ACYPL exchange alumna Rhonda Binda, of Venture Smarter, joined us to talk about smart cities and public-private partnerships.

What is a smart city? How do smart cities benefit private citizens, businesses, and governments? How can anyone start an initiative to take their city from regular to “smart”? Watch the video to get Rhonda's answers to all of these questions and more!

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Assistant Secretary Marie Royce with Rhonda Binda Assistant Secretary Marie Royce with Rhonda Binda

About Rhonda Binda:

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MentorTalks with Rhona Binda
Rhonda is Co-Founder & COO for Venture Smarter and Executive Director of the Smart Regions Initiative, bringing smart city solutions to communities in the U.S. and around the world. She is recognized internationally as a leader in developing smart cities.

Rhonda recently returned to her hometown of Jamaica, Queens, New York City, where she led a community revitalization effort that brought many awards from the government and private sector. She was named Business Leader of the Year and currently teaches as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at The City University of New York – Medgar Evers College.

Rhonda previously served at the U.S. Department of State and in the White House. During that time, she was nominated as a rising political leader by the American Council of Young Political Leaders, a State Department-supported program that chooses rising political leaders from around the world to experience what political life is like in countries other than their own.

Rhonda graduated from Duke University and Georgetown Law, and is an Oxford University Lord Rothermere Scholar. She currently teaches as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at The City University of New York – Medgar Evers College.

 

 
#MentorTalks with Kathry Rose and Fran Pastore

Kathryn and Fran teach women all over the world the strategy, leadership skills, and ways to develop their businesses. Follow our page to receive updates on the next MentorTalks! #ExchangeAlumni

Posted by International Exchange Alumni.

 

On MentorTalks on September 10, we welcomed Kathryn Rose and Fran Pastore, alumni of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2019. Kathryn and Fran answered questions from exchange alumni on business strategies and development, and shared their tips for overcoming challenges, finding funding, and how to get connected to mentors and supporters.

 

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Kathryn Rose and Fran Pastore at GES 2019. Photo courtesy: Kathryn Rose.
Kathryn Rose and Fran Pastore at GES 2019. Photo courtesy: Kathryn Rose.
 

 

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Fran Pastore

Fran Pastore is the Founder and CEO of the Women's Business Development Council (WBDC), Connecticut’s leading organization championing the independence of women through entrepreneurship. Globally, Fran’s influence has been exemplified through her direct work with women entrepreneurs. In conjunction with the U.S. Department of State and the University of Connecticut’s Office of Global Affairs, Fran taught women business owners in Costa Rica. Fran continued to share her expertise with women through partnerships with The Center for Creative Leadership in Ethiopia and The Akilah Institute for Women in Rwanda. For over two decades, Fran has been instrumental in the passage of legislation benefiting women entrepreneurs. Fran has provided numerous testimonies before the U.S. Congress, addressing the state of women’s entrepreneurship.

 

 

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Kathryn Rose

Kathryn Rose is the founding CEO of wiseHer, an award-winning global knowledge marketplace that helps women business owners and professionals overcome unique challenges. She is a former Wall Street sales leader and an author of nine books. Kathryn is a highly sought after speaker at leading global industry events, a member of the Executive Council of Advancing Women in Technology, and a sales coach for MBA candidates at Harvard Business School. Kathryn is regarded for her grit, tenacity, creative problem solving, glass-half-filled approach and her ability to laugh, always. A tireless champion for women, Kathryn has received accolades for her vision, commitment, and leadership including the CompTIA Advancing Women in Technology Mentor of the Year Spotlight award and more.

MentorTalks is a monthly Facebook Live series that puts exchange program alumni in touch with extraordinary mentors on a wide variety of topics. Stay tuned for our next MentorTalks!

 

Geoffrey Hiller, an alumnus of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program who travelled to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Vietnam on his exchange programs, wanted to make a difference in his community. As a participant in the April 2018 Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars (Alumni TIES) held in Cleveland, Ohio, he received a small grant to host an “Art of Recovery Photography Workshop” over the course of three months in Portland, Oregon. His goal was to use photography as a therapeutic tool to help people who are in recovery gain self-confidence through the act of photographing portraits of locals and tourists — and thereby engaging with those community members.
 
“Being outside and walking around taking photographs has a way of releasing chemicals in the brain that can help foster well-being,” Hiller said in his project proposal. “Our goal is to show that picture-making can become a transformative process.”
 
Alumni TIES is a series of regionally focused seminars that provide alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs with opportunities to learn about key regional issues, receive training specific to their seminar, and collaborate with fellow alumni to implement projects in their communities. These three- to four-day seminars take place in six world regions and the U.S., and include expert speakers, site visits, networking activities, and opportunities for interacting with U.S. communities. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by World Learning.
 
During the workshop, Hiller took the group on photography walks, reviewed their images, and worked with them on image processing and editing. He noticed participants began to bond and open up about their struggles and situations; he also noticed them becoming more comfortable in their community. Overall, the work produced by the participants far exceeded Hiller’s expectations — and his workshop participants agreed.
 
“I think there really is a link between making photographs and recovery,” one workshop participant said, adding that mindfulness is key to both. “You need to be in the moment to capture the moment. It’s not necessarily about being happy — it’s about being mindful.”
To see the photos created by the “Art of Recovery” workshop participants, check out Geoffrey’s website here: http://www.hillerphoto.com/art-of-recovery-workshop-2018/.
 
To see other work by Geoffrey, follow him on Instagram (@hillerphoto) and Twitter (@hillerphoto).
 
 
This is a modified version of a story that was originally published on World Learning’s Medium blog: https://medium.com/@WorldLearning/how-u-s-communities-benefit-from-international-education-175005815834

On August 8, Anar Simpson of Technovation spoke live with exchange alumni about pursuing a career in tech, networking, overcoming career challenges, and the importance of having women and diversity in tech.

Catch Anar on MentorTalks on our Facebook page:

MentorTalks is an interactive event that puts exchange program alumni in touch with extraordinary mentors on a wide variety of topics. The series runs on our Facebook page @internationalexchangealumni. You get a chance to learn a little about pivotal moments in each mentor’s career and ask them questions, all in 15 minutes.

For Doa Naqvi, her experience as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program, "Entrepreneurship as the Engine of Prosperity and Stability – Small Business Development," was a revealing experience. As she wrote in her blog post, "Living the American Dream":

"It was amazing to note that people from different walks of life could contribute meaningfully to one common goal – entrepreneurship. During the session, I was seated next to my friend from Pakistan and when asked to talk about my expectations from the IVLP, I remember saying, 'The fact that India and Pakistan can sit at the same table and share a common goal of driving our countries towards development, is according to me, the beauty of IVLP!'"

We look forward to hearing more about Doa's plans to contribute to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in her country. Thank you, Doa, for sharing your story with us!

 

Show your #ExchangeAlumni pride on Monday, August 5, 2019 and join participants in the Exchange Visitor Program in celebrating Exchange Day! Exchange Day brings together international exchange participants with American hosts to "eat, play, and give" by sharing cultural diversity and American customs, giving back to their communities, and having some fun. It’s also a chance for U.S. exchange alumni to join their international exchange peers in helping spread the word about the impact and breadth of international exchange programs in the United States.

"Exchange Day encourages and inspires our alumni and participants to take action and practice the lessons of cultural appreciation and understanding. These actions strengthen their own communities and share what they have learned through Exchange Programs," says Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Department of State. “An international exchange can change hearts, minds, and ideas.”

Find out what events are happening in your area. Get involved by creating an event or participating an event. Then share your international exchange story using #CelebrateExchangeDay and #ExchangeAlumni.

To learn more about Exchange Day, visit the Exchange Day 2019 site.


The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State leads public diplomacy outreach efforts for the U.S. Department of State through our exchange programs. These exchange programs improve foreign relations and strengthen the national security of the United States, support U.S. international leadership, and provide a broad range of domestic benefits by helping break down barriers that often divide us.

 

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