IVLP Alumni Spotlight: Understanding Political and Economic Systems in the U.S.

 IVLP Alumni Spotlight features U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumni as they reflect on the impact of the program and how it has affected their work and lives. Here we feature an alumnus who participated in a Multi-Regional Project that examined programs and strategies to encourage economic development, economic restructuring, and global commercial cooperation. The participants spent three weeks in the United States meeting with government officials, academic and think tank researchers, small business development centers and accelerators, global trade experts, and analysts focused on the impact of globalization and technological innovation on socio-economic systems. Continue  

“My First Day of YLAI” by YLAI Professional Fellow Ann-Sophie Ovile

Ann-Sophie Ovile is the Founder and CEO of Mennen’m La Tours in Haiti, and she is one of 248 fellows participating in the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Professional Fellows Program, which brings entrepreneurs and civil society leaders to the United States for a five-week program. This U.S. Department of State-sponsored program empowers these young entrepreneurs to strengthen their capacity to launch and advance their entrepreneurial ideas and to effectively contribute to social and economic development in their communities. The day that we all have been waiting for has finally arrived! 248 young and dynamic entrepreneurs from Latin America...

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Embracing Hope in a Turbulent World: Five Steps for Global Leaders

This article is reposted from the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs (September 6, 2016). Jo Ann Ross, based in Maryland, is a principal at the Center for Enlightened Organizations (C.E.O.) where she coaches global leaders in industry, government and nonprofits. Her other publications include “The Art of Self-Care and Dynamic Global Leadership” and, with Willa Zakin Hallowell, “Getting to the Heart of Global Leadership.” For the past 28 years at Meridian International Center, Jo Ann has provided executive coaching, leadership development, cross-cultural communications, global awareness, and multicultural team building to international visitors from around the world. She is also Senior Associate at Grovewell LLC, serving global leaders in Fortune 500 companies. Continue  

Student Exchange for Global Change

The U.S.-Pakistan Global Leadership and STEM Program brought ten innovative young women from across the globe to explore what is out there and waiting for them. By excelling in academia, the students from the Army Public Schools and Colleges of Pakistan had the opportunity not just to explore, but to question and to learn about culture, science, and methods around the world. I can’t believe it’s been one week since the end of the 2016 U.S.-Pakistan Global Leadership and STEM Program. This seventeen day program made me more conscious about the way I could have a career in the...

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On the value of networks

As a new intern and a young professional in the making, one is always made aware of the multiple networking opportunities that arise in any given environment. We are encouraged to network, to update our LinkedIn profiles, and make eye contact when firmly shaking people’s hands. Flash forward a month into my summer experience interning for Meridian’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative  (YLAI), I have learned the true value of creating a network. Needless to say, my networking awareness was not exclusively informed by my peers, colleagues, or from my fellow interns. Rather, it came from reading more than 300 applications out...

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