SID-Washington 2010 Truman Award
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the Truman Award for Leadership and Innovation by Young Professionals in International Development (Truman Award) is to recognize the achievements of a young professional working in the field of International Development. The award is designed to honor leadership, creativity, and dedication in the field of international development. The recipient of this award will embrace those characteristics, as well as demonstrate great promise for advancement as an international development professional. The selected winner will also recognize the importance of international development as a means of service to those who are most in need, and will work towards sustainable, people-centered development initiatives.
AWARD:
The Truman Award will be presented at the Society for International Development – Washington, D.C. Chapter’s 2010 Annual Conference, to be held on April 29, 2010. While there will be only one winner, other notable candidates will be mentioned at the award presentation ceremony during the conference. The award is a plaque and check in the amount of $500. The award money may be used as the recipient wishes, but is intended to provide recognition from the international development community, and give positive motivation and inspiration to other young professionals.
ELIGIBILITY:
- Age from 18 to 30 years old.
- Availability to accept the Truman Award in person at SID-Washington’s 2010 Annual Conference on April 29, 2010 in Washington, D.C.
- At least one year as a voluntary or paid young professional in international development.
CRITERIA:
- Demonstrated leadership skills through the management (or co-management) of a specific project, event, policy, or research initiative.
- Demonstrated commitment to the profession of international development (e.g. through participation in relevant professional organizations.)
- Demonstrated commitment to serving others and upholding the ideals of sustainable, just, and participatory development.
- Considered to have high potential in the field of international development.
Candidates for the award must complete the application form and submit two letters of recommendation/support describing:
- Association with the candidate and the length of time associated with the candidate;
- Those qualities and experiences that make the candidate distinct in the criteria areas;
- Why the person recommending/supporting his/her nomination believes the candidate should be selected for the Truman Award.
SELECTION PROCESS:
The Society for International Development-Washington D.C. Chapter (SIDW) will be accepting applications until close of business, March 31, 2010, after which the selection committee will begin their review. The selection committee is comprised of both senior and young professionals of international development.
Application forms can be found here. Completed forms can be submitted either by e-mail to annualconference@sidw.org, faxed to 202-884-8499 or mailed to:
Society for International Development—Washington, D.C. Chapter
Attn: Truman Award
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 720
Washington, DC 20009
We encourage applications and thank you for your interest.
Past Honorees:
2002: Phoebe K. Farag
Phoebe received a B.A in English from Columbia University, before enrolling at George Washington University to pursue a Masters degree in International Education Development. Beyond her studies, Phoebe worked for two years in the International Program Manager for Girls’ Education with Coptic Orphan, where she proposed, developed, and implemented the Valuable Girl Project in Egypt. Always eager to find ways to touch the lives of more people, she has also researched funding opportunities to further expand the program’s capacity. Phoebe has participated in educational research projects with IRI International and AIR, acted as a hotline counselor and hospital activist with the DC Rape Crisis Center, and taught high school English.
2003: Gifti Nadi
Gifti Nadi holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology, from the University of Maryland, and has more than five years of professional experience in international development. In 1999, Ms. Nadi began working at the African Women’s Media Center based in Dakar, Senegal. The African Women’s Media Center (AWMC), a project of the International Women’s Media Foundation based in Washington, DC. is the sole organization that provides training opportunities and resources to female journalists throughout Africa.
At the AWMC, Ms. Nadi’s major accomplishments include implementing the annual Carole Simpson leadership Institute in Kenya, Namibia, Senegal and innovative cyber-training programs on Reporting on Women and HIV/AIDS in English and French for close to 300 women and men journalists in Africa. Most recently, Ms. Nadi implemented a series of face-to-face programs on HIV/AIDS reporting for African women broadcasters in Nigeria and South Africa. Ms. Nadi has produced a total of four publications on media resources in Africa and HIV/AIDS, as well as a CD of radio dramas entitled “Positive and Proud”.
2004: Luke Dunnington
Luke Dunnington developed a passion for development in the area of coffee production and marketing during his experience in the Peace Corps, which he spent with coffee-growing communities in Honduras. Mr. Dunnington then continued to follow his passion for agricultural development and coffee farming in Haiti. He became an important member of a support team for the Haiti Hillside Agriculture Project with Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) where he assisted coffee communities as well as other Haitian farmers.
In addition to working with DAI, Luke has co-founded a non-profit organization, The Moroceli Foundation, to promote economic development in coffee communities. The organization successfully raised $20,000, which it invested to advance organic coffee cooperatives in Honduras.
2005: Maria Nadia Carvelho
Nadia Carvalho’s career in international development was shaped by 17 years spent growing up in the West African countries of Ghana, Cameroon, and Guinea, where she became exposed to the many challenges facing developing countries. Ms. Carvalho began her career as an intern with John Snow, Inc (JSI), examining two strategies for recovering the cost of pediatric cotrimoxazole in Makwanpur and Siraha districts of Nepal. She then joined USAID/Nepal as a Public Health Specialist for HIV/AIDS and Infectious Diseases, providing technical, programmatic, and administrative oversight to key components of the HIV and infectious disease portfolio. The highlights of her time include serving as the Cognizant Technical Officer for a $200,000 project implemented by Save the Children US to support AIDS orphans, being a member of the USAID-Japan Government Joint Program Formulation Mission in Nepal.
Ms. Carvalho is the Regional Manager for Asia East at the Futures Group, where she manages the Mekong regional program funded out of USAID’s Regional Development Mission in Thailand. She routinely travels to the Mekong Region where she provides technical and management oversight to the implementation of the program in China, Vietnam, and the region.
2006: John Fay
In 2004, while completing a Cornell Johnson School Fellowship at the Center of Resources for the Emergence of Social Participation (CRESP), Mr. Fay founded as a pilot project what would become the Senegal Ecovillage Microfinance (SEM) Fund. Initially called the Louly Microfinance Project, it provided fifteen families in the village of Louly Ngogam, Senegal, with a loan of thirty dollars to purchase peanut seeds. Since then, the families have repaid the loans, with interest, and the entire village of fifty families has received microloans. In 2006, Mr. Fay partnered with Nan Guslander and founded SEM, which now provides loans to almost 1,000 borrowers in thirty-three villages, positively affecting more than 4500 people. He currently serves as Director, where he oversees a staff of seven and evaluates all financial statements and loan documents.
Mr. Fay also serves as a Senior Development Specialist within the Economic Growth Practice Unit at the Emerging Markets Group, where he focuses on project management and consulting services in financial management, public-private partnerships, and healthcare services. Throughout the development of his impressive professional career, he has received numerous awards for his volunteer work.
2009: Ann Young-Lee
Ann Young Lee graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Anthropology at New York University in June 2000. From working in diverse fields including entertainment, law, fashion and publishing, Ms. Lee found her calling while completing an M.A. in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in May 2006.
Ms. Lee’s first international experience was as an intern at the United Nation’s Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in 2005. Working in the Office of Communities, Minorities, and Returnees, Ms. Lee was able to assist UNMIK reintegrate returnees from the war and Internally Displaced Persons. She is currently the Field Office Director for Port au Prince for CHF’s KATA program, whose goal is to foster stability through the creation of jobs and rehabilitation of infrastructure. Working closely with partners which include community members, the private sector and government, Ms. Lee has solidified her will to continue advocating for others.
