On April 16th, the International Fellows Network hosted a dinner for current and former fellows at the Regalito Rosticeria in the Mission in San Francisco. The dinner brought together a cross-disciplinary group of leaders for an evening of discussion and exchange.
During the dinner, we learned that former Rotary Peace Scholar, Maureen Johnson, is traveling the world speaking on data ethics issues while working with Data for Democracy, a non-profit organization working to promote trust and understanding in data and technology. Former Fulbright Fellow to New Zealand, Tom McFadden, now a current middle school teacher, is building out his social enterprise “Science with Tom” to develop videos, lessons, and tools that help teachers use music and rap to unleash the creative genius of their students. Aspiring fellow Justine Kehl, a Regulatory Assistant at Genentech, shared how she was coaxed into a class to learn Brazilian Carnival dance and is now performing with a Carnival dance troupe throughout the Bay area. We also discussed career changes, graduate school funding, working in startups in Silicon Valley, and the non-profit vs. for-profit model for starting a social enterprise. The conversation never stopped, and we each left the meal with new contacts for on-going discussions.
The International Fellows Network is a professional networking organization of more than 1,800 current and former fellows from all over the world. The IFN also holds events in New York City, Washington, DC, and Berlin, Germany. Through the IFN, current and former fellows can connect for socializing, advice and insights on fellowships, jobs, events, graduate programs and collaborative opportunities. If you are a current or former fellow and would like to join, please sign up for our fellowships database, and we’ll be in touch by email!
April 2019 Attendees:
- Jose Riera – incoming PhD student at Washington State University
- Justine Kehl – Regulatory Assistant at Genentech
- Matt O’Brien – documentary photographer, Fulbright Colombia alumnus
- Maureen Johnson – data ethicist, Rotary Peace Scholarship alumna
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Pamlea Newenham – Founder of GirlCrew
- Robert Haley – Marketing Associate at Skedulo, Fulbright Taiwan alumnus
- Tom McFadden – middle school science teacher, science rapper and Fulbright New Zealand alumnus
- Vicente Lovelace – Associate at Zūm Services, recent graduate of University of Oxford
- Vicki Johnson – Founder of ProFellow, Ian Axford Fellowship in Public Policy alumna
- William Putnam – Software Engineer at ADARA, Kiva Fellows alumnus (Liberia)
© Victoria Johnson 2019, all rights reserved.