusetts.

Tina L. Singleton, Consultant, Mobility International
Tina L. Singleton is an International Consultant specializing in development and disability. Her 12 years of international work has focused on capacity building and leadership training of Disabled People’s Organizations and collaborating with international development agencies on inclusion of people with disabilities in development policy and programs. Ms. Singleton guest lectures at the university level, has facilitated workshops at national and international conferences, and has published articles about the inclusion of people with disabilities in foreign assistance programs. She was a disability caucus member at the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.

Ms. Singleton has researched disability and poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the World Bank, conducted a country study of people with disabilities in Benin, West Africa and while working as the International Development & Disability Program Manager at Mobility International, coordinated the 2001 research project Gender and Disability, that documented the extent to which InterAction member agencies include women and men with disabilities in development and organization policy and programs. She also worked closely with InterAction’s PVO Standards Committee to write and adopt InterAction’s PVO Standards on Disability. An experienced trainer, Ms. Singleton recently worked as a Technical Trainer for Peace Corps Bangladesh and provided program and training recommendations on including people with disabilities in Volunteer trainings and community-based programs. Ms. Singleton is currently a member of the National Council on Disability's International Watch Working Group, which advises NCD on the development of policy proposals that will advocate for a foreign policy that is consistent with the values and goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A former Peace Corps Volunteer, Ms. Singleton was a 2001 recipient of the Franklin H. Williams Award for Public Service, which recognizes outstanding community service by people of color who have served as Peace Corps volunteers.

Ms. Singleton holds a M.S. in Community Disability Studies for Developing Countries from the Centre for International Child Health, University College London and a B.S. in Clothing and Textiles from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

Ms. Pobanz spent eighteen months living in Karamursel and Yalova, Turkey. During this time, she traveled throughout Turkey, Greece and England. She attended Villa Maria College in Buffalo, New York and the University of Maryland, College Park. She holds a certificate in Human Resources Management from American University, as well as the Professional in Human Resources Certification from the Certification Institute of the Society for Human Resources Management.

Mr. Sauri also works in the development of training materials and training programs for Peace Corps recruitment staff on recruiting for diversity. In 2001, the Office of Diversity Recruitment developed a Diversity Recruitment Manual for the agencies recruiting staff. The purpose of the manual is to increase the level of awareness and knowledge about the various diverse groups in the United States, be they diverse due to their ethnicity, racially or gender. The development of the toolkit was followed by a series of diversity recruitment training sessions to outline best practices in diversity recruitment for the Peace Corps regional recruitment staff.

Mr. Sauri also served as the acting regional manager in the Los Angeles region during parts of 2001 and 2002. During this time he was responsible for developing and preparing operational plans, recruitment campaign plans, recruiting and selecting office staff, monitoring the regional office's operating budget, and developing a public relations campaign to increase awareness of the Peace Corps in Southern California.

In addition to his principal duties, Mr. Sauri has worked on the development of a national demographic research unit that will help Peace Corps to strategically target national and regional recruitment efforts. He has also led an interdivisional team that is working to evaluate, redesign and enhance the Peace Corps Online Application process.

Mr. Sauri has over 20 years of experience in field data collection, program management, strategic planning and recruitment with the U. S. Census Bureau as a Survey Statistician, Program Coordinator, Assistant Regional Census Manager and Assistant Regional Director at the Philadelphia and New York Regional Offices and as a Program Liaison and Branch Chief at Census headquarters in Suitland, MD.

Mr. Sauri holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.