The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State program aids growth of African leaders
Initiative brings 1,000 professionals to U.S. for study, networking.
Liberian native Edwin S. J. Mathies Jr. was working as a financial risk analyst when he first heard about an opportunity to improve the future of his country and continent. Through the Young African Leaders Initiative, Mathies learned about the Mandela Washington Fellows, a highly selective program that brings 1,000 African professionals to the U.S. for weeks of intensive study and networking. Each participant is teamed with a university that offers access to educators, executives and leaders in specific fields.
Mathies, whose interest is in public management, was selected from about 30,000 applicants to be part of a 25-member cohort that spent six weeks at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State.
“I was with fellows from 17 countries who were all working in public management,” said the 27-year-old. “This fellowship gave me the opportunity to meet leaders from around the world while I learned new skills that put me in a better position to impact the world.”
This year’s program, held during the summer, marked the fourth year Georgia State has been part of the initiative that has grown from 500 fellows in 2010 to 1,000 who study at 40 universities around the country. Participants are usually evenly divided between men and women who range in age from 24 to 35 years old.
“Most of the people who attend our program are public servants in their countries. Some may already have positions in government or non-governmental organizations, and others might be doctors or lawyers,” said Shereen Bhan, the assistant director of the International Center for Public Policy at the AYSPS. “We get a diverse representation of professional backgrounds that are all connected to public management.”
Georgia State’s program is particularly popular with fellows for several reasons, Bhan explained. “First, we’re the Andrew Young school, and the fellow adore Ambassador Young who makes a point to meet with them,” she said. “His daughter also has presented a session every year and has even had them over to dinner at her place. They also get to meet the governor and the mayor.”
Second, the city itself is a magnet, Bhan said. “There are special places that only exist in Atlanta — The Carter Center, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, the CDC, Coca-Cola, Delta and a number of incredible NGOs. We’re also known for the civil rights movement. Every week the fellows are here, we take them to different places, and they tell us this is such a diverse city where they see people who look like them. They don’t feel out of place.”
The fellows are also paired with business and policy leaders who share insights and expertise.
“The peer/collaborator aspect matches each person with someone who might be at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory or the Federal Reserve bank,” said Bhan. “And many fellows are selected to do an extended professional development course and spend more time at a specific agency, organization or company.”
At the end of the Atlanta portion of the program, fellows spent a week in Washington meeting with officials and executives before heading home. This year, Mathies made the trek back to Liberia and immediately applied for a student visa to return to Georgia State.
“I saw the great academic-programs and the well-connected, nationally recognized faculty members at Georgia State, and I asked about getting admitted,” he said. “At the end of the fellowship, I was offered a scholarship, so I went home, got a student visa and am now pursuing a master’s of public policy. The goal of the fellowship and my studies is to take whatever skills I gain, go back home and make it a better place.”