Franklin Fellow Marsha McLean is spearheading the our Pathways to Prosperity – Women Entrepreneurs initiative of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, where she is serving. It will begin with a conference in October in D. C. whose theme is ACCESS: to markets, to finance, to education. The initiative will bring together aspiring entrepreneurs from Latin America with successful U.S. and Canadian entrepreneurs to encourage mentoring relationships and will bring companies interested in importing goods/services, providing logistical support, and financing for small businesses. This program will grow over time, as the mentoring relationships develop and expand through the Hemisphere. It may also serve as a template for similar programs in other parts of the world.

Frank Manfredi, former Franklin Fellow who served as Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator in the Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance, recently returned to Plan International USA (Plan USA), assuming the position of Director of Humanitarian Assistance. In this new post, Frank is responsible for Plan USA’s emergency response and Disaster Risk Reduction programming.

In June, Frank joined Plan colleagues from around the world in a Nairobi workshop to review and update Plan’s systems and practices related to Humanitarian Assistance programming. Since his return to Plan USA, he has worked with Plan’s Pakistan Country Program on its response program for internally displaced persons in the North West Frontier Province and with Plan’s Dominican Republic Country Program to develop a Disaster Risk Reduction program for vulnerable communities in the southwest of the country.

Franklin Fellow Dr. Karim Altaii, a Professor at James Madison University, chaired a panel at the mid-March "Iraqi Academic Conference" held at the National Academy of Sciences. The conference brought together U.S. and Iraqi academics to discuss how best to help Iraqi universities.

In chairing his panel, Dr. Altaii, who is assigned to the Office of Iraq Affairs in State's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, observed that Iraqi institutions of higher learning are "not connecting with U.S. universities." He suggested looking at university consortiums or possibly launching an NGO dedicated to Iraqi higher education. The conference followed an earlier visit to the U.S. of seven Iraqi university presidents, in which Dr. Altaii also participated.

Franklin Fellow Dr. John Graham spoke to the March meeting of the International Council of Delaware. Dr. Graham, the Assistant Vice President for International Affairs at Delaware State University, briefed the Council on the Franklin Fellows Program and how the work that Fellows carry out helps shape U.S. foreign policy. The Council was interested in the program in the context of its efforts to identify and expand business to new locations and partners around the world that seek to trade with the State of Delaware.

In April, Dr. Graham accompanied Delaware State's recently appointed Provost, Dr. Harry L. Williams, on his visit to the Department of State to gain an appreciation for the mission and strategy of the department. Provost Williams was keen to learn more about the Franklin Fellows Program and other professional development programs to ensure that the University maintains a long-term relationship with State regarding future Franklin Fellows and placements for students in internships and other programs. During his visit, Dr. Williams met with Acting Director General Teddy Taylor and Acting Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Phil Carter.

Dr. John Graham has been commended (pdf, 60kb) for his work with the Department's Negotiations Team on Africa as Technical Advisor at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in May in New York. The key themes for multilateral negotiation were Agriculture, Land, Rural Development, Interlinkages, Africa, Drought and Desertification. Dr. Graham broke new ground for the Franklin Fellows Program, becoming the first Fellow in the still-new program to serve on the official delegation to a multilateral negotiation outside of Washington.

Franklin Fellow Kimberly Penna, Social and Human Sciences Officer in the Office of UNESCO Affairs at the State Department, recently attended the World Social Science Forum in Bergen, Norway as a U.S. observer. This international conference, organized by the International Social Science Council in partnership with UNESCO and many other organizations, focused on the global presence and impact of the Social Science field, especially when addressing such important issues as globalization and the current financial crisis.

Earlier, Penna had the opportunity to visit the UNESCO Secretariat in Paris, France, where she met with the Chief of Section heads in the Social and Human Sciences Sector. Since rejoining in 2003, the United States continues to promote U.S. priorities at UNESCO in each of the Organization's five sectors: education, culture, communication and information, natural sciences, and social and human sciences.

Franklin Fellow Dr. Jeffrey Stacey, a professor of Political Science at Tulane University, has been fully engaged within the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS) within the Office of the Secretary of State. In June, Dr. Stacey and S/CRS Deputy Coordinator Jonathon Benton represented the U.S. Government at an EU conference in Brussels on "Strengthening Capacities to Respond to Crises and Security Threats." The event brought together policy-makers and practitioners in the area of conflict prevention and crisis response in order to learn from recent post- and potential-conflict cases.

Dr. Stacey and Deputy Coordinator Benton continued to Stockholm for a series of meetings with the Swedish Government to brief on developments within S/CRS, most notably the growth of the Civilian Response Corps and its deployments. They received a briefing on Sweden's priorities for its impending six-month term as EU President.

Back in Washington, Franklin Fellow Stacey has been a lead on developing the capability to establish within three months a joint R&S mission with one or more partners in the field. Similarly, he has been writing procedures for the Civilian Response Corps' interaction with bilateral and multilateral partners in the field. In addition, Dr. Stacey has been one of the designers of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) "Lessons Learned" Project, in which State and its USG partners are assessing the impact of PRTs in Iraq and Afghanistan and seeking to improve the model for advanced PRTs in the field.

Franklin Fellow Thomas Burns (left) receives recognition of his contribution at the conclusion of his service. Tom returns to his corporation, Novozymes, USA.