Meet the 2022-23 Humphrey Fellows at Penn State
Dr. Nermin Mostafa holds a Ph.D. in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. She works with her research team on developing active pharmaceutical moieties that have potential uses as antivirals, anticancer and anti-Alzheimer treatments. She has been awarded several research grants to fund her projects. She is a TechWomen delegate, an exchange program that is awarded to emerging leaders in the STEM fields. During her Humphrey Fellowship, she is exploring new opportunities to help reform traditional Egyptian universities into entrepreneurial ones.
Gabriela Mezeiova is an expert on education at the Slovak Center for Scientific and Technical Information, Slovakia and CEO of Slovak Eco Quality, NGO. Since 2009, she has been an educator involved in project management and evaluation, first in academic settings, and later on in nonprofits and public institutions, mainly in topics related to education for sustainable development. Her interests include the US education system, non-formal education applied to formal settings, and environmental education building life skills. Gabriela's foothold in human sciences and services, from counseling to community organizing, and social impact projects’ implementation have an important similarity: they are in constant development, presenting new angles and approaches. She believes it is not possible to be good in these fields with the way things are, and this is where she shines. Gabriela hopes to utilize US good practices in grassroot activities and influence the educational policy in Slovakia leading to “Changing Education by Education for Change”.
Ebrahim Talaee is an associate professor of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at Tarbiat Modares University, Iran. He has taught at Cherwell College, Oxford, and University of Bamberg, Germany. He has taught courses on ECE and Primary Education curriculum development, curriculum assessment, and the use of technology to enhance learning experiences. Ebrahim completed his Master's and DPhil at the Department of Education, University of Oxford, during which he joined a longitudinal research project on children’s socio-emotional development and school attainments called EPPE. Ebrahim is interested in early childhood and elementary curriculum and pedagogy and plans to carry out a small-scale research project and publish its results during his Humphrey Fellowship. He enjoys classic Persian Literature, music, and soccer.
Abby-Gail Sharonne Blanchard is co-founder, director, and consultant at Blanchard Institute for Educational Development and Research NV. As a consultant, she provides expertise in quality assurance and accreditation to private- and public educational institutions in Suriname. She has a master’s degree in Education and Research for Sustainable Development. She teaches research methods and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate theses focused on the assessment of quality of education. She sits on several examination boards and assessment committees within various HEIs in Suriname. During her Humphrey Fellowship she will examine higher education in the US, emphasizing quality assurance and accreditation. She plans to develop a practical hand guide for designing and assessing quality assurance frameworks. Based on this practical hand guide a capacity-building program will be developed for quality assurance personnel working in the private- and public educational institutions in Suriname.
Quratulain Talpur is an assistant professor of English at Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Campus Khairpur, Pakistan. She teaches English to undergraduate engineering students and also works as the editor of the campus newsletter. She was awarded with a scholarship to attend an 8-week online teacher training course named “Using Educational Technology in the English Language Classroom” through the American English E-Teacher Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Her interests include teaching English and networking with experts in her areas of focus. She is enthusiastic to learn more about cutting-edge research in the field of education and applied linguistics. During her Humphrey Fellowship Program at Penn State University, she is committed to sharpening her leadership skills and designing workshops and training for teachers and students.
Omaira Michelle Rodríguez Dorati is deputy director of Scientific Capacities Development at the National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation (SENACYT) in Panama. Together with her team, she has designed, coordinated, and followed up on diverse initiatives focused on human talent development through science and research. Her work also includes creating strategic alliances with national and international organizations to develop new programs to enhance STEM-related skills by supporting higher education institutions, research centers, and a robust scholarship program.
During her fellowship, she aims to develop advocacy skills on global engagement through education, research, and innovation. Her interests include strategic research development through international collaboration and connections with industry and communities; empowering women through STEM education; and science-based policy.
Donah Lekwati is the Director of Registry Services at Botswana International University of Science and Technology. He oversees the university’s academic services-student recruitment, admissions, registration and enrollment, scheduling, examinations and assessment, graduation, student records, and student information systems. His major achievements include introducing major academic policies and regulations and leading the successful implementation and change management of a major student information system project. A holder of MSc in Educational Studies from the University of Glasgow, UK, he studied the high school to University transition, widening access and participation and student support. His areas of focus are higher student experience, engagement, and retention where he hopes to explore the role of leadership and academic policy in promoting a student-centered campus with a highly engaged student community. He is excited to network with fellow higher education leaders and learn innovative programming.
Dr. Duyen Le (Le Thi Hong Duyen) is a lecturer of English at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University (VNU). She is also the program director at VietTESOL Association. Her responsibilities include planning and organizing annual events such as VietTESOL International Conventions, ELT Forum, as well as supporting different teams in organizing other professional development activities for teachers of English in Vietnam. She is one of the twenty innovation ambassadors of VNU-VIBE (Vietnam Ireland Bilateral Education Exchange) program. She wishes to learn more about innovation in education and improve her network in the field of TESOL. During her Humphrey Fellowship, she aims to connect with education professionals, TESOL experts, and TESOL Associations in the US and other countries in order to learn from their experiences and initiatives, as well as connect them with VietTESOL Association. From such observations, she could share such useful practices with her community when she returns to Vietnam.
Ab. Shakoor Amezai served as a lecturer, superintendent, and admin officer in the Education Department of Balochistan. He also served as an instructor for the Superior Civil Services examination of Pakistan. He was elected chairman of the Standing Committee on Good Governance in the Youth Parliament in Pakistan. He holds an M.Phil in History with distinctions as a gold medalist and academic role of honor in his Master's from GCU Lahore. Shakoor takes a keen interest in civil rights/human rights activism in the war-torn region of Pakistan. He will focus on entrepreneurship education, latest trends in educational technology, e-learning, and trends in online education. Shakoor hopes this fellowship will equip him with the skills, tools, and expertise necessary to establish an educational technology & research organization to promote quality education and improve the living standards of his community.
M. Ed Andrea Mateos has extensive experience in online education and training as a Learning Experience Designer. As a Learning and Designer Coordinator and Advisor, she has implemented online learning programs and collaborated in creating educational models for important Mexican tell companies and financial sector companies. In addition, she has worked as an Education Program Specialist in the Department of Educatión of Language Acquisition for the Mexican public education system. As a Teachers Trainer, she has participated in diverse projects with universities including the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Ibero-American University of Mexico (Universidad Iberoamericana de Mexico, etc. In addition, as an independent consultant, she has developed and implemented various transformation initiatives such as the Online Educational Model for Puebla State. She currently works for quality assurance in online programs, implementing pedagogic elements and Human Centred Product Design.
Dr. Yoav Friedman is a senior academic administrator and a researcher in the field of European higher education policies. Currently, he serves as the head of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design's Research & Innovation Authority. He holds a BA in European History from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), an MA in European Studies from the European Forum at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Ph.D. in Politics and Government from BGU. Dr. Friedman has co-founded the Bologna Training Centre at BGU; co-founded and led JLM-IMPACT – an inter-institutional academic entrepreneurship center in Jerusalem; he chairs the European Jean-Monnet REACTIK research network on cultural diplomacy and co-founded The Centre for the Studies of Holocaust Visualization at Bezalel. Yoav dedicates his HHH Fellowship to developing the 'academic environment' for the creative economy by learning best practices in academic policies, metrics, research structures, and funding schemes.
Shehreena Gulamani is a senior manager of external linkages at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi in Pakistan. Her interests include enhancing quality youth education access, policy formation, and career counseling.