InterAction Forum 2011 Awards
Each year InterAction acknowledges the contribution of individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the world's poor and most vulnerable people at our annual Forum. Awards to be presented are as follows:
Effective Assistance Photography Award
Each year, InterAction’s photography contest honors a photographer whose provocative photos focus on the incredible humanitarian and development work done in the field and illustrate innovative, effective and inspiring efforts in international relief and development.
The award will be presented on Thursday, August 11 during the 8:00 a.m. breakfast plenary.
Jenn Warren is a professional photographer based in Juba, South Sudan, specializing in humanitarian and development projects. Her work has been published in the Sunday Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, TIME, BBC News Online and AlJazeera. Clients include Save the Children, Medecins sans Frontierés, UNHCR, UNICEF, PSI, International Committee for the Red Cross, USAID, DFID, UNESCO, CARE International, Amnesty International, the National Democratic Institute and SafePoint Trust. Jenn teaches photography, and is proficient in Arabic and American Sign Language. Her photography is exhibited and collected internationally.
Award for Excellence in International Reporting
InterAction’s annual Award for Excellence in International Reporting recognizes exemplary reporting by a U.S.-based journalist who has informed and educated American audiences about international development and/or humanitarian affairs.
The award will be presented on Thursday, August 11 during the 12:00 p.m. luncheon plenary.
Josh Rogin has served as Staff Writer with Foreign Policy magazine since September 2009, where he writes the daily column The Cable, a look inside the making of foreign policy in Washington, DC. He covers the State Department, the Defense Department, the National Security Council, Congress, and the diplomatic and think tank communities, writing breaking news, enterprise, and long-form articles on a wide range of national security and foreign affairs issues. From 2007 to 2009, Josh was Staff Writer for defense and foreign policy at Congressional Quarterly, covering the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Appropriations, Intelligence, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs committees. He wrote extensively on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, U.S.-Asia policy, military contracting, defense lobbying, defense acquisitions, and veterans’ issues. Josh is a 2008-2009 recipient of the National Press Foundation’s Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship and a 2009 recipient of the military reporting fellowship from the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism.
Security Advisory Group’s Distinguished Achievement Award
The InterAction Security Advisory Group Distinguished Service Award is a vehicle for NGO Security Professionals to recognize exceptional performance by Non- Governmental Security Professionals – but particularly those who make a significant contribution to enhancing the ability of the NGO’s to better protect their personnel, assets, information, or operations overseas.
The award will be presented on Thursday, August 11 during the gala dinner and awards banquet.
Fabian Chimakati Shivachi currently works as a Regional Safety and Security Manager for three AED (now FHI 360) Projects in South Sudan. He joined AED in August 2009 after moving from the Northern Sudan where he worked for the International Rescue Commission (IRC) as a Security Coordinator based in Darfur supporting five different field locations. He was with IRC during the expulsion of Aid organizations from the North after the ICC indictment of the Sudanese President; IRC was adversely affected and had to shut down its operations in the North. His first international posting was with RedR UK as a Training Team Leader in July 2007. In that capacity, he trained hundreds of humanitarian staff working in Darfur and Khartoum on various Safety and Security related courses; the courses varied from training agency guards, training in personal safety and security for field staff, trainings for senior managers who have a role in managing security for their organizations and security managers, crisis management training, environmental health and safety as well as First Aid. He has also worked at the Kenya Somali border assigned to the Dadaab Refugee camp as a Security Contract Manager overseeing all the guard force operations.
Mildred Robbins Leet Award for the Advancement of Women
The Mildred Robbins Leet Award for the Advancement of Women recognizes individuals who embody the characteristics of leadership and creativity that places gender equality at the center of international development and humanitarian assistance. These individuals recognize that efforts to achieve gender equality require new and innovative solutions to address unequal power relations and continuing gender inequalities.
The award will be presented on Thursday, August 11 during the gala dinner and awards banquet.
Melanne Verveer is Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. As director of the Department of State’s new office on Global Women’s Issues, Ambassador Verveer coordinates foreign policy issues and activities relating to the political, economic and social advancement of women around the world. She mobilizes concrete support for women’s rights and political and economic empowerment through initiatives and programs designed to increase women’s and girls’ access to education and health care, to combat violence against women and girls in all its forms, and to ensure that women's rights are fully integrated with human rights in the development of U.S. foreign policy. Ambassador Verveer most recently served as Chair and Co-CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international nonprofit she co-founded. Prior to her work with Vital Voices, Ambassador Verveer served as Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady in the Clinton Administration and was chief assistant to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton in all her wide-ranging international activities to advance women’s rights and further social development, democracy and peace-building initiatives. She also led the effort to establish the President’s Interagency Council on Women. Prior to her time in the White House, Ambassador Verveer served in a number of leadership roles in public policy organizations and as legislative staff. Ambassador Verveer has a B.A. and M.A. from Georgetown University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Women’s Foreign Policy Group, and numerous other organizations.
Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg previously served as Deputy President for Policy at the International Crisis Group (lCG). During three decades with the US diplomatic service, he served as Ambassador to Angola, Director of the State Department's Joint Policy Council, Special Representative of the President for Humanitarian Demining, Special Haiti Coordinator, Deputy White House Press Secretary and NSC Senior Director for Africa. Other diplomatic postings include South Africa, Mauritius, Malaysia, Brazil and Central African Republic. His awards include the Presidential Meritorious Honor Award and the Frasure Award for International Peace. He holds master's degrees in journalism from Columbia University and political economy from University of Toronto, and a bachelor's degree from Reed College.
Disability Inclusion Award
The Disability Inclusion Award recognizes member agencies that have worked towards greater disability inclusion in programs and management and expanding leadership opportunities for people with disabilities. The award recognizes our own community’s innovative efforts to promote disability inclusion as a human rights issue.
The award will be presented on Wednesday, August 10 during the 10:00 a.m. plenary.
International Foundation for Electoral Systems(IFES) has been selected to receive the 2011 Disability Inclusion Award for their work promoting the electoral and political rights of people with disabilities. Through their efforts, they have increased voter participation, mobilized voters and increased the capacity of disabled people’s organizations to promote the rights of people with disabilities. Replicating their success, IFES has now implemented disability inclusive programming in more than 30 countries around the world. IFES strives to include a disability perspective in the design and implementation of all international programs and DC-based organizational practices. They implement inclusive polices and take a proactive approach to hiring people with disabilities. IFES has demonstrated a long-term commitment to disability inclusion as a cross cutting issue and actively involved people with disabilities and disabled people’s organizations throughout the process.
International Rescue Committee(IRC), on behalf of its work conducted by the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), has been selected to receive the 2011 Disability Inclusion Award. WRC has been at the forefront of putting disability issues on the humanitarian agenda. The vision that guides their work is a world in which people with disabilities participate fully in community decision making, have safe and equal access to humanitarian assistance, and are included in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian programs. After conducting research, WRC released a free report and resource kit, Disabilities Among Refugees and Conflict-affected Populations. It was the first comprehensive report to document the isolation and neglect of the majority of persons with disabilities in humanitarian settings. In addition, after the earthquake in Haiti, WRC sent a team to conduct disability inclusive trainings for more than 100 service providers. WRC is now examining their entire program portfolio and working with IRC to develop an action plan for strengthening disability inclusion in their programs.
Humanitarian Award
Each year InterAction recognizes an individual or individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in support of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the people they serve in the developing world. As our community’s national staff and national counterparts often must surmount significant obstacles in order to carry out their work effectively in their own home countries or regions, InterAction seeks to honor these individuals and their bravery and commitment to the most vulnerable populations in their own communities.
The award is meant to recognize individuals whose work reflects important leadership qualities such as courage, initiative, creativity, grace under pressure, personal integrity, personal sacrifice, and who have made significant contributions in the developing world in any of the following areas: disaster relief, human development, refugee assistance, civil society, equitable economic development, health, environment, education, population, or public policy.
This award will be presented on Thursday, August 11 during the gala dinner and awards banquet.
Dr. Thangamuthu Sathiyamoorthyis a medical professional and administrator that has gone above and beyond in his service to the internally displaced and war-affected people of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka during times of war and great distress. He has served in various official capacities under the Ministry of Health, including Medical Officer at Akkarayankulam Hospital (2000-2002), Regional Director of Health Services—Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu Districts (2003-2009), Medical Superintendent for Kilinochchi Hospital (2007-2009), Provincial Director of Northern Province (October 2009-June 2010), Chairman of the Dengue Task Force in Vavuniya District (December 2009-March 2010), Director for IDP Healthcare at Manic Farm, Cheddikulam (January 2010-July 2010), and now Medical Superintendant for Vavuniya Hospital (July 2010-present). In all the areas where he has served, he has been directly engaged with high numbers of impoverished and war-affected refugees and resettled persons. Dr.Sathiyamoorthy, a married father of three, has consistently acted with incredible courage and assumed great personal risk to his life and career.
Julia Vadala Taft Outstanding Leadership Award
The Julia Vadala Taft Outstanding Leadership Award honors outstanding and distinguished leaders in the community of U.S.-based international non-governmental organizations. The award celebrates the leadership of an individual within the U.S. international non-profit community whose career and vision has transcended their own organization, by raising the influence and profile of the U.S. NGO sector as a whole.
The Julia Vadala Taft award is named for a distinguished American humanitarian who served in a series of senior positions, including twice as President of InterAction, and celebrates the very best of who we are as a sector. Her leadership has and will continue to inspire many in the NGO community as she mobilized its members to curb poverty and relieve human suffering abroad.
This award will be presented on Thursday, August 11 during the gala dinner and awards banquet.
Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta is recently appointed Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Prior to this appointment Dr. Rao Gupta served as a senior fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, advising the president and leadership of the Global Development Program on strategy and offering insight on achieving the greatest impact. Prior to joining the foundation, Dr. Rao Gupta was president of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), a position she assumed in 1997 after serving in a variety of roles including consultant, researcher and officer. As president of ICRW, Dr. Rao Gupta was internationally recognized for her expertise on gender and development issues, including women’s health, economic empowerment, poverty alleviation, and gender equality. Dr. Rao Gupta also serves on the Steering Committee of aids2031, an international initiative commissioned by UNAIDS, USAID’s Advisory Committee for Voluntary Foreign Aid, and the boards of the Moriah Fund, the Nike Foundation, the MAC AIDS Fund and Landesa. Dr. Rao Gupta has her bachelor’s, master’s, and master of philosophy degrees in psychology from the University of Delhi, and a doctorate in philosophy from Bangalore University in India.
2010 Award Winners
