Welcoming new board members, Jordanians (UJLEP), IVLP groups, and farewell to YLAI 2024
There is so much strife in the world right now. With all of the turmoil, it has been our honor hosting, through IVLP, leaders from Pakistan, focused on women in tech, and school principals from the Republic of Georgia, focused on social emotional learning (SEL), over the past week.
We are in the business of humanization and this opportunity to directly engage across difference, in our small corner of the world, is a small step that we can take to combat all forms of othering. As you will see below, we have grown our board, are about to host young Jordanian leaders through UJLEP, and have many people coming to Kalamazoo from across the world - journalists, youth leaders, professionals combatting human trafficking, human rights leaders, and more, with whom you can engage in Kalamazoo over the coming weeks and months.
Welcome to the Board of Directors, Deborah and Natalia
Here within Global Ties Kalamazoo, April was a bittersweet month of warm welcomes and emotional goodbyes as we celebrated two new members joining our board of directors, welcomed several IVLP delegations, and bid the fondest of farewells to our second YLAI cohort, as well as a long-time board member.
It was so rewarding that for their first board meeting, our two newest members -- Natalia Carvalho-Pinto and Deborah Harsha -- were able to be part of the "Having Generative Discussions" experiential workshop, offered and facilitated by Amy Mervak and Allison Hammond (pictured above). So many wonderful ideas and conversations on building and maintaining a cohesive, constructive board were shared. We also said farewell to long-time board member Daniela Schroeter, for whom this was her last board meeting. We thank her and congratulate her on her 2024 WMU Presidential Innovation Professorship and all the amazing things she will continue to do.
Congrats to these amazing young entrepreneurs!
Congrats #YLAI2024 alumni
We’re also still celebrating our second cohort of YLAI fellows, who graduated the program in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. this month, following a four-week-long stay in Kalamazoo with local Fellowship Placement Organizations (FPOs). Their delight at discovering so much to love about Southwest Michigan, and their joy at being placed with FPOs that aligned so well with their work, was infectious.
Many of the local organizations who hosted fellows seconded Bee Joyful Shop owner Jessica Thompson's sentiment: "This was an amazing experience ... I look forward to doing this again next year!"
Likewise, the entrepreneurs visiting Kalamazoo from across the Americas agreed that they had "the best FPO placement". In the words of Bee Joyful fellow April Castellano: "We were the perfect pair!"
There is no cost to the fellowship placement organization to host a fellow in programs like YLAI and UJLEP (U.S-Jordan Leadership Exchange Program) – which comes to Kalamazoo for the first time this May – the myriad benefits are so wide-ranging both professionally and personally. If you're interested in more information on becoming a fellowship host organization, email info@globaltieskzoo.org.
A thousand thank yous to the individuals and organizations who made this group feel so incredibly welcome in our community:
For more highlights from #YLAI2024, check out Guille’s “Real World Kalamazoo” videos on the PMN website and visit our photo album from their visit.
IVLP happenings in April
We also welcomed several IVLP delegations to Kalamazoo this April, including those focused on Promoting Service Learning and Career Counseling in Education; Bridging the Gender Divide through Inclusion of Women Entrepreneurs in Gaming, Tech, and Freelancing; and an Edward R. Murrow Program For Journalists: Research and Investigation. It was a joy sharing our region, and so much rich conversation, with these groups of leaders from so many parts of the world. It was especially thrilling to connect a group from Georgia with GTKzoo board member Anna Popkova's class to offer the visitors an opportunity to see service learning in action. Anna's capstone PR Campaigns class presented their final campaigns to their semester client, the Kalamazoo Coalition for the Unhoused, and received live feedback. The visitors were able to observe how the students partnered with a local non-profit to gain hands-on experience in Public Relations while supporting a community organization, followed by discussions with Anna and her students which were enjoyed by all!
We are excited to welcome several more IVLP delegations in May, with home hospitality opportunities available to welcome several of these amazing groups of leaders into your home for a meal. Visit globaltieskzoo.org/volunteer for more information.
We need to hear from you
Speaking of our gracious hospitality hosts, Global Ties Kalamazoo is seeking your participation in our programs as a host. Our hospitality survey takes less than a minute to complete, and we welcome you to take a moment to fill it out. We would love to include you as a home host, a meal host, or as a professional host.
We are able to do what we do because you participate and share your version of our community with our guests.
So many from around the world visiting Kalamazoo in the coming months
Thank you in advance to the overnight home hosts who are joining us in welcoming our first UJLEP (U.S.-Jordan Leadership Exchange Program) delegation to Kalamazoo. These 12 fellows in Business and Entrepreneurship, Public Health, DEIA, Civil Society, Civic Participation, Women’s Empowerment, and Community Engagement will spend May 10 - June 9 in fellowship placements with Kalamazoo-area organizations Mondays - Thursdays, spending their Fridays with the Global Ties Kalamazoo team and local organizations, and their evenings and weekends with their hosts. We are seeking more overnight hosts. Please join us!!
We’re actively seeking both overnight and meal hospitality hosts for several programs throughout the spring and summer. Please take a moment to visit www.globaltieskzoo.org/volunteer and let us know if you’re able to participate. Several home hosting opportunities are listed below, with many meal hospitality options available as well.
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Home Hosting Opportunities
May 10 - June 9 (with generous stipend!) - U.S.- Jordan Leadership Exchange Program (UJLEP): 12 fellows in Business and Entrepreneurship, Public Health, DEIA, Civil Society, Civic Participation, Women’s Empowerment, and Community Engagement
June 7 - 15 - Legal Aid and Civil Society (Open World - COIL) - six people from Azerbaijan who work with IDPs, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized communities to gain access to fair counsel and protect their rights to equality before the law.
July 17 - 30 - Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program (IYLEP) - 20 participants (including 18 youth and two adult mentors) focused on Peace Building, Community Resilience, and Entrepreneurship
If ensuring that #ExchangeIsForEverybody matters to you, we invite you to consider supporting our work. Click the button below to donate, or text GTKZOO to 44321.
Thank you for your support,
Jodi Hope Michaels and the Global Ties Kalamazoo Team
*This blog post was originally sent as an email newsletter April 30, 2024
