International Fellows Network Dinner in Washington, DC, July 2024

Jul 22, 2024
International Fellows Network Dinner Attendees siting around the table, smiling. Dr. Vicki Johnson, bottom right hand side of the image, wearing a blue dress, hosted the event.
Members of ProFellow’s International Fellows Network enjoyed a dinner of Thai food in Washington DC on July 11, 2024

ProFellow’s International Fellows Network hosted its second 2024 Fellows Dinner for current and former fellows in Washington, DC, on July 11. The dinner brought together a cross-disciplinary group of emerging and established leaders.

Some of our newest members who attended the dinner include Andre Huynh who is Vietnam Oregon Initiative Network Fellow. He is also an international basketball player and currently interning for the summer in Washington, DC at the American Legislative Exchange Council.

We also met for the first time long-time ProFellow member Andrew Dippel who is 2023 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellow and completing his Master of Public Policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. The Pickering Fellowship is a prestigious graduate awards that provides funding and professional development for a diplomatic career in the U.S. Foreign Service. This summer, as part of his fellowship, Andrew is interning at the U.S. State Department in the Office of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.

International Fellows Network Dinner attendees sitting across from each other at a restaurant table. Fellows are dressed in business causal clothing with white tableware and glassware on the wooden tables. Windows on the left hand side let in plenty of natural light. Other patrons are also visible in the background.
Fellows at this dinner included new and returning winners from prestigious and international organizations.

We also had the chance to meet up with Devon Rollins, who was featured in this year’s piece Where Are They Now? 5 Black Leaders Share Their Career Paths. Devon was a 2008 CyberCorps Scholarship for Service Fellow, which provided him with funding and a stipend to pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and in Information Security and Policy management from Carnegie Mellon University. Devon is now Vice President of Cyber Engineering and Machine Learning at Capital One, and we learned that he was recently inducted into the CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service (SFS) Hall of Fame!

The attendees also included Nicholas French, a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow (his ProFellow interview is coming soon!). Following his graduation from Cornell, Nicholas spent the last year supporting Feeding South Dakota with their hunger and food related policy work. Nicholas has also served as a Congressional Intern for Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence and Congressman Hank Johnson through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

We also dined with Lydia Grate, a Global Programs Associate at the Obama Foundation, where she is supporting the design and coordination of the Voyager Scholarship; Tiffany Lewis, who is participating in the New Roots Initiative Leadership Development Fellowship; and Rachel Santarsiero, a coach in ProFellow’s Fully Funded Coach and Mentorship Program who is also a multi-fellowship winner and now working at the National Archives; and Doug Mitchell, a long-time ProFellow member who leads NPR’s Next Generation Radio, which supports emerging journalists around the country.

Dr. Vicki Johnson, left, wearing a blue geometric patterned dress, smiling at the camera, sitting next to Rachel weaning a dark blue and white polka dotted dress,
ProFellow founder and director Dr. Vicki Johnson and Fully Funded Course Coach and Scoville Fellow Rachel Santarsiero hosted the dinner together,

July 2024 Attendees:

  • Andre Huynh, Vietnam Oregon Initiative Network Fellow
  • Andrew Dippel, Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellow
  • Cathy Hawkinson, aspiring Fellow (and Vicki’s mom!)
  • Devon Rollins, CyberCorps Scholarship for Service Fellow (read Devon’s ProFellow interview!)
  • Doug Mitchell, Fulbright Senior Specialist to Chile and others (read Doug’s ProFellow interview!)
  • Jamaal Glenn, New Urban Progress Fellow, and others (read Jamaal’s ProFellow interview!)
  • Lydia Grate, Obama Foundation
  • Nicholas French, Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow
  • Rachel Santarsiero, Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow (read Rachel’s ProFellow interview!)
  • Tiffany Lewis, New Roots Initiative Leadership Development Fellowship
  • Dr. Vicki Johnson – ProFellow Founder, four-time Fellow

About the International Fellows Network

The International Fellows Network is a professional networking organization of more than 1,800 current and former fellows worldwide. The IFN has held events in San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Berlin, Germany, and hopes to revisit future locations in 2024 and beyond.

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! Also, feel free to check out the new IFN website for future updates on IFN events.

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