International Fellows Alumni

Ms. Giovana Mendez was the Technical Director of Studies with the Statistical Analysis and Markets Unit of Ecuador’s Telecommunications Regulatory and Controls Agency. Ms. Mendez holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronic and Telecommunications Engineering from Escuela Politecnica del Ejercito. She also holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales. She believes in the power of technology to transform people’s lives and improve access to opportunities, and is dedicated to using her work to close the digital gap between women, afro Ecuadorians, and the general population. To that end, Ms. Mendez plans to learn more about how to design policies that effectively distribute the benefits of technology, and create economic opportunities for all. She will focus her learning on public policy analysis, formulation, and implementation. Ms. Mendez also wants to learn more about private-public partnerships and how they can be leveraged to boost the reach of the state and its policies. Additionally, she would like to deepen her knowledge of social policies aimed at eliminating structural inequalities.

Ms. Rishfa Rasheed is a Foreign Service Officer with over 17 years of experience in the service. In that time, she has served in various roles with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Missions abroad, as Counselor at the Maldives Mission to the UN in Geneva with a main focus on human rights, as well as Second Secretary of the Maldives High Commission in India. She also served as Director at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Nepal, where she oversaw the Social Affairs Division, focusing on women, children, youth, health and population. In her most recent role, she was Director at the United Nations Division, Multilateral Department of the Ministry, where she coordinated the Maldives engagement with the UN system. Ms. Rasheed’s various roles have given her expertise in multilateral relations, negotiation, management, and human rights. Ms. Rasheed holds a bachelor of Computer Applications, and has studied climate change and multilateral diplomacy. Ms. Rasheed plans to use her Fellowship year to improve her leadership skills and enhance her knowledge of human rights. Post Fellowship, she plans to remain with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and continue to contribute to the economic and social development of the Maldives.

Ms. Christina Ruhinda is the Executive Director of the Tanzania Network of Legal Aid Providers (TANLAP), where she oversees the operations and fundraising of the organization, and acts as its spokesperson. TANLAP works to build its members’ capacities to engage with the government, create awareness around critical legal and human rights issues, and advocate for the rights of citizens, especially those that are vulnerable and marginalized. Ms. Ruhinda holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Tumaini University in Dar es Salaam, and a Master of Science degree in Leadership and Governance from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya. During her fellowship year, Ms. Ruhinda plans to enhance her expertise in human rights advocacy and protection. She wants to learn how to strategically promote local human rights agendas at the international level, and explore strategies to expand access to justice and improve the rule of law in Tanzania.

Ms. Ira Singhal is the Deputy Commissioner, Revenue, in Delhi Government. She ranked first in the extremely prestigious and competitive Indian Civil Services Exam in 2014. As the National Brand Ambassador for various ministries, her role is to help accelerate India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) performance, and ensure the inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized populations. Over the years, Ms. Singhal has worked in this capacity to address the plight of the 22 percent of Indians living in poverty, focusing on women-headed households, persons with disabilities, transgender people, and other marginalized groups. She was the first person to provide employment for transgender people in a government office, giving them visibility and paving the way to wider societal acceptance. Ms. Singhal is dedicated to designing SDG-based policies that provide more economic opportunities for the poor and marginalized. She hopes that the fellowship will equip her with tools to design policies with a human development lens, and give her an international perspective on developmental challenges facing her country. Ms. Singhal holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, an MBA from the University of Delhi, and a Masters of Public Policy from J.N. University.

Ms. Dounia Benslimane currently works as an independent culture consultant in Casablanca, Morocco. Prior to this role, she was a founder and served first as the Executive Director and then as the Head of Partnership and Development for Racines Association, a non-profit that aimed to boost development and democracy through culture and cultural programming. The organization was dissolved by the Moroccan government because of its work to promote democracy. A trained medical professional, Ms. Benslimane has committed her career to development and democracy-building and plans to use her time as a Humphrey Fellow to improve her capacity and skills in this area. She hopes to engage with professionals in the human rights field, and learn innovative and unconventional models for advocating for human rights and social justice. Alongside her many years of professional experience, Ms. Benslimane holds a medical degree from Hassan II University of Casablanca, and an associate degree in Cultural Project Management from Marcel Hicter Association in Brussels, Belgium.

Mr. Danish Ali Bhutto has worked at the Parliament of Pakistan for over 7 years on parliamentary research, speech writing, program management and human rights. During that time, he has provided research and speech writing services to the office of the Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan, and Women Parliamentary Caucus, where his work on gender-sensitive and rights issues resulted in national policy. In his current role as, he manages the Project Management Unit and Youth Civic Engagement Program of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Mr. Bhutto is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of The Parliamentarian, The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s quarterly journal of parliaments. Mr. Bhutto holds an MBA from Sukkur IBA University and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He also studied Advanced Policy and Leadership at the University of Cambridge’s Moller Center in 2018. Mr. Bhutto plans to improve his advocacy, research, and human rights knowledge and skills with a view to use them to achieve better policy results for women and youth issues in Pakistan.

Ms. Kayanna Burke holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of the West Indies in Barbados. She currently works as an Establishment Officer in the Policy, Planning, and Administration Division of the Ministry of Finance of St. Vincent & the Grenadines. In this role, Ms. Burke is responsible for researching and reporting on all aspects of public finance, policy and strategic planning, human resource development and good governance, with special emphasis on personal expenditure policy. She plans to build her knowledge in the area of public finance management, public expenditure and budgeting during her fellowship year. Post fellowship, Ms. Burke plans to leverage her knowledge and skills in these areas to help the ministry effectively implement policies to achieve its goal of ensuring economic development and security.

Ms. Amedeea Enache holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, and two master’s degrees in Cybernetic, Statistics and Economic Informatics, and Anthropology from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies and the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, respectively. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Estuar Foundation, an NGO that provides social and advocacy services to adults with mental health disabilities. During her Fellowship period, Ms. Enache plans to engage with organizations working toward full social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. She hopes to learn innovative mechanisms and models to deliver social services to persons with mental health disabilities in Romania.

Ms. María Hernández holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Universidad Central de Venezuela and a certificate in Impact Evaluation of Public Policies and Programs from Universidad Católica de Chile. As one of many people who needed to flee the country, she moved to Chile, where has been leading projects in a social enterprise to build capacity, and to offer parenting support services at the national and local government level.

During her fellowship year, Ms. Hernández wants to learn more about economics, population, public policy, strategic communication, project and data management. She plans to use this knowledge to decrease the violence epidemic in Venezuela, which has one of the highest crime rates in the world. Ms. Hernández is passionate about the Global and Social Policy fields, with special emphasis in primary violence prevention, and its intersection with gender and children/adolescent development. She has also volunteered with organizations that work in underserved communities to foster social cohesion. She hopes to be an agent of change and contribute to democracy building in Venezuela.

Ms. Nadiia Iusupova works at the Office of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. She works in various areas and on various issues, including multilateral cooperation, peacebuilding, international relations, and human rights. Ms. Iusupova’s goal is to incorporate a human rights approach to policy making in Kyrgyzstan. Specifically, she wants to promote minority rights, ensure religious tolerance, interfaith dialogue, multicultural education, gender issues, and build principles of a common civil identity in Kyrgyzstan. During her Fellowship, Ms. Iusupova plans to learn more about policy analysis, human rights, and best practices for building civic engagement and national unity. She holds bachelor’s degrees in Management from Higher College, and Economy and Agrarian Production Management from Kyrgyz Agrarian Academy. Ms. Iusupova also holds a master’s degree in Political Science from Kobe University in Japan.

Mr. Mushtaq Malla holds a master’s degree in Social Work and a bachelor’s degree in Science from the University of Kashmir. Originally from Kashmir, Mr. Malla currently works as Superintendent with the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Prisons. In this capacity, he is responsible for the overall management of the prison, including discipline, security, protection of rights, rehabilitation, and reintegration. Prior to his work with the prison, Mr. Malla worked for many years in the areas of child protection and mental health counseling with organizations like Doctors Without Borders, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and Action Aid – India. As a Humphrey Fellow, he plans to gain more theoretical knowledge about human rights, as well as practical knowledge about the protection of prisoner’s rights, rehabilitation, and reintegration. Since Mr. Malla works primarily with young offenders, he plans to focus his time on learning about ways to address issues specific to that population, and models to rehabilitate them.

Ms. Sol Purita is the Legal Secretary at the National Attorney General’s Office in Buenos Aires. She is the youngest person to occupy this position and is currently responsible for coordinating the upcoming implementation of a new legal system established by the country’s most recent Criminal Procedure Code. Ms. Purita is tasked with coordinating the activities of various offices and actors in the justice administration system to transition from an inquisitorial legal system to an accusatorial one. During her time in the United States, she plans to interact with counterpart offices in the United States to learn about the management of criminal litigation and the different pillars of the criminal justice system. Ms. Purita also plans to learn more about how the various levels of the criminal justice system work and interact with each other in a federal system. Ultimately, she hopes that what she learns during the Fellowship year will equip her with the expertise to formulate policies to effectively implement her country’s new criminal code and build a fair and equitable criminal justice system. Ms. Purita holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Universidad Catolica Argentina, and a Law degree from Universidad Argentina de la Empresa.

Ms. Jeza Sanchez holds a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Ateneo de Davao University, and a law degree from Xavier University, in the Philippines. She currently heads the Regional Legal Service and the Program Development Divisions of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Northern Mindanao. Ms. Sanchez also leads a project with a 30-man team that aims to explore and use data analytics to optimize jail operations, and eventually address jail overcrowding by improving the access of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) to justice and legal remedies. She hopes to gain additional knowledge and field experience in government innovation and policy experimentation through data management so she may effectively develop her pilot program on jail data analytics. Ms. Sanchez believes these will equip her as she works towards the betterment of the administration of the criminal justice system in her country.

Mr. Boban Stojanoski is a policy maker in the Ministry of Finance in North Macedonia. He is responsible for creating policies in the financial system area, including drafting legislation to regulate the country’s accounting, auditing, and payment services and systems. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Banking Management from FON University and a Master’s degree in Accounting and Auditing from Sts. Cyril and Methodius University, both in Skopje. As a Humphrey Fellow, Mr. Stojanoski’s goal is to gain more knowledge in the field of public policy analysis, including methodologies and models to formulate and implement innovative policies that effectively address the most challenging issues in society. In addition to his work with the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Stojanoski founded a non- governmental organization whose mission is to increase socio-economic and social development by improving the quality of human capital, with emphasis on financial literacy and the inclusion of young people. He plans to use the knowledge and network gained during his Fellowship to build upon his current work in Skopje and make a greater impact in his chosen field.

Meral Acikgoz is a National Program Officer at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency, in Turkey. For the past 13 years, she has worked at IOM in various capacities, advising on migration policies and laws. Ms. Acikgoz is currently responsible for the Integration and Social Cohesion Program of IOM Turkey. She has worked with the government to develop Turkey’s first Strategy Documents and National Action Plans on Integration and Irregular Migration, which were adopted respectively in 2015 and 2018. As a counsellor at IOM, Ms. Acikgoz was part of the team at the Ministry of Interior that drafted the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, which was adopted in 2013 as Turkey’s first immigration law. She has also developed and implemented projects with local governments to establish municipality migrant centers, which provide mainstreamed services for refugees and migrants, and are the first of their kind in Turkey. Ms. Acikgoz holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in International Relations from Middle East Technical University and Galatasaray University in Turkey, respectively. During her fellowship year, she aims to enhance her knowledge of public policy analysis and practices in the United States in an effort to contribute to migration policies in Turkey.

Wafa Attawil works as a Project Coordinator with the Tripoli Municipal Council and Mayor’s office, where she heads several local projects. She also manages projects with the European Union. Ms. Attawil previously served as Senior Program Development Officer at Chemonics International. In that role she developed plans aimed at building the capacity of local government in Western Libya. After the Libyan revolution Ms. Attawil played a key role in a program to achieve responsive governance at the local level. She went on to introduce this program at a national level. Post-revolution, Ms. Attawil volunteered with various nonprofit organizations where she learned about the impact of community work. As a volunteer, she raised funds for individuals injured during the revolution, and designed plans to help organizations manage their employees and volunteers. Ms. Attawil also volunteered as an election observer during Libya’s first parliamentary elections in the post-Gaddafi era. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Tripoli University. As a Humphrey Fellow Ms. Attawil hopes to gain new knowledge in public service at the local and national levels, including how citizen engagement can foster national security and stability. She hopes to use that knowledge to ultimately provide analysis and information to all levels of the Libyan government during the policy making process.

Chulhwan Cho is a Deputy Director at the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI). He has over 15 years of professional finance experience in both the public and private sectors as a member of the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants. During his career he served for three years as a Cost Evaluation Officer at the Defense Acquisition Program, where he contributed significantly to reducing the defense budget. Before joining BAI, Mr. Cho worked at the global auditing firm, Deloitte (Seoul office) and completed numerous statutory audit projects. Mr. Cho received his Bachelor’s degree from Yonsei University, where he studied Business Administration. This year, he plans to study performance auditing strategies focused on Tax Credits and to conduct case studies on performance analysis and fraud detection methods. Using these skills he hopes to minimize the risk of future budget mismanagement.

Khushbakht Davlatkadamov received his doctorate in law from Tajik State National University. He currently works as a Lawyer for Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan, where he specializes in environmental law. For the past seven years, he has worked to improve housing for women and children in rural Tajikistan. In 2017, he was selected as the Legal Advisor for the International Organization for Migration, where he reviewed bilateral agreements to promote cross border tuberculosis control for migrants and their families. In his fellowship year, Dr. Davlatkadamov will continue to study law, specifically how it relates to women and family issues, in order to continue his advocacy for women in Tajikistan.

Sibusisiwe Dube is a youth rights, democracy and governance advocate. She has vast experience in youth development work, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, monitoring and evaluation and capacity building within youth and gender based institutions. Ms. Dube holds an MSc in Disaster Management from the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe. At the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, she led the Research and Monitoring department in programming and implementation of pro-democracy and governance research work initiatives. Most recently, Ms. Dube led the National Youth Development Trust Programs team. Her responsibilities included designing and implementing projects that sought to increase youth engagement and participation in social, economic and democratic processes in Zimbabwe. Ms. Dube contributed immensely to the increased youth participation in the 2018 Harmonized elections in Zimbabwe by designing youth friendly initiatives that educated youths on the importance of voting and benefits thereafter. Through the Humphrey fellowship, Ms. Dube hopes to learn technical skills that will contribute to the expansion of opportunities for youth-led oversight and accountability at a local and national level.

Jessica Nathasia Fredison holds her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Central Florida. She has nine years’ experience as a Correctional Social Worker for the Ministry of Justice and Police, where she works to rehabilitate adult offenders and facilitate their reentry into society. As a coordinator, she oversees projects, daily activities, and gives information sessions about the work of her department. She has recently contributed to and helped implement new policy measures and procedures regarding the revision of the existing measures on the parole process. During her fellowship year, Ms. Fredison plans to research penological reform, and will study criminal law, public policy, community service, and human rights issues regarding the treatment of adult offenders and treatment models that facilitate their rehabilitation. Additionally, she will explore aftercare programs geared toward the reintegration of ex-offenders into society. Ms. Fredison hopes to use these experiences to evaluate and develop new policies in Suriname to address critical issues for inmates.