NGO, Non-Profit and Government Career Forum Co-sponsored with NYU, GW, UPenn, and University of Delaware
November 15, 2019 | Washington, DC
Becca Balis, Rebecca Webber Gaudiosi, Wanida Lewis, and Beth Solomon
Photos | Panelist Bios | Employers
Washington, DC—On November 15, 2019, WFPG co-sponsored a Non-Profit and Government Career Forum with George Washington University, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Delaware. The event included a panel discussion on careers in international affairs with UNICEF consultant Becca Balis, author and former diplomat Rebecca Webber Gaudiosi, senior economic evaluation program analyst at the Department of State's Office of Global Women's Issues, Dr. Wanida Lewis, and managing director of strategic initiatives and development of CARE USA Beth Solomon. WFPG Executive Director Kim Kahnhauser Freeman moderated the discussion. The forum also included a career fair, which offered students an opportunity to meet with representatives of various NGO's, non-profits, and government agencies.
Becca Balis is an international development and humanitarian response specialist. She currently consults for UNICEF where she develops UN-wide human rights policies across the Middle East and Central Asia region. Before returning to the US for law school, Balis gained extensive field experience working for the IRC in Mali and Northern Syria, Save the Children International in Myanmar, and UNICEF in the Philippines, building coalitions and developing action-oriented policies for multiple stakeholders. She has additional experience with UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross. As a Georgetown Law fellow, she litigated, and launched the partnerships and social cohesion case management program for a US-based refugee support non-profit. She also served as the co-director for the Georgetown Law Center-based International Migrants Bill of Rights Initiative. She holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.
A scientist turned diplomat, Rebecca Webber Gaudiosi represented the United States at the UN from 2006-2014, leading on US engagement with over 25 organizations focused on environment and sustainable development. Her last assignment with the State Department was at US Embassy Cairo. She recently co-authored a book on multilateral negotiations, Negotiating at the United Nations (Routledge, 2019), and leads workshops based on the book's content. Gaudiosi received an MPP from the Woodrow Wilson School in 2014. Her BS (RPI) and PhD (Northwestern) degrees are in Materials Science & Engineering. An AAAS S&T Policy Fellowship brought her to Washington.
Dr. Wanida Lewis is a senior economic evaluation program analyst at the Department of State's Office of Global Women's Issues. She completed a fellowship as an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow working in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. During her fellowship, she founded Young, Gifted, & Brown, LLC, a pipeline program supporting young Ghanaian women and entrepreneurs in STEM. Lewis was named by New America as one of the thirty five "Black American National Security in 2018, and Foreign Policy Next Generation Leaders" and is a 2019 Young Professionals in Foreign Policy "Gender Issues in Foreign Policy Fellow." She a BS from St. Augustine University, a Master's from North Carolina Central University, and a doctoral degree in Food Science from North Carolina State University.
Beth Solomon is Managing Director of Strategic Initiatives & Development of CARE USA, a global humanitarian and development organization focused on women and girls. Founder of The Georgetown Dish, she began her career as a reporter in East Africa for the Voice of America. As a freelance producer for ABC News, she covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union. Solomon then returned to Washington, where she wrote for the Atlanta Constitution, worked as a speechwriter for Senator Sam Nunn, and formed Planet Vox, which produced video and documentaries for public interest campaigns. Solomon has also held several senior strategic communications roles at the National Association of Manufacturers, the International Franchise Association and the National Restaurant Association; worked as an executive headhunter; and worked at a Hollywood talent agency. Solomon graduated from Yale and completed master's coursework at Georgetown.
|
