The Advisory Board
One World Youth Project is supported by a strong, global Advisory Board made up of former volunteers, staff and participants as well as education experts.
Jess Rimington -Founder, Executive Director 2004 – 2012, Chair of the Advisory Board
Jeff Arak – Program Strategy Director 2009 – 2011; volunteer 2007 – 2009
Anjali Daryanani -Communications Director 2010 – 2012
François Pazisnewende Kaboré -Board Member 2009 – 2012
Dr. Twila C. Liggett - Board Member in 2012
Soumaya Maghnouj -OWYP participant 2004 – 2005, volunteer 2005 – 20o9, fellow in 2011
Abdu Mohamed -volunteer 2006 – 2010, OWYP educator 2005 – 2009
Vivian Ojo -Fellow 2011 – 2012
Behar Xharra -volunteer 2007 – 2011
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Jeff Arak, Freelance documentary filmmaker
Jeff Arak was born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1985. He studied Anthropology and Latin American and Latino Studies at Brandeis University where he was awarded the Betty and Harry S. Shapiro Endowed Award in Anthropology. His documentary thesis, Those With Voice was awarded highest honors and is distributed internationally by Documentary Educational Resources in Watertown, Massachusetts. Since college, Jeff has worked between the realms of education and documentary filmmaking. Jeff traveled to Beijing to shoot a film about efforts to hold the worlds first “Green Olympics” and to Mexico to chronicle life in a beach town in Mexico where he almost drowned in 2006. He worked as Program Coordinator and later as Strategic Program Director at One World Youth Project from 2009 to 2011. His latest project uses video to teach Mexican Sign Language in rural areas of the country. Jeff currently works as a freelance documentary filmmaker in New York City.
Anjali Daryanani, Filmmaker and communications specialist
Anjali Daryanani served as the communications director for One World Youth Project for two years after graduating from Georgetown University with a BS in Foreign Service. While at OWYP, Anjali captured the experiences of the participating students and the impact of the organization through video, and since then, she started to become interested in filmmaking. She is now beginning a career as a documentary filmmaker and she will attend the International Film School of Paris in the fall. Originally from India and raised in Hong Kong, Anjali has traveled to many countries in Asia and has always wanted to bring light to issues of social justice and community empowerment in the region.
Jennifer Ehidiamen, Media trainer and senior reporter at Global Press Institute
Jennifer Ehidiamen currently works as a media trainer and senior reporter at Global Press Institute (GPI). Between January 2007 and January 2012, she consistently wrote a youth advocacy column, Dis Generation, in the Nation, one of Nigeria’s leading national newspapers. A tech savvy Journalist keen about using the new media as a tool to disseminate information, collaborate and stir up progressive interaction, Jennifer is described as one of the next generation of communicators by Georgetown University’s GAIN & Center for Social Impact Communication (CSIC). She served as an Atlas Corps Fellow 2009-2010, volunteering with One World Youth Project (OWYP) in Washington D.C. as Communications and School Partnership Director. She helped OWYP develop an online communication strategy and created a system for sustainability.
Her experience in international Journalism includes covering President Obama’s Meeting with Young African Leaders in Washington D.C. and also reporting live on the first Rolex Young Laureates Awards in Geneva, Switzerland. Jennifer served as a speaker during the World Press Freedom Day 2011 (WPFD) that held in Washington DC between May 1st-3rd. She spoke on youth consumption of the New Media, its challenges and opportunities, under the theme “Digital Native: The New Media Generation.” In October 2011, Jennifer served as one of the youth bloggers who covered the 7th UNESCO Youth Forum in Paris. She also served as the Online Curator and Blog Editor for UNAIDS New Generation Leadership Strategy, a consultancy service rendered as part of the collaborative crowdsourcing process to develop a new UNAIDS strategy on HIV and young people.
Jennifer loves writing. Her first book “In Days To Come” was published in 2004 by Young Poet Society U.K. “Preserving My Saltiness” was published in 2011 by Step Out Creatives Birmingham U.K. In November 2010, she was awarded the LEAP Africa Nigerian Youth Leadership Award for her work as an outstanding Nigerian youth leader. She also received the Provost’s Award for 2011 Overall Best Behaved Student and Ambassador of The Nigerian Institute of Journalism, her alma mater. Jennifer believes God created Youth for a purpose and thus should not be wasted in frivolity. Favorite quote: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
François Pazisnewende Kaboré, PhD, visiting professor at Georgetown University and Jesuit Priest
François is a native of Burkina Faso (West Africa). He currently teaches Math/Statistics for Development and Economic Analysis of Sub-Saharan Africa, as a visiting professor at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University. After completing his PhD in Economics, François worked as Professor and Director of Academic Affairs (Dean) of the Center for Research and Action for Peace (CERAP), a growing Jesuit University in Ivory Coast (West Africa). In addition to his administrative responsibilities, François also taught Political Economy, Governance and Development Economics. He has previously taught micro economics, macro economics and development economics, as well as econometrics software (Stata), as a teaching assistant or as an adjunct professor at American University, Georgetown University, and the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé (Cameroon). He has also previously worked, as a consultant, at the Sustainable Development Network unit of the World Bank in Washington DC. His research has been presented at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva and he is currently consulting for WIPO on Intellectual Property, Brain Drain and Development in Africa. His long term mission is to develop the first full-fledged Jesuit Business School in West Africa. He is a Jesuit Priest and member of the Georgetown University Jesuit Community.
Dr. Twila C. Liggett is the founder of the outstanding PBS Children’s TV series, Reading Rainbow which premiered on PBS in 1983 and was also Executive Producer of the Emmy award winning series from its inception through 2006. Under her leadership, the series won over 160 awards including the Prix Juenesse (1992) a prestigious international award, the Peabody (1993), and 26 national Emmys, ten of which are in the Outstanding Children’s Series category.
As an educator and author, Dr. Liggett has published widely on issues ranging from literacy to human potential. In addition to her Reading Rainbow responsibilities, she has also held appointments as an adjunct professor at Marymount Manhattan College (1999-2000) and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2001-2002). Dr. Liggett holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction and Administration, a MA in Elementary Education (both from the University of Nebraska) and a BS in Music and Secondary Education (Union College, Nebraska). Dr. Liggett was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Marymount Manhattan College (New York City) in 2001. Dr. Liggett joined the faculty of Marymount (Fall 2006) as Professor of Teacher Education with a specialty in Literacy. She is currently working on a new children’s television/multi-media series, Betty Spaghetti’s Flying Food Adventures (good nutrition as fun) and plans to retire this spring from Marymount.
Soumaya Maghnouj is a Moroccan development worker. She is a One World youth Project Alumnus. She joined first One world Youth Project as a young participant in 2005, and then became school mentor in Rabat, Morocco, then regional coordinator for Africa until 2008. Soumaya organizes each year since 2010 a women interpersonal development workshop for Moroccan women social activist called Women Circle. Soumaya is a graduate student in Economics and Public Policy in France. She has a B.A in political science and Middle Eastern Studies from Sciences-Po Paris. She loves reading, dancing, practicing yoga and discovering new music scenes and amazing artists.
Abdu Mohamed, Country Coordinator for Miracle Corners Tanzania
Abdu Mohamed lives in Arusha Tanzania (East Africa) he became involved with One World Youth Project in 2005. Abdu loves community works and has been working hard through the Perfect Youth Group to spearhead the Implementation of United Nations Millennium Development Goals in his community in Arusha, Tanzania. Abdu is current attending The University of Arusha taking Bachelor Degree in Business Management, and works as the Country Coordinator for Miracle Corners Tanzania, volunteering in several organizations that works with communities, and does facilitation on LifeSkills Lessons to youth at his community center. Abdu is a Political figure, hardworking and a young professional who expecting to be a Great Leader in Tanzania who believes to make the world a better place.
Ossob Mohamud, humanitarian worker
Ossob Mohamud has worked with One World Youth Project since 2011, first as a summer intern at the DC office, then as a Project Manager Fellow on her campus, and finally as a Program Coordinator. She also served as the Interim Curriculum Developer. She is currently pursuing a career in the humanitarian and development field and hopes to move to Somalia and work in her country of origin. Ossob is a recent graduate from Georgetown University and majored in International Politics. She enjoys reading, writing, and is passionate about impacting change within her community.
Vivian Ojo, Georgetown University student
Vivian Ojo is a Namibian- Nigerian student in the Georgetown School of Foreign Service (2014). Having lived and studied in several nations both within and outside Africa, Vivian has been exposed to several cross cultural moments and dialogues that fuel her passion for education as a key component of realizing social justice and global peace. She is majoring in Comparative Studies of Africa and Latin America with a focus on International Development. She has interned with the Leon H Sullivan Foundation and is co-founder and finance director for GU Circle of women and is specifically passionate about girls education. In her free time, she dances with a Georgetown modern dance company, plays guitar and reads and writes poetry. For her, the arts are a worthy means of expressing diverse yet connected cultural experiences. Vivian was a OWYP thought leadership fellow between December 2011 and August 2012 when the organization became a part of the El Hibri Charitable foundation. She intends to continue close relationship with OWYP and is excited to be used in the growth of what is already a unique and inspirational organisation.
Behar Xharra, Policy consultant on economic & political development strategies
Behar Xharra is a policy consultant focusing on economic and political development strategies. He has worked for various governmental and non-governmental agencies including the Government of Kosovo, the United Nations Development Program, the Foreign Policy Club and Friedrich-Eberft-Stiftung foundation. He has served as UNDP Senior expert on Millennium Development Goals at the Assembly of Kosovo, and also worked with UNDP at the Parliament of Bangladesh. He has served as a policy consultant for PRI Project Development in Lagos, Nigeria, and currently works at Navanti Group in Washington D.C. Behar Xharra is a graduate of Earlham College and the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University. He has been a fellow at the Harriman Institute and the Empedocle Maffia Fellow of the Center for International Conflict Resolution at Columbia University.