Alumni Activities - 2004-05 Academic Year

Michelle Parlevliet ('95) was a visiting alumni fellow at the Kroc Institute from March through May 2005.  During her stay she edited a volume with case studies of national human rights commissions considered from a conflict resolution and peacebuilding perspective, for which she also wrote the introductory conceptual chapter. She also developed a distance learning module on conflict prevention for national institutions for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and wrote a paper on national human rights institutions in peace agreements for the International Council of Human Rights Policy.  Originally from the Netherlands, Michelle is currently a resident of South Africa, where for more than five years she managed the groundbreaking Human Rights and Conflict Management Programme at the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR) in Cape Town, from its inception in 1999 until March 2005.  At CCR she designed and delivered training programmes in human rights and conflict management, conducted research, and provided technical assistance and facilitation for a wide range of actors from senior policy-making to grassroots levels in various countries in Africa and Europe, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Hungary, Denmark, Norway, and Northern Ireland.  She provided mediation training for Sudanese peace negotiators brought together by the Carter Center, did research and provided technical assistance.  Before joining CCR, she worked with South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and in the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Jorge Vargas-Cullell ('94), from Costa Rica, was a guest scholar at Notre Dame's Kellogg Institute from February to August 2005, completing his PhD dissertation.  Jorge is a project specialist for the United Nations Development Program, based in Costa Rica. Has written several Human Development Reports for UNDP on sustainable human development in Central America.  He recently edited a volume with Guillermo O'Donnell entitled The Quality of Democracy: Theory and Applications.

Yousef Al-Herimi ('92), from Bethlehem, was an invited participant in the conference "Building Peace Through Inter-Religious Encounters" hosted by the Kroc Institute's Program in Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding at Notre Dame March 18-19.  He presented in a panel on Jerusalem, joined by Rabbi Marc Gopin and Patrice Brodeur, a current Rockefeller Fellow at the Kroc Institute.  Yousef teaches Islam, world civilization, and logical thinking at Al-Quds University and Bethlehem University.  From 1998-2002 he directed the Issam Sartawi Center for Peace Studies at Al-Quds University.  His work in Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations was highlighted in Healing the Holy Land: Interreligious Peacebuilding in Israel/Palestine by Yehezkel Landau, published by the United States Institute of Peace, September 2003 (pp. 32-33). 

Mica Barreto-Soares ('03), from Timor Leste (East Timor), also visited the Kroc Institute in March after attending a workshop in New York for her job.  Mica is national program officer for the United Nations Development Program in Timor Leste, the only Timorese in the governance unit among seven internationals.

The occasion of Yousef and Mica's visits provided an opportunity for an alumni gathering at the home of Anne Hayner, Director of Alumni Affairs, on March 21 for a chili dinner.  Attendees included Cora Fernandez-Anderson, Brenna Cussen and Mica ('03), Jorge Vargas and Isis Nusair ('94), Yousef, Felicia Leon-Driscoll and Dan Slattery ('89), Olda Bures ('04) and Katie Buresova, Willow Wetherall ('02) and Mark Dehmlow, Larissa Fast and Michelle Parlevliet ('95), current student Elizabeth Serafin, and Pete Morgan and Carl Loesch, who met Yousef in 1990 while undergraduates in the ND Jerusalem program.

TSUNAMI:   In January 2005 the Kroc Institute heard from a number of alumni in and from the countries affected by the devastating tsunami.  Their collected messages to each other and to us portray both devastation and hope.

On September 9, 2004, Emil Bolongaita ('89), from the Philippines, presented the Kroc Insitute's first Distinguished Alumni Lecture, titled The Enemy Within: Challenging Corruption in Post-Conflict Countries.  Emil Bolongaita is deputy chief of party and senior governance advisor for Management Systems International, Inc., funded by the Rule of Law Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Philippines. This three-year program provides support to the Philippine government to strengthen rule of law through anticorruption and judicial reforms.  Previously Emil served as a consultant with the External Affairs and United Nations Vice-Presidency of the World Bank and as manager of the Public Sector Governance Group of the Economic Governance Technical Assistance Program of USAID in the Philippines. He is co-author of Challenging Corruption in Asia: Case Studies and A Framework for Action (World Bank 2004). Emil has taught at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, the Public Policy Program at the National University of Singapore, and at the Asian Institute of Management. He completed a PhD in government from Notre Dame in 1996.

A gathering of alumni and current MA students the next day, the evening of September 10, was the occasion for a multi-ethnic feast attended by 50 people, including several Kroc Institute staff and faculty.  The Robinson Community Learning Center, conveniently located across the street from the "Peace Apartments" where the students live, provided a great space and a warm welcome by Kim Overdyck ('02), who directs the Take Ten Program run by the center.  Several students contributed favorite ethnic foods to the feast, including 'mole' from Mexico, 'plov' from Tajikistan, and Chinese specialties.  Alumni in attendance included:

'89:  Felicia Leon-Driscoll, Emil Bolongaita, Dan Slattery

'94:  Isis Nusair

'95:  Larissa Fast

'96:  Hal Culbertson

'99:  David Ortiz

'01:  Sara Reschly, Mark Frey

'02:  Kim Overkyck, Karana Olivier, Marco Garrido, Willow Wetherall

'03:  Ruth Hill, Cora Fernandez-Anderson

'04:  Olda Bures, Lydia Zubytska, Jean-Marie Kamatali

Faculty and staff present included Midge Holleman, Rosemarie Green, Bob & Ruthann Johansen, Julie Titone, Andre Ratassep and Anne Hayner.

 

 

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