Connie Molusi ('93), from South Africa, recently appointed group chief executive officer of Johnnic Communications Ltd, is the first black person to lead a significant media company in South Africa. A career journalist, he worked in the public sector for four years, joining the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications & Broadcasting as a ministerial advisor during Nelson Mandela’s presidency, and later serving as general manager of support services. He served as project manager for the African Connection Project, a plan to increase the level of connectivity across Africa. In 2000, Connie moved to the corporate sector as CEO of Johnnic Publishing, publisher of The Sunday Times, South Africa's best-selling national newspaper, and in 2003 was appointed group CEO of the entire media and entertainment company. He serves on the board of the World Association of Newspapers and is chairman of the Newspaper Association of South Africa. molusic@johncom.co.za

Cath Byrne ('95), from South Africa, has been hired as assistant professor of social psychology, with a focus on social justice, at the University of Santa Cruz, California. She will begin in August. ccb@psych.upenn.edu

Obinna Anyadike ('97), from Nigeria, is managing editor of the United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) in Southern Africa, based in Johannesburg. Born out of the 1994 crisis in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, IRIN has pioneered the use of e-mail and web technology to report on humanitarian crises in Africa, including issues ranging from human rights to the environment. In 2000, Obi launched PlusNews, a specialized HIV/AIDS news service with the goal of producing a comprehensive one-stop interactive service for AIDS information and advocacy in sub-Saharan Africa. For more information: http://www.irinnews.org/ or http://www.plusnews.org/. Obi@irin.org.za

Helena Hofbauer (‘98), from Mexico, is executive director of Fundar, a center for analysis and research dedicated to the promotion of democracy in Mexico and other countries. The center works to build capacities in civil society in Mexico and more than ten other countries of Latin America, by holding governments accountable for use of public funds. Emphasis has been on gender-related issues and social programs for the poor, with additional work on broader topics like transparency, accountability and access to information. “We have a staff of 15-20 people. If people are interested in our lines of work, I would love to offer opportunities for internships at Fundar," Helena writes. More information on Fundar can be found at www.fundar.org.mx. helena@fundar.org.mx

Sophie Gelashvili (‘99), from the Republic of Georgia, joined the OSCE Mission to Georgia in April 2003, where she works in the political/military section. She spent the previous four years working with Oxfam, which she loved, but is looking forward to focusing on conflict issues. She continues to teach at the Georgian Technical University. She writes, “With recent events in Georgia, we did not have much time to work on any other issues but elections and democratization. Things have been developing quite fast during past couple of months. I gained some experience in non-violent resistance, so if anybody wants to do a case study on Georgia, I know good primary sources for that. But, seriously, nobody expected such a peaceful outcome!” sophikog@gol.ge

Karmela Devcic ('02), a journalist from Croatia, was appointed foreign news editor at the largest Croatian weekly, Globus (The Globe) in August 2003. karmela_devcic@yahoo.com

Brian McQuinn (‘03), from Canada, has been appointed Senior Program Associate in the Conflict Resolution Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to his time at Notre Dame, Brian worked as the Conflict Resolution Program Manager for the International Rescue Committee in Rwanda and as the reconciliation specialist for the Jane Goodall Institute's study of Conservation and Community Conflict. During five years with the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution in Ottawa, he designed and delivered conciliation, mediation and facilitation courses and worked on peacebuilding projects in Indonesia, East Timor and Bosnia.

Agadjan Kurbanov (‘03) has returned to Turkmenistan, where he is working as staff attorney with the American Bar Association/Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative Office in Ashgabat.

Ruth Hill ('03), from Northern Ireland, has been appointed Associate Director of the new Indianapolis Peace House, a component of the collaborative Plowshares project of Earlham, Goshen and Manchester colleges. The Peace House will be the location of a semester-long study-away program in peace studies for undergraduates from the three colleges and others around the nation. Ruth will have primary responsibility for the undergraduate program, which will include both course work and supervised internships. For more information: http://www.plowsharesproject.org/. jruthhill@yahoo.com

Lisa McKay ('03), from Australia, is Director of Training and Education at the Headington Institute in Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization that provides psychological and spiritual support to humanitarian aid and disaster relief personnel through staff training, organizational consultation and counseling services. For more information: http://www.headington_institute.org/. lmckay@headington_institute.org

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