December 19: On November 17th, Raven Hinson (MDP ’18) spoke on a KnowYourGoals panel sponsored by Emory. #KnowYourGoals is an initiative sponsored by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network: Youth Initiative (SDSN Youth). The campaign hopes to raise awareness of and mobilize action around the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN in September 2015. The November 17th panel focused on ways that the SDGs are applicable to Atlanta and specifically the Emory community. The six panelists included Emory undergraduate and graduate students as well as community leaders and activists from social movements around Atlanta. Raven spoke specifically about the work conducted on campus by Emory’s Institute for Developing Nations (IDN). In keeping with the sustainability theme, the event was also designated a zero-waste event, meaning that all materials were either recyclable or compostable!

December 12: This semester, several MDP students have been learning about entrepreneurship through a Social Entrepreneurship in Public Health course in Rollins School of Public Health. At the end of the semester, students participate in a contest to design and present a proposal for a venture that would benefit public health. Xin Li (MDP ’18) was on this semester’s winning team. Her team’s proposal was a social enterprise entitled DOTs. The project focused on a proposal to produce reusable and sustainable underwear for women during menstruation. A “buy one fund one” model would be used: for every pair sold in China, one pair would be donated to rural women in Cambodia, facilitated by partnerships with local organizations focused on women and girls. Translated into English, the name “dots” suggests an ending—the ending of an era in which girls struggle through menstruation without proper resources. Also on Xin’s team were Rollins students Anika Hanna and Erica Viars. Congratulations to the winning team!

December 5: The research conducted by MDP student Rachel Lastinger during her summer field practicum in Ethiopia was featured in an online video. Rachel served with World Vision and the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), on a program titled “Engaged, Educated, Empowered, Ethiopian Youth (E4Y)”. The initiative seeks to address gender inequality and to empower girls through a variety of tools. Rachel's work aimed to assess the effect of the girls' club toolkits in reducing school dropout rates among young girls and to identify additional topics of interest, such as the prevention of early marriage. Rachel also developed a best practices guide, based on her research results and trained CCL staff to apply qualitative approaches to assess the impacts of their activities. The video featuring the project can be accessed here.

November 28: MDP students are engaged in diverse communities and interests, and this semester, several students have attended conferences that relate to topics of interest within the MDP curriculum. On October 20th, Raven Hinson (’18) attended the Women’s Rights are Human Rights Conference, sponsored by the University of Georgia’s Center for the Study of Global Issues. Raven’s biggest takeaway from the conference was that “gender equity metrics need to be redefined because the indicators within them don’t apply everywhere, due to the ways in which different countries define gender equity.” The conference focused on the issues of trafficking, conflict, measurements of equality, and the role of human rights institutions. Read more.

November 21: This story is written by Mia Nieves, a 2018 MDP candidate currently serving as a graduate assistant with the Carter Center. This year, I’m serving as a graduate assistant (GA) for The Carter Center’s Hispaniola Initiative>. The Carter Center, which works in 86 countries around the world, focuses its interventions on two areas: peace and justice, and public health. The program I’m focusing on works with the Ministries of Health of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic to accelerate the elimination of malaria and lymphatic filariasis from the countries' shared island, Hispaniola, by the year 2020. As a graduate assistant for the project, I have been working this year on an arts-based health communication project as a component of the community engagement strategy for the malaria elimination work The Carter Center is accomplishing in Haiti.

November 14: On Thursday, November 2nd, The Emory Global Health Institute (EGHI) held its annual Global Health Scholars Symposium and Photography Contest. Two MDP ’18 students, Sarah Durry and Raven Hinson, participated in research in Madagascar and Kenya, respectively, during their 2017 field practicums. Both teams’ posters were featured at the event. In addition, three MDP ‘18 students—Tyler Breen, Sidra Khalid, and Sam Friedlander—were finalists in the photography contest. Tyler won an honorable mention, while Sidra and Sam were two of the five contest winners. EGHI holds the symposium annually to honor students who participated in the EGHI Field Scholars program, which sends students to the field to work on public health projects each summer. The photography contest is open to all Emory students who participated in a global health project in a low- or middle-income country. Congratulations to all of the scholars and contest winners on their accomplishments! See photos.

November 7: Dr. Hilary King, MPD’s Sustainable Development Fellow, is translating her passion for food security and access into action through the Fresh MARTA Market. The market is a collaboration between local farmers and organizations to provide fresh, locally grown produce to users of MARTA transit stations. Hilary recently secured a highly competitive $500,000 USDA Local Food Promotion Program Grant for the program, which will support its operations through 2020. Since the inception of the program, Hilary has been instrumental in the research, design, and implementation processes. In 2016, the program expanded to three additional MARTA stations, increasing the number of visitors from 3,500 in 2015 to an impressive 13,000 in 2017. In the rest of 2017 and into the future, the market plans to expand hours, increase options, and produce short videos featuring recipes that can be made from market produce!

October 31: On Thursday, October 26th, a reception was held to announce and celebrate the winners of the 7th edition of the MDP Photo Contest, attended by an enthusiastic crowd of MDP students and faculty. Every year, MDP hosts a photography contest to showcase photographs taken by students during summer practicum experiences. Several hundreds of stunning photographs are submitted each year, illustrating the diversity of experiences students have while on their field practicums. Two categories of photographs are awarded prizes: “Our Field Experience,” featuring photographs of MDP students conducting field work, and “Our Vantage Point,” which includes photographs students took of their projects, surroundings, and host communities. One additional winner was voted by the audience attending the reception. The winners are selected by four judges, including development experts and professional photographers. Generous prizes were awarded, thanks to the generosity of the Laney Graduate School and other Emory affiliated units. More here.  Read Emory Report article.

October 24: MDP Associate Director Dr. Carla Roncoli was an invited speaker at an international conference on “Enhancing resilience in the face of global change: mobilizing local and indigenous knowledge,” held at the headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France on 18-20 October, 2017.  The conference was organized by the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems program (LINKS) and brought together interdisciplinary researchers and indigenous activists from around the world. The conference aimed to promote consideration of indigenous knowledge at the United Nation's Conference on Climate Change (COP23) that will be held in Bonn, Germany next month, particularly through the establishment of a multi-stakeholder knowledge platform and observational systems in climate-vulnerable regions. Dr. Roncoli discussed findings from her research on climate risk management among smallholder farmers in Africa.

October 17: In order to build practical knowledge for future professional careers, MDP runs a Thursday night speaker series that gives students the chance to hear about development practitioners’ experiences on the ground and learn about available resources. Earlier in the semester, Amanda Woomer of The Carter Center engaged students in a conversation about the field of monitoring and evaluation as it relates to her work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Next, Chris Rapalje and Sarah Harlan represented Emory’s Office of Global Services to provide students with resources for overseas travel and safety. JennieV Dowdle Sorrells, a member of the inaugural MDP class of 2012, spoke about her work with Project Discovery Talent Search, a program that connects Native American students in North Carolina to college preparation resources. Most recently, Wanda Swan of Emory’s Respect Program gave a presentation on interpersonal violence prevention. More exciting speakers are planned for Thursday night classes for the rest of the year!

October 10: David Sabino (MDP ’17) is passionate about the positive impacts of maintaining connections to cultural heritage, and during his field practicum last summer, he found a way to turn this passion into a community project that recently received vital grant funding. David spent his first field practicum in Nepal with Groundswell International, an NGO focused on the spread of culturally and ecologically appropriate agricultural methods. Specifically, David worked with Groundswell’s local partner, Boudha Bahanupati Project Pariwar (BBP-Pariwar), and one of his tasks was the establishment of a community seed bank. Read more.

October 3: Marisa (Mia) Gallegos (MDP ’12, a member of the inaugural MDP class) recently published an article in the Public Library of Science entitled “When Water Doesn’t Flow.” The article addresses challenges faced by healthcare workers and facilities in countries where water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure is unreliable or insufficient. She also describes a technology, WASHCon, that helps development workers monitor WASH supplies and conditions. Mia’s experiences in Ghana emphasized the importance of functioning WASH systems when she herself was hospitalized for typhoid fever in a healthcare facility experiencing severe water shortages. Mia now works for the Emory’s Center for Global Safe WASH, where she is a Senior Public Health Program Manager. During her time at MDP, she conducted field practicums in Ethiopia with CARE and in Kenya with Save the Children.

September 26: In May, Barrett Smith (MDP ’16) participated in an eight-day trip to Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien, Haiti with Candler School of Theology’s Laney Legacy in Moral Leadership program. The trip was part of a seminar entitled “Moral Leadership in International Context” and was the second trip sponsored by the Laney Legacy program (the first was in 2015, to South Korea). During the week-long visit, students met with local government leaders, NGO workers, and citizens. About the experience, Barrett says that “it provided a critical, thoughtful, and compassionate analysis of Haitian reality in light of centuries of slavery, colonialism, economic exploitation, and environmental upheaval—while highlighting the resilience, ingenuity and beauty of the Haitian people.” Barrett is currently the Director of Programs at Global Growers, an organization that connects refugees to sustainable agriculture resources in Atlanta.

September 19: MDP alum Tsewang Rigzin (MDP ’15) recently had the opportunity to meet with a high-level bi-partisan congressional delegation in Dharamshala, India. The delegation was visiting India to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the leadership of the Tibetan Government in Exile. The meeting, led by House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, highlighted the representatives’ strong support of the Tibetan government and people. Also in attendance were Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin), Eliot Engel (D-New York), Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts), Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota), Judy Chu (D-California), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington). After conducting summer practicums with MDP at the Federation of Tibetan Co-operatives and the Tibet Policy Institute, Tsewang moved to Dharamshala, where he currently works for the The Tibet Fund as Deputy Program Director.

September 12: This story is written by Julian Wyatt, a 2018 MDP candidate. During the past Spring semester, I served as the Corporate Engagement Intern within the Strategic Partnerships and Alliances (SPA) unit at CARE, an international humanitarian agency delivering emergency relief and long-term development projects. In this position, I assisted the SPA unit in identifying, cultivating, and securing shared value partnerships with national and multinational corporations. Additionally, I worked to secure several sponsorships for the 2017 CARE National Conference, a three-day advocacy conference held in Washington, D.C. in May 2017. I also collaborated with the marketing team at CARE to ensure smooth execution of corporate partner outreach plans. My time at CARE has been full of rich experiences, and I’m very excited to be back this fall semester, after completing my summer field practicum with the Carter Center in Liberia.

September 5: Emory MDP (’17) student, Tarangini Saxena, was a member of the North Indian Music Ensemble during her time at Emory University. The North Indian Music Ensemble has been at Emory for over a decade under the guidance and composition of Dr. Kakali Bandopadhyay. In the ensemble, Tarangini played the sitar, a plucked stringed instrument used mainly in North Indian classical music. The ensemble hosted well attended performances both in Atlanta and on the Emory campus. It is exciting to see our MDP students bring their culture and unique talents to Emory.

August 29: As part of her internship with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Alexandra Gordon (’17) attended the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Women’s Conference.  LULAC is the oldest Latino civil rights group.  Alexandra staffed the TNC booth at the conference, allowing her to combine her environmentalist commitments with her family’s Latin roots. Alex has also been working on a Story Mapping projectusing the ArcGIS Story Map tool in combination with maps, photographs, video and text to illustrate the TNC organizational transition from conservation research to program implementation.

August 22: This story is written by Jessica Doanes, a 2018 MDP candidate currently serving as a virtual intern with USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives. This year, I completed a ten-month internship with theVirtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) with USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) as a humanitarian mapping intern. I mapped locations in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean and assisted OTI and other organizations by locating relief effort routes in the Caribbean for Hurricane Matthew. I also hosted a “Humanitarian Mapping Crash Course” map-a-thon, in which I taught MDP students mapping techniques that may be helpful during their summer field practicums. Overall, I enjoyed my experience as a humanitarian mapping intern. I learned how to add spatial data to maps and complete open-source research validation. I also gained knowledge of mapping software, such as OpenStreet Maps, Java OpenStreet Maps, and QGIS. I recommend that interested students apply to the VSFS program in the future.

August 15: MDP curriculum, many of our students speak at least two languages. To foster continued learning, MDP organized tables for students to practice beginning and advanced French and Spanish. French tables were hosted by PhD candidate Marie Ange Rakotonianina, while Spanish tables were hosted by second-year MDP student Gabriela Artasanchez Garcia, both native speakers of the respective languages. Each week, students came together for a conversation-style gathering to practice their French or Spanish. While some tables were held in the library, others moved around campus to attend poetry readings and practice speaking on the quad or over snacks at Emory Village. Some students used these languages in their field practicums this summer, and others learned new ones—so check in soon to see which new languages are being spoken around MDP conversation tables this year!

August 8: Miranda Bodfish completed the Emory MDP program as part of the inaugural class in 2012, and joined CDC’s Center for Global Health as a Public Health Analyst and Presidential Management Fellow after graduation. She recently moved into the position of Senior Public Health Advisor with the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS). Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CHAMPS aims to to increase understanding of how, where, and why children are getting sick, enabling scientists and public health leaders around the world to take action. Read More.

August 1: MDP students, through the Global Development Student Council, hosted a conversation with Kitti Murray, founder of the Refuge Coffee Company. The conversation focused on how social entrepreneurship can be used as a tool for development. Kitti addressed the current refugee crisis and how students' future work could contribute to addressing it. Kitti started the Refuge Coffee Company after her and husband moved to Clarkston, GA, which hosts one of the largest concentration of resettled refugees in the U.S.. Their goal was to provide employment and job-training opportunities for resettled refugees, while also offering a welcoming gathering place for refugees and a venue for community events in Clarkston.

July 25: This story is written by Sam Friedlander, a 2018 MDP candidate: This past year I interned with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). In my first semester with IRC, I served with the economic empowerment team, helping newly arrived refugees find jobs that matched their skill sets and needs. During my second semester, I worked with the adult education department, teaching an English Language and Civics class to adult learners. My time at IRC was tremendously beneficial to my growth, as I learned the joys and challenges of working for a large organization such as IRC and with refugees and immigrant populations. I enjoyed comparing my culture and traditions to those of my students and clients, and hearing about their daily triumphs and struggles as they adjusted to life in Atlanta. I got to try donuts from Benin, fufu from Togo, and eggplant dip from Afghanistan!

July 18: MDP students, Rachel Lastinger (’17), Andie Tucker (’17), Mackenzie Moody (’17), and Raven Hinson (’18), spent the 2016-17 school year partnering with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR) to develop a research agenda on the role of the church in addressing discrimination within their communities and in society at large. Putting research methods and skills learned in the classroom into use, the students worked with the CEO, Derreck Kayongo, to help churches understand the benefits of diversity and the costs of discrimination. The students produced background research and an action plan for future research collaborations among Emory students and the center. They also developed a curriculum to be used by churches, beginning in youth groups, to identify and define discrimination within their membership through visual methods and other Participatory Action Research (PAR) approaches.

July 11: During the Spring 2017, nine MDP students participated in a self-directed course on legislative advocacy overseen by Program Director, David Nugent. The course was initiated by Andie Tucker (’17), a previous Georgia Women’s Policy Institute (GWPI) fellow, and focused on how non-profit organizations can play a role in defending for civil liberties through policy advocacy. Advocacy can be an important skill set and tool as it raises awareness, promotes justice, and leads to important policy changes. The students spent their semester advocating against multiple House Bills in Georgia by attending committee hearings, speaking with representatives and staffers, partnering with local Atlanta-based organizations, and creating various advocacy tools.

July 4: Billy Rice (MDP ’17) received an award for one year of service at The Carter Center, where he has worked since January 2016. During his internship, he contributed to a project focused on restoring justice systems for post-conflict Liberia and seeking to integrate traditional, statutory, and human rights law. Last year, he produced a manual describing the dual justice system and producing recommendations on how to reconcile inconsistencies. Billy has continued to investigate Liberian legal practices during his field practicum this summer. “The experience has given me the chance to work with the many complexities that are involved in a post-conflict country,” Billy reflects. “The contextual approach that we use in the MDP program has been crucial to my understanding of the larger issues [in the Liberian justice system].”

June 27: Emory MDP (’17) student Rachel Lastinger served as a Graduate Assistant for the Institute for Developing Nations (IDN) during her two years with MDP. The Institute for Developing Nations aims to reshape the role of higher education in international development through research and action. In September of 2016, IDN began a campaign entitled, “Emory 21 Days of Peace” which sought to educate, inspire, and empower students working for peace both in their local and global communities in partnership with US Institute of Peace’s Peace Day Challenge: As a Graduate Assistant for IDN, I was able to work on the 2017 Emory 21 Days of Peace campaign as we sought to expand upon the initial 2016 campaign.Read More. 

June 20: On May 27th, MDP alumnus Tyrell Kahan (’16) received the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which recognizes recent graduates who have gone on to achieve excellence in their field. Dr. Kahan received a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Florida in 2011. During his time there, Dr. Kahan traveled to Liberia with Veterinarians Without Bordersand also participated in the Merial Veterinary Scholars program. His MDP field practicums included a summer with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Internationalin Rwanda and another in Kenya with the International Livestock Research Institute. Upon graduation, Dr. Kahan has been awarded a prestigiousAmerican Association of Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellowshipand is now working at the USAID’s Bureau of Food Security.

June 13: Andreina Cordova, an Emory MDP (’17) student, spent her 2016 Summer Field practicum working with UNICEF Indonesia’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program. Andreina’s work was focused on researching the impacts that menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practices can have on girls’ health and education. A report was published on her work titled, “WASH in Schools in Indonesia: Incredible Opportunities”.  This report served as an overview of the current situation with recommendations for progress. Andreina was featured in the report for her documentation of the MHM work in the report. An an aspect of her research with UNICEF Indonesia, she designed, pre-tested, and produced a MHM comic book for 5th grade students. This comic book and the success of the project was featured in an article, “Menstruation 101 For Boys: A Comic Book is Their Guide” by NPR. 

June 6: This story is written by Tyler Breen, a 2018 MDP candidate currently serving as an intern with the Environmental Sciences department at Emory. This year, I have been working with Dr. Yandle from the Environmental Sciences department on her research assessing the viability of a lionfish market in the US Virgin Islands. I am the third MDP student to work on this project, following Kate Groenevelt (’16) and Paulita Bennett-Martin (’16). Lionfish are an invasive species throughout the Caribbean with a voracious appetite that depletes local stocks of native reef fish. Read More.

May 30: MDP is proud to be hosting two students from the University of St. Andrews in St. Andrews, Scotland. Bethany Sikes (MDP ’18) and Rebecca Spens (MDP ’19) are recipient of a Robert T. Jones Memorial Trust Fellowship through a partnership between the University of St. Andrew’s and Emory University. Another Fellow, Helena Worrall, graduated in 2016. The Fellowship was established in honor of native Atlantan Robert (Bobby) Jones, one of the most prominent American golfers in history. During his career, Jones enjoyed playing at the Old Course at St. Andrews and he was honored when the city of St. Andrew’s gifted him with the keys to the city—becoming only the second American to receive this honor (after Benjamin Franklin). Upon Jones’ death, a memorial scholarship was set up in his name to enable students from St. Andrews to study at Emory, and Emory students at St. Andrews.

May 23: MDP had the honor of being featured at Emory’s recent Consecutive Donor Recognition Event, hosted by the Emory Annual Giving Board on Friday, May 5th  at the Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta. The event specifically honored individuals who have donated to Emory for 20 or more consecutive years. The program centered on the MDP program and students’ field practicum experiences through an exhibition of photographs from MDP’s annual photo contest. Several MDP alums and students were in attendance to discuss their photographs and experiences with the guests. Two alums—Claudia Lanford Brown and Sumon Ray—and one student—Danielle Veal—participated in a panel, moderated by MDP Director David Nugent and introduced by Laney Graduate School Dean Lisa Tedesco. We are grateful to donors who help ensure that Emory continues to have the resources to provide the highest quality education and support for all students. See slideshow.

May 16: This story is written by Mackenzie Moody, a 2017 MDP candidate: I work with New American Pathways as their Young Women’s Leadership Program intern. Being able to work with young women as they prepare for college has been an incredible experience, and I look forward to seeing how far the program and the young women involved will grow and flourish in the future. As the Young Women’s Leadership (YWL) intern, I focus on data and research support, as well as creating and managing materials for our monthly workshops, which focus on subjects such as mental well-being and financial independence. Earlier this year, we held the annual Young Women’s Leadership Program Art Gallery; at this event, the young women in our program held a silent auction for artwork and jewelry they had created. It was enormously successful and, as a result, we are able to give a modest scholarship to each graduating senior headed for university.  I have learned so much as the YWL intern and have a lot of respect for New AP and the families they work with.

May 9: Critical Juncture Conference is an international conference that aims to cross traditional boundaries of academic disciplines. The conference has been at Emory University for four years now and this year’s theme was “The Work of Art”, exploring how art works to defy, resist, and call attention to the particular injustices produced by the social construction of Disability, Race, Gender, and Sexuality. Emory MDP (’17) student, Andie Tucker, presented at this year’s conference.  In her presentation, Andie discussed the use of art in her work with Restoration Atlanta through the development of the Community Coffeehouse.  The community coffeehouse is an open mic event that features poetry, music, and art performances and brings together residents of the City of Refuge with other artists and performers from Atlanta.  The aim of the event is to provide a creative platform for the residents where their voice can be heard.  The event was actually designed by the residents themselves.  Andie shared how she has witnessed art create a safe space that allows for transformation and for individuals to be seen and heard.

May 2: In April, the first year MDP cohort spent two weekends learning about techniques and best practices of monitoring and evaluation. The module was taught by M&E expert Beryl Levinger, who has conducted evaluations for the World Bank, USAID, UNHCR, and Save the Children, and is a Distinguished Professor at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Through a series of lectures, readings, and activities, MDP students learned how to utilize M&E to analyze and assess the design and implementation of development programs. Students then applied their new skills to real-world scenarios, writing logic models and evaluation matrices for current development projects. The M&E module is a staple of the MDP curriculum, as the current second years also completed the course last year. Every summer, many students conduct evaluations as part of their field practicums, complementing these lessons with fieldwork opportunities and making the module even more valuable.

April 25: This story is written by Bethany Sikes, a 2018 MDP candidate: During the Spring semester I have been serving as a research intern with The Carter Center in Atlanta. The Carter Center was founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to combat neglected tropical diseases and provide expertise on peace, democracy, and conflict resolution. Throughout this internship, I have had the opportunity to interact with a host of topics, from human rights to environmental conservation to foreign policy. My main project was to conduct research and compile a briefing memo for the Bederman Lecture at Emory Law School, which President Carter delivered in April. The lecture provided an overview of the state of human rights in the United States and around the world. I have also had the opportunity to meet and talk with President and Mrs. Carter, which was an amazing privilege.

April 18: Emory MDP (’17) studentsAndreina CordovaandNicole Merino Tsuiattended the2017 WASH Symposiumat the University of Colorado at Boulder. They were joined by a Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) student,Casey Siesel. The symposium provided a platform for sharing and expanding knowledge in the field of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in the context of development. During the event Nicole gave a presentation entitled "Building WASH Capacity in Next Generation Practitioners", focused on her experience teaching high school students in the Atlanta area about theSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the potential role they can play in achieving them. All three students are also serving as Teaching Assistants for a RSPH course focused on WASH.

April 11: MDP student Sarah Durry (’18) has always been passionate about women and girls, but in the past year, she has amplified her impact on the lives of women worldwide. For the past five years, Sarah served as a chapter leader for one of Dining for Women’s Atlanta chapters. Recently, Sarah joined the Board of Directors as a member of the Grants, Partnerships, and Oversight Committee, which helps select projects to be funded with money raised at monthly dinners. Dining for Women is a nonprofit that facilitates monthly educational and fundraising dinners for women across the United States. Through raising awareness and provision of funding, Dining for Women promotes engagement locally and empowerment for women and girls globally. Funded projects focus on economic sustainability, education, and health. Check Sarah’s chapter’s schedule to attend their next dinner!

March 28: Several development practitioners visited MDP this semester to engage students in discussions about their careers, including Brian McClatchy, Elizabeth Downes, and Carter Garber. Mr. McClatchy began the Thursday night series by speaking about his work at Jatson Chumig Orphanage in Tibet, which provides shelter and education to orphans and job training for adults. Ms. Downes spoke about working on WHO and USAID projects to build capacity and expand roles of nursing professionals in Ethiopia, Fiji, Liberia, Mozambique, the Bahamas, and Zimbabwe. Mr. Garber facilitated a workshop on skills needed to work in consulting. In April, Adrienne Slaughter will provide students with mental health tools to cope with the potential challenges of working in the field. “It’s nice to balance learning in an academic setting with hearing from actual working professionals,” Sidra Khalid (’18) reflected about the series.

March 21: MDP Associate Director Dr. Carla Roncoli presented a lecture on “Climate Change and Social Justice: Connecting Science and Communities” as part of the 30th Annual Enhancement Workshop on “Global Development and Social Justice”. The lecture discussed how climate change particularly affects African Americans and how to improve climate risk communication directed to those communities. The week-long workshop was sponsored by the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program and hosted Fellows from Global South countries currently in residence at various universities in the U.S. The Program is managed by the U.S. Department of State and mandated to provide enrichment training to professionals from wide range of fields. It was started by President Jimmy Carter to promote democracy, social justice, and sustainable development.

March 14: This story is written by Alexandra Gordon, a 2017 MDP candidate: My internship experience with the Atlanta Urban Conservation program at The Nature Conservancy has been invaluable. In the fall semester, I served as the project coordinator for the Atlanta program, keeping track of important milestones, providing research and GIS support, and assisting with event planning. In the spring semester, I have transitioned to managing my own project of creating a story map, which is an engaging way to present spatial data, and supporting the program's partnership building efforts.Read more.

March 7: Emory MDP students recently joined the Institute for Developing Nations (IDN) on Emory’s campus for a conversation with a cohort of students from Liberia. This conversation was highlighted in IDN’s recent newsletter. As part of a Student Leaders’ Experiential Learning Program organized by the University Consortium for Liberia, IDN hosted six student leaders from the University of Liberia. Emory MDP students were able to discuss their process of choosing and applying to a Master’s program. They also had the opportunity to learn about the unique challenges that Liberian students face when accessing higher education. Access to education is a development challenge that many of our students are desiring to address in their future careers.

February 28: Eight MDP students not only participated but excelled at the Emory Global Health Institute’s annual intramural Global Health Case Competition on February 11th. Throughout the competition, multidisciplinary student teams compete in developing and presenting proposals that seek to address a real-life case scenario illustrating a complex global health challenge. The competition consists of two phases: an intramural competition composed of Emory University teams and an international competition in which the winning Emory team competes alongside teams from across the US and around the world. Read more.

February 21: The Emory MDP program is proud of its students for their hard work and commitment not only in the classroom but also in their service to partner organizations based in the Atlanta area. This service is performed through various internships performed during the academic year. About 80% of the currently enrolled MDP students engage in internship and assistantship opportunities, about half of which are paid, enabling students to earn some income in addition to practicing skills and gaining experience. Personnel from these organizations also enrich the MDP curriculum by serving as instructors for training modules on professional skills. Read more.

February 16: MDP Assc. Director Dr Carla Roncoli was an invited participant at a conference on Climate and Health, organized by the Climate Reality Project and hosted at the Carter Center.  The day-long meeting was moderated by Former Vice-President Al Gore and President Carter made an appearance to express support.  It was attended by almost 350 health officials, health care providers, and scientists, including several Climate@Emory faculty, a network of Emory scientists and students engaged in climate research and activism. Dr. Roncoli's research focuses on climate risk communication and management in rural communities in Africa. Full recording of the presentations can be watched here.

February 7: MDP student Sydney Herndon (’18) is currently serving as a Kirchner Food Fellow. The fellowship, sponsored by the Kirchner Group, provides students with training on the role of impact investing in addressing food insecurity, which affects 800 million people worldwide. At the end of the fellowship, Sydney, along with Kate Collins (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University) and Faridah Ibrahim (Columbia University), will select and invest in a socially responsible for-profit business focused on increasing agricultural productivity. Sydney’s experience with food security comes from working for three years with the Emergency Preparedness and Response division of the World Food Program, for which she conducted reviews of WFP’s responses to the conflict in the Central African Republic (2013), the Ebola outbreak in West Africa (2014), and the earthquake in Nepal (2015).

January 31: MDP student Mia Nieves (’18) was recently published in the scientific journal Health Communication. The article, “The Arts and Health Communication in Uganda: A Light Under the Table,” describes qualitative, interview-based research conducted by first author Jill Sonke (University of Florida) and a team of student researchers, including Mia, regarding the factors that contribute to the success of Ugandan arts-based health communication systems. The team interviewed 27 public health professionals and artists in Kampala, including radio presenters, sculptors, thespians, visual artists, Ministry of Health employees, and behavioral change specialists. The resulting article, published in January 2017, concludes that the integration of the arts contributes to more effective and empowering health communication. The article can be accessed here.

January 24: Throughout the fall semester, MDP students participated in several projects to fundraise for CARE, an international non-governmental organization working to empower communities living in poverty and achieve social justice. MDP and CARE have a longstanding partnership to facilitate student internships and research. Earlier in the semester, MDP students participated in a Walk in Her Shoes fundraising event. Students then fundraised through Emory’s Wonderful Wednesdays, during which the Emory community gathers at Ashbury Circle to celebrate the many student organizations on campus. For several Wednesdays in a row, MDP sold baked goods to raise money for CARE and displayed a map on which students could place pins to represent their home countries or places they’d visited. The map also displayed CARE’s international office locations. All in all, MDP raised several hundred dollars for CARE this semester!

January 17: On December 2nd, 2016, two MDP students attended the End Violence Against Girls Summit on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) in Washington, D.C., held at the United States Institute of Peace. Sidra Khalid (’17) and Sarah Durry (’17) represented Emory MDP at the all-day event, which featured a groundbreaking gathering of leaders concerned about gender-based violence from all over the world. The summit featured an impressive spread of speakers, including Senator Harry Reid, Congressman Joe Crowley, Cathy Russell (Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. State Department) and Lakshmi Puri (Deputy Executive Director of UN Women). Read more.

January 9: MDP alumni Tsewang Rigzin (’15) recently published a book about the Tibetan diaspora in exile titled The Exile Tibetan Community: Problems and Prospects. During his time as an MDP student, Tsewang’s summer practicums included an internship with the Federation of Tibetan Co-operatives and the Tibet Policy Institute, both located in India. The research he conducted during his internship with the Tibetan Policy Institute was eventually used for his book, which was published by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, both in English and Tibetan. He even had the opportunity to present the book to His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself! Tsewang currently works for The Tibet Fund as Deputy Program Director in Dharamsala, India. Congratulations Tsewang on the publication of your book and on the opportunity to present it to His Holiness the Dalai Lama!

January 3: Emory MDP students love to volunteer their time and give back to the Atlanta community. Recently, students Sarah Turkaly, Gabriela Artasanchez, Maria Guzman, Alexandra Gordon, and Rachel Lastinger did this by volunteering with Friends of Refugees in Clarkston, GA. Clarkston is just outside the metro area of Atlanta and is home to thousands of refugees. Friends of Refugees has served in the area since 1995 and has ten programs that help New Americans seize opportunities while bringing them into relationships that will help them flourish. Emory MDP students enjoyed a Saturday of volunteering at their annual Christmas Store & Kids’ Party where they helped children make reindeer hats and get excited for Christmas time!