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Annual General Meeting – October 20, 2011
The Annual General Meeting on October 20th at the Clarendon Ballroom promises to be a very lively and interesting day featuring a session with Dr. Shah, Administrator of USAID, a panel with several current USAID officers, and a panel with Janet Ballantyne and a number of USAID alumni, with copies of Janet’s 50th anniversary book available. We will also have a session where you can tell us what you want from the UAA, and a session where you can roll up your sleeves and help the UAA’s 5 standing committees advance their agenda. We will also have time to socialize over coffee, lunch and a happy hour following the announcement of election results.
Please let us know if you plan to attend by September 10th by sending your RSVP to <office@usaidalumni.org>. Your response will help us with space planning and catering. As in previous years, we will collect a $40 AGM registration fee to offset the costs of space and equipment rental and lunch and refreshments.
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| Elections – Another Friendly Reminder |
| We are collecting nominations to fill five (5) vacant seats on the UAA Board. Please send your nominations to elections@usaidalumni.org by September 10th. Ballots will be distributed in early October and the results will be announced at the end of the AGM. |
| Peace Corps 50th Anniversary |
| Since many of our UAA members are also returned Peace Corps Volunteers, we want to make sure you are aware of the “hoopla” being planned for Peace Corp’s 50th anniversary. Events are being planned throughout the year, both in Washington and around the country and overseas. They will be at a peak in Washington DC during the September 17-25 period. You can check out the schedule at <www.peacecorpsconnect.org/50> and on the Peace Corps website. The schedule includes many country reunions, receptions hosted by various embassies, and even a special salute by the Washington Nationals on Friday, September 23rd at Nationals Park. The National Peace Corps Association is hosting a Gala on September 24th at $250 a ticket. There will also be a number of events at Peace Corps headquarters, including an Open House, September 22-24. Check it all out on the Peace Corps and NPCA websites. |
| Alumni Spotlight |
| If you would like to be featured in the Alumni Spotlight or would like to suggest someone, please email us at <office@usaidalumni.org>. |
 Steven and Monica Knorr SindingSteve and Monica left USAID in 1990. After a year at the World Bank and the Experiment in International Living, respectively, they moved to New York, where Steve directed the population program at the Rockefeller Foundation for the next eight years and Monica became the secretary and head of external affairs at the Population Council. Monica left the Council in 1995 to get a degree in social work at Smith, and then worked for several years as a geriatric care manager. In 1999 Steve moved from Rockefeller to Columbia University where he taught public health and international development courses until 2002. In that year Monica and Steve moved to London where Steve served for the next four years as Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. They returned to the States in 2006 and moved to lovely Manchester, VT. Monica has been heading up the local Bennington County Habitat for Humanity chapter and the Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning — an adult education organization. Steve is on the board of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and the Manchester Music Festival. He also chairs the board of the UK-based International HIV/AIDS Alliance and serves on the boards of Abt Associates, the African Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi, and the Guttmacher Institute. Both find time for plenty of skiing and other outdoor sports pleasures. They welcome visits from USAID friends far and near. |
| Society for International Development World Congress Report |
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For the first time in more than 20 years, SID held its triennial world congress in Washington, DC, July 29-31. Lots of USAID alumni played prominent roles, including Emmy Simmons, Ann Van Dusen, Carol Lancaster, Dan Runde, Gayle Smith, Brian Atwood, and Rick Barton. The agenda included some excellent plenary sessions and break-out meetings focused on six themes:
- The Private Sector, Economic Progress, Empowerment, and Social Inclusion;
- Sustainable Human Development;
- Global Health;
- Governance and Citizenship;
- Science and Technology; and
- Gender Equality.
Much of the congress revolved around the changing paradigm for development, especially the movement away from a single, Northern-defined model of development or “Washington Consensus” to one much more driven by varying models originating in the South. There was some excellent discussion of the new “cooperation space” and the diversity of policy options that countries can follow. The diminishing importance of official assistance and the growing importance of foundations, private investors, and social entrepreneurs were also highlighted – as was the need for new kinds of partnership and cooperation. It is a far more complex environment than even a few years ago.
One of the best sessions was a discussion moderated by Juma Mwapachu, Former Secretary-General of the East African Community, with Rebeca Grynspan, former Vice President of Costa Rica and current Deputy of UNDP, and Donald Kaberuka, former Minister of Finance of Rwanda and current President of the African Development Bank. They eloquently spoke about how much the development environment has changed. You can see their discussion via the SID and C-Span websites.
Their discussion on the video follows an introduction by Dan Runde and remarks by Gayle Smith, Senior Director for Development, Democracy, and International Economics at the National Security Council. You will especially like Gayle’s salute to the many career USAID officers from whom she learned so much while working at USAID in the 1990s. Last on the video is a conversation between Michael Gerson and Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank. If you look at this two hour plus video, you’ll get some of the highlights of the SID Congress, as well as a good summary of the changing development scene. |
| The UAA Website |
| PLEASE TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! Several members of the Executive Committee have been hard at work, with help from our webmaster and our intern, to make our website more interesting and easier to use. How did we do? What would make it even better? Send your comments to<office@usaidalumni.org>. |
| DC Region House-sitting or Sub-let? |
| USAID alumna Carina Stover and her spouse, Spike Millington, have returned to the USA from China, with Spike on short-term contract in the DC area for 6-9 months. They wish to find someone who would like to have house sitters or to sublet space. Their ETA is o/a 23 July. If you or someone you know have accommodations to share or sub-let, contact Carina or Spike at <CarinaStover@gmail.com> or 773 683 5211 or 818 255 6234. |
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