Marking the 10th anniversary of the Yale World Fellows Program, Yale University has selected 16 World Fellows for 2011.
The Yale World Fellows Program is the University’s signature global leadership development initiative and a core element of Yale’s ongoing commitment to internationalization. Each year since 2002, the University has welcomed a group of exemplary mid-career professionals from a wide range of fields and countries for an intensive four-month period of academic enrichment and leadership training.
Events to mark the program’s 10th anniversary include Yale’s first-ever TEDx conference, which took place April 12 (www.tedxyaleworldfellows.org); the “Return to Yale Forum,” slated for Oct. 8-11, during which all current and past fellows will gather on campus for four days of discussion and dialogue; and plans for the program to host a BBC World Debate, in collaboration with BBC World News, on global leadership in the 21st century.
This year’s World Fellows include an executive at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange; a director at the World Economic Forum; the editor of Mint Money, India’s second-largest business newspaper; the director of the World Health Organization’s tuberculosis control program in China; a policymaker in Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the executive director of Greenpeace Brazil. (See list below.)
“We received more than twice as many nominations this year than ever before, evidence of the growing reputation and global awareness of this unique opportunity for leadership development,” said the program’s director, Dr. Michael Cappello, professor of pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine. “The 2011 fellows were carefully selected from an incredibly deep and talented pool of international leaders. We are delighted to welcome them to Yale this fall.”
This year’s cohort brings the total number of Yale World Fellows to 171, representing 77 countries.
“I am thrilled and humbled,” said Gavin Sheppard, a 2011 World Fellow and innovative cultural entrepreneur from Canada who uses art and music as tools for youth inclusion, capacity building, safer cities, and economic growth. “I can’t wait to meet the other fellows and share my experiences with the students at Yale.”
From August to December, the 2011 World Fellows will enroll in a specially designed seminar taught by leading Yale faculty; audit any of the 3,000 courses offered at the University; participate in weekly dinners with distinguished guest speakers; receive individualized skill-building training; and meet with U.S. and foreign leaders. Past World Fellows have met with then-U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan, World Trade Organization director-general Pascal Lamy, Supreme Court justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, and former British prime minister Tony Blair, among others.
The Yale World Fellows Program has at its core three main goals: to provide advanced training to emerging leaders from diverse disciplines and countries, to link this network of world leaders to each other and to Yale, and to expand and deepen international understanding at Yale.
“This is an extraordinary group of men and women,” said President Richard C. Levin. “We will be so fortunate to have them here, and I am confident they will all gain tremendously from their interactions with the Yale community.”
For more information about the program, click here.
2011 Yale World Fellows
Negusu Aklilu
(Ethiopia) Director, Forum for Environment
Aklilu provides strategic leadership on environmental advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns. He also serves as a member of UNEP’s global civil society Advisory Group on international environmental governance.
Siobhan Cleary (South Africa)
Head of Strategy, Johannesburg Stock Exchange
Cleary leads efforts to strategically position the Exchange in the fast-changing landscape of global markets, including forging alliances with other African exchanges and working with national regulators.
Adrien Couton (France/India)
CEO, Naandi Community Water Services
As CEO of the largest operator of community water systems in India, Couton is applying entrepreneurial solutions to water challenges. He previously managed the Acumen Fund’s global water and agriculture portfolios.
Marcelo de Camargo Furtado (Brazil)
Executive Director, Greenpeace Brazil
As the leader of the national chapter of Greenpeace, Furtado is one of Brazil’s most important voices on sustainable development, climate change, and renewable energy.
Martina Gmür (Switzerland)
Director, Network of Global Agenda Councils, World Economic Forum
Gmür has built the Network of Global Agenda Councils into a global braintrust of more than 1,100 leaders who tackle issues such as economic recovery, population growth, inequality, and resource shortages. She was previously Associate Director of the Forum of Young Global Leaders.
Monika Halan (India)
Editor, Mint Money
Halan is editor of Mint Money, a feature of India’s second largest business newspaper, which has an exclusive partnership with the Wall Street Journal. She is a media personality well-known for her financial expertise.
Sonali Kochhar (India)
Medical Director, India, Institute for OneWorld Health
A medical doctor and clinical researcher, Kochhar leads efforts to develop safe, affordable, and accessible drugs and vaccines for diseases prevalent in the developing world, including HIV/AIDS. She previously served as Medical Director for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
Orit Marom-Albeck (Israel)
Founder & CEO, Pure Drop Ltd.; Partner, Shibolet & Co.
Marom-Albeck is a leading environmental lawyer and business entrepreneur. She specializes in clean tech, particularly in solar and water issues.
Carl Mossfeldt (Sweden)
Managing Director, Tällberg Foundation
Mossfeldt is responsible for strategic development of the Foundation and has a special focus on sustainability projects. His “Rework the World” project, the Foundation’s largest to date, strives to drive structural change in the development landscape, combining large-scale employment creation with climate mitigation and adaptation.
Habib Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)
Senior Researcher and Analyst, Hambastagi Consultancy Group
An influential policy maker, Rahman has been a senior advisor in the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development.
Satiriantinah Bur Rasuanto (Indonesia)
Chief of Staff, Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board
As Chief of Staff to the Minister of Investment, Rasuanto helps shape Indonesia’s development agenda and formulates strategies to increase investment flows into the country, particularly on large infrastructure projects.
Fabio Scano (Italy/China)
Team Leader, World Health Organization, Beijing
A medical doctor and public health specialist, Scano is responsible for the World Health Organization’s tuberculosis control program in China, which has the largest single country burden of multidrug-resistant TB.
Gavin Sheppard (Canada)
Co-Founder & Executive Director, The Remix Project
Sheppard is an innovative cultural entrepreneur who uses art and music as tools for youth inclusion and economic growth. He has created a hemispheric network of youth arts organizations to promote best practices.
Ibrahim Suffian (Malaysia)
Co-Founder & Director of Programs, Merdeka Center for Opinion Research
An entrepreneur and innovator in the public polling sector, Suffian has contributed significantly to better governance, policy development, citizen outreach, and democratic processes within Malaysia’s political system.
Chrishan Thuraisingham (Sri Lanka)
Senior Fund Portfolio Manager, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
A public health financing specialist with a background in international capital markets, Thuraisingham manages a $500 million portfolio of grants across Southeast Asia for the Global Fund.
Xolani Zitha (Zimbabwe)
Director, Office of the Speaker of the House Assembly, Parliament of Zimbabwe
Zitha is spearheading the modernization of Zimbabwe’s parliament and efforts to strengthen its democracy. He is a vital player in main opposition leader and current Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s political party.
