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The Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellowship is a unique leadership development opportunity for experienced, motivated individuals seeking to make a difference in the struggle to eliminate hunger and poverty worldwide. This two-year program begins with a one-year field placement in countries throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Fellows are assigned to national and international non-governmental organizations, private sector entities, and bi-lateral and multi-lateral organizations. Fellows spend their second year in a policy environment, usually at the headquarters of the organizations where they served during their field placements. Field and policy assignments, closely coordinated, are designed to be complementary.
Welcome 5th Class (2009-2011) of Leland Fellows!
The 5th Class of Leland Fellows began their field placements in August 2009. These 15 talented men and women are working in a wide variety of countries on issues that impact hunger including food security, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, nutrition, school feeding, and market access. The Fellows bring a wide range of interests, skills, and expertise to their host organizations. They all have prior experience working in developing countries, whether through Peace Corps, research fellowships, or other work experiences. Representing a wide variety of educational backgrounds, the Fellows have advanced degrees in public policy, law, conservation, public health, nutrition, social work, and international relations. See the bios of our new class of Fellows and the list of their field and policy placements. We look forward to learning about the Fellows’ stories, successes, and contributions around the world!
Pre-field Retreat and Training
In mid-July 2009, the 5th class of Leland Fellows participated in their inaugural pre-field retreat and training. During the retreat, the training focused on information and resource sharing, while giving the Fellows a chance to learn about each other and begin to forge relationships that will last throughout the two year Fellowship and beyond.
Following the retreat, the Fellows returned to Washington D.C. where they participated in a week of briefings, issue updates from current host organizations, a session on rights-based approaches to hunger, a monitoring and evaluation training, and several opportunities to meet and connect with program alumni. Other training sessions included: “Hunger: Definitions and Overview,” “Promising Approaches in Health and Nutrition Development Programming, and “Local Capacity Building.”
Several alumni also led sections of the training, such as a session on “Doing Development,” which was co-facilitated by Sylvie Doutriaux, a 3rd class alumna. The DC training also focused on encouraging Fellows to begin thinking about and preparing for the second year, which is the policy year of the Fellowship. By being appraised of certain policy issues at the outset of the Fellowship, Fellows will be better equipped to bring lessons from the field to their policy institutions.
Kerri Agee and Erica Holzaepfel at the pre-field retreat
5th Class Fellows at field training
Steve Hansch, Leland Program Advisory Board member, presenting at a training session
Farewell to the 4th Class of Fellows!
The Mickey Leland Class of 2007-2009 completed their service on June 30, 2009. During the two years, the Fellows made notable contributions to their host organizations and gained valuable skills and expertise. The 4th Class has joined our distinguished alumni as they move on to their respective careers in fighting hunger and addressing issues of international development and poverty. We thank them for their service and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Meagan Keefe, Carmen Jaquez, and Kurt Burja have been hired by their host organizations; Meagan is working as a Senior Research Assistant at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Carmen Jaquez is a Program Manager for Livestock with Land O’Lakes International in Rwanda, and Kurt is working in Cambodia for the World Food Program. Meaghan Murphy is also working at Land O’Lakes as a food security consultant and Eric Haglund has begun working at IFPRI as a Communications Specialist. Emily Bancroft has moved back to Seattle, WA where she is working as a consultant for the International Training and Education Center on HIV/AIDS at the University of Washington. Anne-Claire Hervy has joined the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and is working on the Africa-US Higher Education Initiative as its Chief Operating Officer. Daniele Nyirandutiye is working for USAID as a Foreign Service Health Officer. Racey Bingham is splitting her time between farming in Essex, NY and working as an Operations Analyst for the World Bank in Bangui, Central African Republic.
Other members of the Class of 2007-2009 have decided to pursue further studies to gain specialized training in addressing issues of international hunger and poverty. Erica Phillips is working towards her doctorate in International Nutrition at Cornell University and Alder Keleman is a doctoral student at Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
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