Dr. Anna Grassellino, Physicist, Senior Scientist, and two-time BridgeUSA ExchangeAlumni, joins MentorTalks to chat about her career and the impact of her two exchange programs on Wednesday, October 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET on
@VoicesofExchange on Instagram.
From a small coastal town in Sicily, Italy to the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Grassellino - physicist, senior scientist and director of the Superconducting Quantum Materials & Systems Center at Fermilab - is inspiring girls in STEM and beyond.
Join us to hear how a summer internship during her junior year of college inspired Anna to pursue her dream career, and led to her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania before becoming the Senior Scientist and the head of the SQMS division at Fermilab, a leading national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics.
As she leads a team of 200 scientists that is developing the most powerful quantum computer in the world, Anna will share about her time at Fermilab, and how she manages work-life balance with a family at home. We’ll learn about her influence on young women and girls in STEM, and why she was awarded the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers by President Obama.
Tune in October 5 on Instagram, and we’ll see you online!
Speaker Bio
Anna Grassellino is the Director of the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center, a DOE National Quantum Information Science Research Center, a Fermilab Senior Scientist and the head of the Fermilab SQMS division. She hold an adjunct faculty appointment at Northwestern University, where is Co-Director of the Center for Applied Physics and Superconducting Technology (CAPST). Her research focuses on radio frequency superconductivity, in particular on understanding and improving SRF cavities performance to enable new applications spanning from particle accelerators to detectors to quantum information science. Grassellino is a fellow of the American Physical Society, and the recipient of numerous awards for her pioneering contributions to SRF technology, including the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award, the Frank Sacherer Prize of the European Physical Society, the IEEE PAST Award, the 2016 USPAS prize and a DOE Early Career Award. She holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s of electronic engineering from the University of Pisa, Italy.
For Fulbright ExchangeAlumni and School Principal Joseph Olan, service has always been at the core of his work. When a mass shooting took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas in May 2022, it wasn’t a question about whether Joseph’s school would offer support; it was only a question of how.
As the town of Uvalde coped with the loss of 21 community members, including 19 children and two teachers, Sacred Heart Catholic School sprung into action. In just a matter of weeks, Joseph and his team have welcomed more than 70 new students, many of whom came from Robb Elementary.
Over $1.5 million in contributions were transformed into tuition aid for families. The school also installed security improvements, including ballistic grade doors and windows, eight-foot tall steel fencing, and enhanced entrance security systems, in the hope of alleviating fears and anxiety in the community and preventing a future tragedy.
Moreover, to support the incoming students who were coping with feelings of grief, anger, and anxiety, Joseph’s school turned classrooms into counseling rooms, implemented social and emotional training for staff and teachers, started “Wellness Wednesdays,” and brought in emotional support dogs to provide comfort.
Joseph’s commitment to serving his students aligns with a broader teaching style, which centers around emotional and social development. Joseph wants to refresh the way children learn in the classroom, drawing on a more soft skills-based approach that builds on core curricula to strengthen the confidence of his students.
His outlook on teaching was inspired by his time in the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program in Singapore in 2015, where he saw first-hand the impact of a curriculum based on social and emotional development skills-based learning. As he witnessed the success of this teaching style, Joseph realized this was a piece that was missing in the educational system in the U.S., and he saw a critical gap to fill.
As he’s worked to incorporate emotional learning into his own school’s curriculum, Joseph has found leveraging the social and relational skills of children, and focusing on teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving, can help to increase academic success – leading to an increase in students’ grade point averages and test scores.
As Joseph continued to see the practical merits of this approach, the recent tragedy in Uvalde put this teaching style into a whole new light.
“This tragedy really opened my eyes,” Joseph says.
Joseph hopes to involve parents too, and he offers a strategy framework for parents to support their kids at home. He lists these out in the “10 Best Ways to Support Your Children.” One of these strategies is called reciprocal determinism, which looks at how stimuli in one’s environment can influence the way one treats others.
Joseph ultimately wants to serve as a model for other schools, and he hopes that teachers around the country can learn from and lean into a similar kind of approach.
“When it comes to teaching, we have to get away from competitiveness,” he says. “We’re all one, and when it comes to children, it’s about helping and about sharing.”
While the town of Uvalde adjusts to a “new normal” in its community, Joseph’s commitment to building the confidence and resilience of the town’s youngest members has earned his school the title, “Beacon of Hope.”
From China to Panama, to Pittsburgh and Silicon Valley, ExchangeAlumni Min Chen is pushing the boundary for women in Latin America and beyond. Now her work has been recognized by
Forbes Centroamérica, and Min was named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women of Central America.
Min's startup, Wisy, is considered to be one of the most successful startups in The Americas, with headquarters in Silicon Valley. It was founded out of the need to solve a critical problem within the consumer packaged goods industry: optimize product assortment on shelves to avoid financial loss and promote sustainable operations.
“We are not only solving a customer-experience problem but also a sustainability problem,” Min said.
Wisy aims to address this issue by drawing on artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize the in-store shopping experience, making it easier for consumers to buy their favorite products and avoid waste due to unsold products past their expiry date. The platform applies the data it collects from image recognition to track and detect out-of-stock items at a physical store to provide instant insights to field employees for corrective and preventive actions.
Min grew up with a strong work ethic and a desire to make a positive difference from the time that she immigrated with her family from China to Panama at the age of four. Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to apply for – and be awarded – a Fulbright Scholarship, and she enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to study Software Engineering from 2004-2005.
Min’s Fulbright experience accelerated her interest in using technology to solve social issues, and she applied what she learned to start her own company in Panama. Wisy was the first startup in the country to raise over $1 million in investment capital. With a team of three co-founders, Min turned her startup into a successful global company that would expand into Silicon Valley, addressing a one-trillion dollar problem using technology, data, and AI.
As she was growing her company, Min was also committed to supporting women in STEM. As she built up Wisy, she also led a program to support girls and women in STEM in Panama at a global scale with IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE), the largest international professional organization dedicated to promoting women engineers and scientists. Through the Student-Teacher and Research Engineer/Scientist (STAR) Program, she worked to address the concern that girls are discouraged from pursuing STEM fields at a young age.
Min became the chair of IEEE Women in Engineering in 2014, and with her help, the organization has since garnered global recognition – Min’s team in Panama applied for, and won, an Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) grant, which has helped to broaden the scope of its programming and to promote more women in STEM.
With a commitment to her start-up vision, a willingness to take risks, and an exceptional founding team by her side, Min has become a role model for young women, entrepreneurs, and ExchangeAlumni alike, as she continues to bridge the transnational divide between Central and Northern America.
Biography
Min Chen is an award-winning serial entrepreneur and software engineer with 20 years of experience helping companies complete digital transformation in several countries. She is a Fulbright recipient with a Master’s in Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon and an Innovation Management degree from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. The CEO and co-founder of Wisy, a startup that uses AI to optimize product assortment at stores, Min has been invited as a keynote speaker to important global innovation venues and has been featured in Forbes.
Wisy, which received the 2022 Startup of the Year Award at the Cloud Wars Expo, has also been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, TechCrunch, and Univision.
Dalal Alatiqi returned home from her
International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) with a newfound commitment to serving youth, a mission that had always been close to her heart. During her month-long program, she traveled to different cities across the United States, diving further into initiatives that empower young people to succeed in the U.S. and abroad, while building up a network of like-minded mentors, colleagues, and friends.
While her exchange program was significant for a number of reasons, it was special for another one in particular: her mother had completed the same type of exchange program only a decade earlier.
Dalal’s mother, Mariam Alateeqi, participated in an IVLP exchange that focused on combating domestic abuse. As a psychologist at the National Rehabilitation Center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mariam is passionate about working in family and individual therapy to help address and prevent domestic abuse and violence in families.
While the focus of each of their exchanges was unique, Dalal’s discovery that her mother had participated in an IVLP in 2011 gave her experience abroad a totally new meaning, as she realized her interest was born closer to home than ever imagined and that they now shared this experience.
Dalal started her career working in the Federal Youth Authority, and she soon became one of the founding members of the Abu Dhabi Youth Hub, a community center for youth in the region.
As a founding member of the Youth Council in her current place of employment, the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, Dalal continued her work in youth empowerment, leading projects to engage both international visitors and young Emiratis from the United Arab Emirates.
IVLP has had a tangible impact on both Dalal and Mariam’s lives: for Dalal, she was able to leverage her experience to build up her skillset during her IVLP and she saw first-hand how the U.S. is empowering youth to succeed at home and abroad. “It just kind of opened up your mind to how many different kinds of ways you can engage with youth,” she said.
Mariam also found her exchange to be beneficial; her program equipped her with the skills and knowledge to succeed in her current role and in the time she served at the Family Development Foundation. Working with families and victims of domestic violence, she has gained skills that equipped her to lead different recovery programs and
There is no application for the IVLP; participants are nominated and selected annually by the staff at U.S. Embassies around the world, but in regard to participating in an exchange program, Dalal believes everyone should do it. “I think they should definitely go for it,” she said. “It’s a very unique experience; you’re both getting the experience of being in that country, but also getting the knowledge transfer of the people with you – of like-minded individuals from different cultures.” (To learn more about exchange programs you can apply to, visit exchanges.state.gov and pick your appropriate citizen portal - U.S. or non-U.S.)
Dalal also believes exchange can lead to new friendships and opportunities. In her cohort of just 10 participants, Dalal has stayed in touch with a number of alumni. “I think it's great to be cultural ambassadors to your own country,” she said. “It’s nice to put a face to a name and to potentially make new friends.”
Dalal is a graduate of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Scholars Program at New York University Abu Dhabi and currently sits on NYU Abu Dhabi’s alumni board, where she assists in decisions related to the current cohorts and alumni.
For high school students, summer vacation can take many forms. Bakr, a high school student in Iraq, decided to spend his 2021 summer participating in World Denver’s World Affairs Challenge Virtual Exchange. Through this program, he worked together with a bi-national team to develop a project that addresses a UN Sustainable Development Goal.
This virtual exchange presented Bakr with an opportunity to step up as a leader and guide his team through the development process of their project. Addressing the issue of water pollution, Bakr and his team came up with The Water Anti-Pollution and Incentive System, or WPAIS, to provide people in affected communities with the necessary resources to reduce water pollution. The aim of their project is to sustainably work to address water pollution while also offering incentives to do so. The inspiration for this project was the goal of innovating beyond the established approach of humanitarian aid that seems to focus on providing quick fixes rather than sustained solutions. This project reflects his views on the need to approach humanitarian efforts from a sustainable lens and rely on science to mobilize change.
After his exchange, Bakr is left with a better understanding of how to communicate with others. “[Virtual exchange] helped me understand how to interact with people better, whether in leadership or individual roles,” he reflected. He realized the importance of clarity and specificity in communication, and shared that after the virtual exchange program, he now approaches school assignments more effectively, ensuring that his work is as specific as possible. Though his team faced difficulties finding a suitable time to meet synchronously because of the time difference between Iraq and Colorado, United States, they were still able to collaborate and form their project idea, which also served to improve his communication and collaboration skills.
These skills are not the only things he’s taking away from this experience. When reflecting on his favorite memory from the virtual exchange, he recalls the unofficial meetings where he had fun with his peers, times that he will remember long term. “I found myself enjoying the time we spent together and sometimes just having a laugh together while doing the work; I found that to be very enjoyable just to have fun,” he said.
In the future, Bakr sees himself entering the medical field, and is interested in merging biology and medicine with humanitarian efforts. He encourages people to participate in exchange programs, and describes the World Affairs Challenge Virtual Exchange as “tumultuous, that’s one word to describe it. It was exciting.”
The World Affairs Challenge Virtual Exchange program, implemented by WorldDenver, is supported by the Stevens Initiative, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government, and is administered by the Aspen Institute. The Stevens Initiative is also supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
Farah’s in-person exchange prompted her to explore other ways of connecting to global peers, leading her to participate in a virtual exchange program. As an alumna of Soliya’s Global Circles, she shared a virtual space with young people across the U.S. and MENA region in an environment that encourages open and honest communication and engagement.
After taking part in an Erasmus+ in-person exchange program and traveling to Estonia for a semester, Farah knew that she wanted to continue connecting with others around the world. She didn’t feel exposed to much diversity living in Jordan, and her time traveling abroad helped her realize the importance of continuing to search for opportunities to meet new people and learn from new experiences, compelling her to participate in virtual exchange.
Soliya’s Global Circles was the perfect way for Farah, a graduate student at Jordan University of Science and Technology, to continue making these connections. She says that her travels abroad gave her the opportunity to explore the physical locations of a new country, but she was interested in exploring people different from her, including their behavior, attitudes, culture, traditions, and habits. Global Circles allowed her to do just that.
Before participating in this exchange, Farah lacked confidence in herself and wouldn’t participate in discussions even if she was knowledgeable in the area or topic being discussed. Her confidence grew as a result of participating in this program, and she is now able to engage in conversations with others, leaving no room for self-doubt or hesitation. Her fear of being judged or insulted was wiped away early into the program. “People were very kind, I didn’t face any problems like someone hurting [my feelings]… this made me feel like I want to keep participating because it gives me the confidence to talk in front of the camera as I was very shy before,” she said. With these new skills, Farah was able to present a pitch in front of an audience of about 300 people as part of a long-term project she was working on addressing food waste. This newfound confidence has broken down barriers, allowing her to step out of her comfort zone and into new opportunities for success.
She was able to build meaningful long-lasting connections with her peers in other MENA countries and the U.S., using social media to keep in touch with one another. There is a real sense of community among the group as they regularly share opportunities for other virtual exchanges, facilitation trainings, and events that could be of interest to their peers. This type of bond that grew out of their virtual exchange sessions continued past the program end date. Farah and her peers are still in contact with one another, showing just how impactful virtual exchange programs can be for participants who are looking to build lifelong friendships with peers across the globe.
Thinking about joining a virtual exchange program? Farah says, “you have to take a chance to try it, if you take it you will gain more, but if you lose it, maybe the next opportunity will not knock at your door again.” She says virtual exchange “is an open opportunity without borders with a great and respectful environment,” and encourages other young people, like her, to step out of their comfort zone and sign up for a virtual exchange.
Got 30 minutes? Join Chineze “Chinny” Nwagbo, U.S. Sports Envoy.
Chineze "Chinny" Nwagbo recently MentorTalks to chat about her career and time as an ExchangeAlumni of the U.S. Sports Envoy program.
How did Chinny go from studying biology to becoming a professional basketball player? How did she transition to become a Sports Envoy for the U.S. Department of State? What does American identity mean to Chinny? And what does it mean to her to be an ExchangeAlumni?
Tune in now to find the answers to these questions and much more!
Speaker Bio
Chineze Nwagbo started her basketball career at Duval Senior High School, in Lanham, Maryland, where she is recognized as a four-year varsity letter recipient and two-time team captain. Her honors include 2 back-to-back State Championship Titles, All-American Honorable Mention, All-County First Team, All-Gazette, USA Today’s Most Improved and Most Important Player to Scout in Maryland, amongst a plethora of other accolades.
Chinny was a standout basketball player at Syracuse, where she earned her B.S. in Biology. Shortly after graduating, Chinny embarked on a career playing professionally for 11 years in Spain, Chile, Brazil, Poland, Portugal, & Israel, winning 4 MVP titles, appearances in championship games. The highlight of her career was when she represented her parent’s native country of Nigeria in the 2006 World Championship Games.
After retiring in 2016, Chinny began a series of ventures with the NBA. In China, she helped develop grassroots implementation of an NBA-based basketball curriculum. She has done work for Jr. NBA programs, the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders developmental camps, and has been brought on to work with the Atlanta Hawks, NY Knicks, Washington Wizards, and the National Basketball Players Association as a youth development coach and mentor.
She has served as a Sports Envoy for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Sports Diplomacy program, which was designed to use platforms in sports as transformative power to create social change in global communities around the world by bridging divides, creating cultural understanding, supporting women’s empowerment (& sex equality), advocating safe environments for kids with disabilities to play, and championing the importance of creating a more equitable and peaceful society.
As an Envoy, Chinny has traveled to various parts of the world, building relations with a myriad of different U.S. Embassies, Sports Federations, Sultans, Chargé d’ Affaires, administrators, coaches, and players. She has also dedicated her time as a motivational speaker to various youth programs and amazing nonprofits geared toward providing resources for under-represented, & underserved youth around the world. In her spare time, she has appeared on New Channel 8’s SportsTalk show as a guest sports analyst and hopes to play an instrumental role in the growth of the game, especially serving as a role model for young girls.
All these experiences have led Chinny to where she is today at PeacePlayers, a guiding light who couldn’t be more thrilled to continue doing the work that matters most to her: providing opportunities for young people around the world!
How do you tap into a network of mentors who will inspire you to reach for the stars? How do you build a legacy and become a “go-getter” and a “go-giver?” Tune into the latest episode of MentorTalks with Jalina Porter, former U.S. Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson (PDSPOX) and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer ExchangeAlumni, to find out.
Ms. Porter, a leading strategic communications entrepreneur, also talks about her experience in the Peace Corps and how it led her to the State Department, the challenge of juggling multiple passions, and how she stays close to her Southern roots, no matter how far she travels.
Ms. Porter also believes in going for your dreams - and finding mentors who inspire you.
“I think you should always go for your dreams. Never settle. Never let anyone tell you that you’re not a good fit. Never let anyone try to deter you,” she said, adding, “I think if you are looking for mentors, a good rule of thumb is that someone should be inspiring you to do something. Someone shouldn’t be telling you that something is out of your league or that anything is out of reach.”
From traveling to Cambodia for the Peace Corps to becoming a staffer on Capitol Hill and cheering professionally for the Washington Wizards to later stepping into her most recent role breaking barriers as the first African-American woman in State Department history to serve as Principal Deputy Spokesperson, Ms. Porter’s career and life experiences will inform anyone looking to make their career in government service and communications.
Speaker Bio
Jalina Porter was sworn in as Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the U.S. Department of State on January 20, 2021. A seasoned communications professional, Ms. Porter also served in the U.S. House of Representatives as Communications Director for former Congressman Cedric Richmond of Louisiana and currently runs her own communications consultancy.
Ms. Porter began her career as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Kingdom of Cambodia where she taught English in Ministry schools and worked with local and international nongovernmental organizations. She has also worked as a strategic communications advisor and media trainer for elected officials, national security and foreign policy professionals, non-profit organizations, and global media and entertainment corporations.
Ms. Porter is engaged in leading civic and service-based organizations including membership in the Links, Inc., Council on Foreign Relations, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, National Peace Corps Association, and lifetime membership with the Girl Scouts. In 2020, Ms. Porter became a recipient of the prestigious Franklin H. Williams Award from Peace Corps headquarters for her lifetime commitment to public service and humanitarian work. In 2021, Jalina was honored on The Root 100 list as one of the top 100 most influential African-Americans. Born in Louisiana and raised in California, Ms. Porter has also spent several years as a professional dancer.
Ms. Porter holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Howard University and a Master’s Degree in Global Strategic Communications from Georgetown University.
Got 30 minutes? You’ve got a mentor! Join Jalina Porter, former Principal Deputy Spokesperson (PD SPOX) at the U.S. Department of State and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, on MentorTalks on Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
Former PD SPOX Porter will talk about her Peace Corps service and why laughter didn’t deter her decision to go to Cambodia, her near-death experience in the Kingdom of Wonder, her time as a staffer on Capitol Hill by day and cheerleader for the Washington Wizards by night, her transition to strategic communications advisor, and her role as the first African-American woman in history to serve as PD SPOX.
She’ll also take your questions! What would you like to ask Ms. Porter? Post in the comments on Facebook or LinkedIn, using the #MentorTalks tag, or email us at exchangealumni@state.gov, subject line: MentorTalks with PD SPOX Porter. You can also tweet your questions by tagging us @exchangealumni.
Then tune in June 14 on Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube, and we’ll see you online!
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Speaker Bio
Jalina Porter was sworn in as Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the U.S. Department of State on January 20, 2021. She transitioned out of the role on June 3, 2022. A seasoned communications professional, Ms. Porter previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives as Communications Director for former Congressman Cedric Richmond of Louisiana.
Ms. Porter began her career as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Kingdom of Cambodia where she taught English in Ministry schools and worked with local and international nongovernmental organizations. She has also worked as a strategic communications advisor and trainer for elected officials, national security and foreign policy non-profit organizations, and global media and entertainment corporations.
Ms. Porter is engaged in leading civic and service-based organizations including membership in the Links, Inc., Council on Foreign Relations, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, National Peace Corps Association, and lifetime membership with the Girl Scouts. In 2020, Ms. Porter became a recipient of the prestigious Franklin H. Williams Award from Peace Corps headquarters for her lifetime commitment to public service and humanitarian work. Born in Louisiana and raised in California, Ms. Porter has also spent several years as a professional dancer.
Ms. Porter holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Howard University and a Master’s Degree in Global Strategic Communications from Georgetown University.
