Posse D.C., Summer 2012[pdf] - The Posse Foundation

SUmmer 2012d.c.D.C. Welcomes Newest Posse AlumniNew Posse alumni are welcomed by the older alumni at 2012 Alumni Induction Ceremony.Posse D.C. welcomed its 2012graduates to the Posse Alumni Network onJune 7 at the Arnold & Porter LLP officesin Washington, D.C. The recent graduateswere joined by current Scholars, family andfellow alumni to celebrate their transitionfrom Scholars to alumni.AN incredibly Powerful network ofof Posse Alum who are changingthe face of leadership in this countryThe event featured an inaugural liveTwitter feed, giving supporters from acrossthe country an opportunity to participatein the induction ceremony. Tweets withencouraging and congratulatory messagesfrom all over Posse nation were sentthroughout the evening under the hashtag#PosseDCAlumni. Among the tweeterswas Posse’s chief operating officer, MattFasciano, who posted, “You are joining anincredibly powerful network of Posse alumwho are changing the face of leadershipin our country.” Another tweet from JeffUbben, chair of Posse’s national board ofdirectors, urged alumni to “be an army ofchange.”Guests and alumni in attendance wereinvited to share how proud they were of thenew alumni during the open mic portion ofthe program.Judith Hunter, Grinnell Posse 4campus mentor, told the new alumni,“You experienced lots of challenges andrewards throughout your college years, butthroughout all of it you kept on working,providing strong leadership to manyparts of the college. Now as you becomePosse alums, I expect that you will keepon working through the approachingchallenges and rewards, and provide thatsame leadership in your future endeavors.”“The journey does not stop here,”added Fri-Maikah Fon, Bucknell Posse4. “We must give back to Posse andour communities. This will ensure thecontinuation of life-long learners, achieversand future leaders in our community.”New alumni were excited to realizeall the ways Posse supports its alumnicommunity.“It gave me a great feeling to attendand realize that I have the support ofthe Posse staff, fellow Posse membersSee “Alumni Induction” on Page iiiNew Posse alumna Fri-Maikah Fon, Bucknell Posse 4,expresses her gratitude for Posse during the open mic.posse D.C. summer 2012i

Posse D.C. Celebrates Class of 2012 GraduatesPosse Scholars at Bucknell University,Grinnell College, Lafayette College andSewanee: The University of the Southcrossed the graduation finish line inMay. The new graduates were especiallyhonored to have the presidents of theirrespective institutions offer opening remarksat the Posse Graduation Ceremonies.The ceremonies concluded with tearfulcomments from parents and familymembers celebrating the students’ hardwork.ceremonies gave posseAnd Its University Partnersthe Chance to CelebrateLaura Jean Gonzalez spoke of herdaughter Deana’s strength and convictionin returning to Sewanee after her father’sdeath her sophomore year. She thankedSewanee for providing such a tight-knit,caring environment for her daughter duringthat difficult time and attributed Deana’sdecision to stay at Sewanee to the supportoffered by her Posse and her Posse mentor.The ceremonies gave Posse and itsuniversity partners the chance to celebratethe many academic and leadershipaccomplishments of the new graduates. TwoBucknell Posse Scholars graduated withdual degrees: Jeremy Byler, Bucknell Posse3, earned a B.S. in engineering and a B.A.in geology, while his Posse member WernerParrilla earned a B.S. in engineering anda B.A. in economics. Jeremy was also therecipient of two Bucknell awards. He waschosen for the Richard P. Nickelsen Prize,which is given to the senior demonstratingoutstanding performance in geology. Healso received the Matthew B. Ridgway Jr.Award, established in memory of the lateMatthew B. Ridgway, Jr., Class of 1971. It isgiven by the George C. Marshall ResearchFoundation to the member of the graduatingclass who best exemplifies the character,selflessness, integrity and dedication tocountry demonstrated by General Marshalland by Matthew Ridgway, Jr.Three Posse Scholars graduatedcum laude: Khadija Abdel Hafiz-Sokariafrom Lafayette with a double major ininternational affairs and a self-designedArab studies major, Amanda Stina Renvallfrom Sewanee majoring in international &global studies with a minor in French andJustin Riopelle from Sewanee with a doublemajor in international & global studies andSpanish.William Harris, Bucknell Posse 4 graduate, addresses thecrowd during Posse Graduation Ceremony.These new graduates will take theirleadership skills to exciting opportunitiesin diverse professional fields. After asuccessful internship last summer withPosse Career Program partner Bank ofAmerica, Ayodeji Odusami, LafayettePosse 3, was offered a full-time positionat their headquarters in Charlotte, NorthCarolina. Three members of Ayodeji’s Possegraduated with degrees in engineering andall three of them have impressive full-timepositions lined up—Kyvory Hendersonat the Center for Applied Biomechanics,Vicchay Khiev at Honda and Michael Trejoat Turner Construction. Learning from hisexperiences as a digital media intern atDiscovery Communications last summerand as a studio art major, Grinnell Posse4 graduate Kyle Espinosa will be enteringthe competitive MTV Summer Associatesprogram this summer.Graduates Will take Their Leadershipskills to Exciting Opportunitiesin Diverse Professional fieldsposse D.C. summer 2012iiGrinnell Posse 4 after the Posse Graduation Ceremony.Lafayette Posse 3 celebrates their accomplishment together.A number of recent graduates will beentering the classroom as new teachers.DeMark Bowman, Lafayette Posse 3, willbe taking a teaching position at his formerhigh school, Friendship Collegiate Academy,and Fri-Maikah Fon, Bucknell Posse 4,will be part of the new cohort of Teach forAmerica corps members in Washington,D.C. Two of our graduating Scholars will betraveling across the globe to teach English:Sulymane Silah, Bucknell Posse 4, in Japanand Khadija Abdel Hafiz-Sokaria, LafayettePosse 3, in South Korea.Posse D.C. is proud of its class of 2012graduates.*

Legal Community Comes Out to Support PosseD.C. Advisory Board membersBill Cook of Arnold & Porter LLP, WaltLohmann of Kirkland & Ellis LLP andPosse alumnus Edgar Ndjatou of AlanBanov & Associates co-chaired the secondannual D.C. Legal Community Introductionto Posse event on May 8.As a testament to the outpouring ofsupport from the legal community since lastyear’s first event, Posse also worked withthree event hosts from major firms in theDistrict: Kenneth Imo from WilmerHale,Philip Hampton from Dickstein Shapiroand Holly Loiseau from Weil, Gotshal &Manges.This event was an opportunity for thelocal legal community to learn how to bestsupport the Posse program. The co-chairsand hosts, along with Posse D.C. DirectorTamara Wilds Lawson, discussed the historyof Posse D.C. and the various ways for thelegal community to become involved withthe program, including career, volunteer andfundraising opportunities.“Scholars and alumni are eager toexplore the legal sector, “ says Posse D.C.Career Program Manager Josh Christianson.“When we survey their interests, lawopportunities are always at the top of thelist. The internship opportunities providedby our Career partners at law firms are aninvaluable resource for Scholars.”event highlightD.C. Legal Community IntroductionPosse alumnus Brian Farnkoff, event host Kenneth Imo of WilmerHale, Posse D.C. Director Tamara Wilds Lawson and Possealumnus and event co-chair Edgar Ndjatou (from left to right).There were close to 40 guests fromfirms including Cozen, Hogan Lovells,Morgan Lewis, Reed Smith, Sedgwick,Wiley Rein, Brown Rudnick and Crowell &Moring in attendance. Posse D.C. is thrilledto be expanding its network and looksforward to continuing outreach in the legalcommunity to support Scholars with thiscareer interest and to strengthen the work ofPosse D.C.*“Alumni Induction” from Page iand advocates. I know that wherever mycareer and ambition take me, I have astrong network of people who care aboutmy success.” commented newly inductedalumnus Michael Trejo, Lafayette Posse 3.Melissa Reyes, national director ofcareer and alumni programs, shared herown experience as a Posse scholar andalumna before concluding the program withsome advice and a closing charge to dreambig from Posse Founder and PresidentDeborah Bial.“Always have high expectations foryourself, “ Deborah tweeted to the newgraduates.Now that recent graduates have takenthe next step in Posse, they join a networkof more than 1,500 alumni who are buildinga reputation as dynamic leaders in theworkforce and in their communities.*Grinnell Posse 4 mentor Judith Hunter acknowledges howproud she is of her Posse and their accomplishments.posse D.C. summer 2012Posse alumni from Sewanee stand together during Alumni Induction.Posse D.C. PNAAC representative Jeyson Florez (left) and D.C.Leadership Council member Josh Rosenbaum.iii

D.C. Scholars Are Making A Global ImpactThis summer, two members ofLafayette D.C. Posse 4 are teaming up tohelp promote healthy communities halfwayaround the globe. Thafhim (Muna) Siddiquaand Taneesha Tate-Robinson were recentlyawarded the Kathryn Davis Projects forPeace Award for their project, “Save Mefrom Arsenic Poisoning.” This includes a$10,000 grant that Muna and Taneesha areusing to provide a village in Bangladeshwith the means to identify, test for and treatthe illness.Muna, a civil and environmentalengineering student, spent the summer of2011 in her native Bangladesh interningwith International Union for Conservationof Nature (IUCN). During her time there,she noticed the adverse impact arsenicpoisoning, or arsenicosis, was having onsmall rural communities, and she begangathering data.“I was shocked to learn that nearlyhalf of the Bangladeshis are affected byLafayette Posse 4 Scholars Muna Siddiqua (center) andTaneesha Tate-Robinson (right) converse with localcommunity members in Bangladesh.arsenicosis,” says Muna. “It can have a longlastingimpact that is particularly dangerousfor children, so I began to learn about howeducation outreach could be used to benefitthe communities.”Muna spoke about the issue toTaneesha, a fellow Posse Scholar and aninternational affairs major with experiencein public policy and social programs.Together, they envisioned the project toaddress this dire need.“Having worked with victims ofHurricane Katrina and high school studentsin Madagascar, I feel it’s my duty to helpothers not as fortunate as I am,” saysTaneesha. “This project seemed like theperfect fit for me.”Traveling to Barisal, Bangladesh, Munaand Taneesha will lead a team to conductpublic education workshops, teachingvillagers to test their water for the presenceof arsenic. In addition to partneringwith local universities to recruit studentvolunteers, Muna and Taneesha plan tooversee the formation of a local committeethat will continue to advise the communityabout arsenic poisoning.“Every human has a right to freeand clean drinking water,” says Muna.“Our long-term goal is to have this villageadopted by Lafayette College so that thework continues and is replicated in othervillages across the country.”*Posse D.C. relies on the support of individuals, corporations and foundations. Their funding makes ourprogram possible. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to Posse, please contact Rachel Alper atrachela@possefoundation.org. You can also donate online at www.possefoundation.org.posse D.C. summer 2012ivd.c. advisory boardChairFrank SesnoBob BarrettDonella P. BrockingtonBonnie CohenWilliam E. Cook, Jr.Joan I. FabryJeyson FlorezMichael FordJohn GilkesCaroline H. LittleWalter LohmannJames Owen MathewsCamille Riggs MosleyCarla L. PetersonThomas W. RabautDavid M. RileyCristina SaccoLydia W. Thomas, Ph.D.Director of The George Washington University’s School of Media andPublic AffairsPartner, PwCVice President of Business Development, ACS, a Xerox CompanyPrincipal, B.R. Cohen and AssociatesPartner, Arnold and Porter LLParchitectFederal Strategy and Operations Consultant, Deloitte Consulting LLPVice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion, Hilton WorldwidePrincipal, Forensic & Dispute Services, Deloitte Financial AdvisoryServices LLPPresident and CEO, Newspaper Association of AmericaPartner, Kirkland and Ellis LLPExecutive Team, Healthy Companies InternationalVice President of Development & Strategic Alliance, National Association ofequal Opportunity in Higher EducationProfessor of English, University of Maryland, College ParkSenior Advisor, The Carlyle GroupSenior Vice President, Capital Research CompanyIntegration Assistant, Arnold and Porter LLPTrustee, George Washington University, Noblisvisit posse on the web at: www.possefoundation.orgposse d.c.partner colleges& universitiesBucknell UniversityGrinnell CollegeLafayette CollegePepperdine UniversitySewanee: The University of the SouthUniversity of Wisconsin-Madisonposse d.c.Tamara Wilds Lawson, Director1319 F Street NW, Suite 604Washington, DC 20004Phone: (202) 347–7071Fax: (202) 347–7480tamarawl@possefoundation.orgnational office14 Wall Street, Suite 8A-60New York, NY 10005Phone: (212) 405-1691Fax: (212) 405-1697info@possefoundation.org