NIDA International Program Director Steven W. Gust, Ph.D., Associate Director Dale Weiss, and Fellowships Administrator Lisa Jordre joined officials from the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education to congratulate the 2012–2013 NIDA Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows at a year-end retreat held May 5–7, 2013, in Potomac, Maryland. The NIDA Humphrey Fellows from Virginia Commonwealth and Johns Hopkins universities were among the 190 fellows representing 93 countries who spent a year of mentored academic study at 1 of 18 host campuses in the United States. John Sedlins, chief of the U.S. Department of State Fellows Humphrey Fellowships and Institutional Linkages Branch, presented the fellows with certificates signed by President Barak Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry.
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) celebrated graduation May 17, 2013, with NIDA International Program and Institute of International Education (IIE) staff. From left: Pavla Dolezalova, Czech Republic; Arnold Simpreux, Haiti; Nang Mo Kham, Burma (Myanmar); Basat Ilter, Turkey; Susan Ruturi, Kenya; NIDA International Program Fellowships Administrator Lisa Jordre; Lauren Stewart, IIE; Sossinou Awoussi, Togo; Mariana Salamoun, Lebanon; and George Leveridge, Jamaica. Keynote speaker and former JHU Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program Director Wallace Mandell, Ph.D., M.P.H., told the graduates, “You bring hope to your countries; hope that things can be better and will get better.” NIDA International Program Associate Director Dale Weiss also spoke, telling the fellows that NIDA appreciates the difficulty of completing a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship and looks forward to celebrating the fellows’ future accomplishments with the international drug abuse research community.
NIDA Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows at Virginia Commonwealth University celebrated graduation April 27, 2013, with NIDA International Program staff. From left: Claudemir dos Santos, Brazil; Kouame Sedaminou, Togo; NIDA International Program Fellowships Administrator Lisa Jordre; Jezelle Charles, Trinidad and Tobago; Bola Ola, Nigeria; NIDA International Program Associate Director Dale Weiss; Rosie Myint, Burma (Myanmar); Suzan Ben Ezra, Israel; NIDA International Program Technical Consultant Judy McCormally; and Sossinou Awoussi, Togo. VCU Associate Vice President for Research Development Ann M. Nichols-Casebolt, Ph.D., delivered the keynote address, urging the fellows to “pay forward” their Humphrey Fellowship experience by using it to benefit others in their home countries.