At Kopi Café in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, Diana Giambona enjoys the last days of her Fulbright experience days prior to returning to Spain.
LAST AUGUST 2023, I bid farewell to Chicago after a year studying at Northwestern University, where I earned my Master of Science in Journalism from Medill. It was a unique opportunity to learn from top journalism experts, connect with incredibly talented individuals, and gain invaluable experiences.
It marked my first trip to the United States. I felt thrilled yet also apprehensive about the challenges ahead.
The shift was significant, traveling from Tenerife, a beautiful Spanish island across from Africa with close to a million residents, to bustling Chicago, among the United States most populous cities.
The Fulbright Chicago Chapter offered tremendous support during my time there, with their mentorship program easing my integration into the local community.
Attending with two other Fulbright students the “Cintas de Seda” play by Aguijón Theater.Next to her Flavia Martins from Portugal and Olivia Walliser from Switzerland.
My mentor, who is also a journalist, guided me through the intricacies of higher education, shared insights into American society, and provided assistance whenever I had questions, even support when applying to internships.
Through the Fulbright Chicago Chapter activities, I connected with fellow Fulbrighters who joined me on this incredible journey. Some of them became friends, and I thank them for making this experience even better.
With Flavia Martins, a Fulbrighter from Portugal, Diana Giambona shares a Christmas celebration at her mentor’s home.
To future Fulbrighters, I recommend engaging in Chicago Chapter activities and connecting with other members. To those beginning their program this year, embrace every moment and savor your time because it passes swiftly. Also, participate in its Mentoring Program that will help you navigate American society.
It was an unforgettable adventure. Thanks to Fulbright Program and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association for making it happen.
JOIN THE CHICAGO CHAPTER OF THE FULBRIGHT ASSOCIATION for an enchanting evening as we celebrate the second successful year of the Fulbright Chicago Mentoring Program! This special event, brimming with camaraderie, achievement, and inspiration, will highlight the enriching experiences of our mentees throughout their stay in the Chicagoland area.
Enjoy a spring evening of live music, delightful food, and fine wine, mingling with fellow mentors, mentees, and alumni.
WHEN Friday May 10, 2024 TIME 6:00 – 9:00 PM WHERE The Alliance Française ADDRESS 54 West Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60610 COST FREE (But consider donations and contributing to our clothing drive. Details below) RSVP NOW HERE
Certificate Presentation Ceremony: Witness the proud moment as each mentee receives a certificate, celebrated by their mentor or a member of the Mentoring Committee. Mentees, submit your information for your certificate here: https://forms.gle/yhxf8maswzRVCS1j6
Community Support Initiative: In the spirit of giving, we are also organizing a clothing drive to support immigrant families in need. Please bring gently used clothing suitable for spring and summer to help make a difference.
We are gathering together to honor this year’s mentoring achievements, foster new connections, and positively impact our community.
Sylvia Atsalis is the founder of Professional Development for Good, a consulting practice dedicated to nurturing the talents of emerging conservation leadership across developing countries globally. Initially, Atsalis’s consulting efforts were directed towards mission-driven individuals, including students, early career professionals, and even those in mid-career seeking a pivotal change. To achieve a greater impact, her focus has shifted towards NGO teams, aiming to enhance their talents, communication, and leadership skills. As a scientist and conservationist, Atsalis’s mission is closely aligned with those she supports, understanding the specific demands of their careers from a place of shared experience and commitment.
CONTINUING WITH our Fulbright Chicago Mentoring Program webinars, this time we have two local Fulbright Chicago alumni sharing their work with the immigrant community. Participate in this opportunity to meet fellow Fulbrighters!
TWO-TIME FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR and current executive director of the Bulgarian-American Fulbright Commission in Sofia, Bulgaria, Angela Rodel is visiting Chicago. “As a literary translator who was able to learn Bulgarian thanks to a Fulbright student grant way back in 1996, I will presenting my latest translation ‘The Case of Cem’ by Vera Mutafchieva,” Rodel says. She is inviting the Fulbright community to this literary event where Rodel will be discussing the book with the editorial director of Words Without Borders, Susan Harris.
WHATThe Case of Cem book discussion
WHO Angela Rodel and Susan Harris
WHEN Feb. 7, 2024. 6:00-7:00 PM
WHERE Seminary Co-op, 5751 S Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, IL60615
About the book: It’s 1481, and as seen from the centers of power in Rome and Venice, the cultures of Europe are under threat from the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. When the exalted Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror dies, his eldest son, Bayezid, takes the throne. However, discontented factions within the Ottoman army urge Mehmed’s second son, Cem, a well-educated and experienced warrior, to oppose his brother’s ascension, igniting a ruthless power struggle and forcing Cem into long years of exile, a pawn for European rulers who are desperate to preserve the order they have imposed on the continent over the course of centuries.
The Case of Cem, Vera Mutafchieva’s celebrated novel of court intrigue, maintains lasting resonance for being a personal exploration of emigration and loss set in the historical era during which the politics of the East and West were sketched out with utter clarity. These early lines of demarcation, as voiced through Christian and Muslim emissaries, greedy leaders, unflinching soldiers, and lyrical poets, have indelibly influenced the world as we know it today.
About the author: Rodel, originally from Minnesota, is a literary translator who holds degrees from Yale and UCLA in linguistics and ethnomusicology. Eight Bulgarian novels in her translation have been published in the US and UK. She has received NEA and PEN translation grants, including an NEA grant for her translation of The Case of Cem. Her translation of Georgi Gospodinov’s Physics of Sorrow won the 2016 AATSEEL Prize for Literary Translation, and her translation of his novel Time Shelter won the 2023 International Booker Prize.
PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE IN-PERSON Fulbright, U.S. Department of State & Chicago Council on Global Affairs Extravaganza! The U.S. Department of State and Fulbright Association invite you to an invigorating program highlighting some of the exciting work done both domestically and internationally. You will hear short presentations from a member of the Senior Foreign Service, Department of State Special Agents, and Fulbright alumni, followed by a high-energy networking reception.
WHEN Thursday, January 25, 2024 TIME 6-9 pm WHERE Chicago Council on Global Affairs 130 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601 RSVP *FREE – Register in the link below to attend* https://forms.gle/cgnC2EwJS2mkq4fQ9
PROGRAM AGENDA 6:00pm Event opens/Check-in 6:00-6:15 Networking reception 6:15-6:25 Welcome remarks Tatyana Noble, Chicago Council on Global Affairs Matthew Kelley, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, DS-Chicago Mark Woods-Hawkins, Special Agent in Charge, DS-Chicago 6:25-6:40 Chicago Council on Global Affairs Topics and Speakers TBC 6:40-7:10 State Department panel discussion Jeannette Juricic, Senior Foreign Service Officer, Office of Foreign Missions Bryan Weiler, Supervisory Special Agent, DS-Chicago Donshay Peoples, Special Agent, DS-Chicago 7:10-7:25 Q&A 7:25-7:40 Nontraditional Partnerships in an Age of Insecurity Dr. Donovan Chau, University of West Florida Professor, and I/R Analyst 7:40-7:55 Community and Academic Involvement in Policing Kirsten Mahoney – UChicago Crime Lab 7:55-8:35 The Five-Minute Fulbright Kate Vergara PhD MPH, Fulbright Alum and Board Member (opening remarks) Five Fulbright Alums will each present a rapid (5min) overview of the highlights of their Fulbright year abroad. Each Fulbright experience was done in a different country and each one focused on a different field of study which will emphasize and celebrate the diversity of the program. 8:35-8:40 Fulbright closing remarks Kate Vergara PhD MPH, Fulbright Alumna and Board Member 8:45-9:00 Closing networking reception
SPEAKER BIOS
MARK WOODS-HAWKINS – Special Agent in Charge
Mark Woods-Hawkins began his career with the Diplomatic Security Service (DS) at the Washington Field Office in 2002. Mark recently transferred to the Chicago Field Office (CFO) to serve as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge. Before CFO, Mark served as the Deputy Regional Security Officer (DRSO) for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. As DRSO, Mark managed RSO Seoul’s daily operations and was the RSO’s primary liaison to the U.S. Forces Korea’s Non-combatant Evacuation Operations unit (NEO), Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR). Before DRSO Seoul, Mark was the Deputy Olympic Security Coordinator (DOSC) for the 2018 Pyeong Chang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. As DOSC, Mark collaborated with South Korea’s national organizing committee, the U.S. and International Olympic Committees, and a myriad of U.S. private sector sponsors to design and implement a comprehensive security plan for both games. Mark’s efforts resulted in an unprecedented level of venue access and accreditation for over 100 DS agent Field Liaison Officers (FLO), enhancing the safety of over 400 U.S. athletes, coaches, and staff. Mark’s other DS assignments include a Shift Leader tour on the Secretary of State’s Protective Detail, an Assistant Regional Security Officer tour in Jerusalem and an additional posting at CFO as an Acting Unit Supervisor and Team Leader. Mark has an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from Illinois State University.
MATTHEW KELLEY – Assistant Special Agent in Charge
Matthew began his Department of State career serving at the Boston Field Office in 2003. His career includes assignments on the Secretary of State’s Protective Security Detail, three tours of duty in Iraq, as the Regional Security Officer in Croatia, a senior agent at the Phoenix Resident Office, a year at the Naval War College-assigned to an MIT research team, as the Overseas Criminal Investigations Chief in Bangladesh, assistant regional security officer in Peshawar, Pakistan, liaison to FBI Chicago, and is currently the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Department’s Midwest operations. Matthew was part of the first wave of agents to serve in Iraq in 2004, earning him bravery and meritorious honor awards, and he also established first-ever counter human trafficking programs in Bangladesh and Pakistan, earning him additional awards for service. Matthew hails from Kansas. He has two Master’s degrees (Strategic Affairs Studies and National Security Policy), worked for the U.S. Marshals Service, was a grant recipient for ballistic missile proliferation research, has an 11-year old son, and is dedicated to fitness and community involvement.
JEANNETTE JURICIC – Regional Director, Office of Foreign Missions/Chicago is an FS-01 Management Officer currently serving as the Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) Regional Director in Chicago. Ms. Juricic joined the Foreign Service in January 2000. Ms. Juricic has also served as OFM Regional Director in New York; International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Director in Bridgetown, Barbados; Management Officer in Erbil, Iraq; Supervisory General Services Officer in Vienna, Austria; Program Analyst in the Director General’s Office of Policy Coordination; Assessor in the Board of Examiners; General Services/Human Resources Officer in Santiago, Chile; Management Officer in Chengdu, China; Management /Consular Officer in Merida, Mexico; and as General Services Officer in Beijing, China. She speaks and reads Mandarin, Spanish, and German.
Ms. Juricic has a BA in Political Science, Asian Studies, and Gender Studies from Central College and a MA in International Policy Studies with a certificate in Women and Development from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Ms. Juricic grew up in Wilmington, IL but now calls Barre, WI home. She has no spouse or children but does have three cats.
BRYAN WEILER – Supervisory Special Agent Weiler began working for DSS in 2009. He was assigned to the Boston Field Office from 2010 to 2011 and was the ARSO-I at three different overseas posts (2011 – Lima, Peru; 2012-2014 – Belmopan, Belize; 2016-2019 – Panama City, Panama). He also served as an ARSO in Tegucigalpa, Honduras from 2014 to 2016. Bryan has 27 years of service in federal law enforcement, previously serving as an Immigration Officer in Chicago, IL for 13 years from 1996 to 2009. He speaks, reads, and writes Spanish and Portuguese, and has a doctorate (PhD) in Spanish language and literature from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Bryan came to the Chicago Field Office in December 2019 and is currently assigned to the PL Unit.
DONSHAY ANTONIO PEOPLES – Special Agent began his career with the Department of State in 2021. Initially, he served as a Program Analyst for the Bureau of Budget in Planning in the System Resources and Operation division. In 2022, he accepted a position with the Diplomatic Security Service as a Special Agent and was assigned to the Chicago Field Office. Prior to working for the Department of State, Donshay served four years in the United States Airforce as a Security Forces member and eight years doing security contracting throughout various locations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Donshay holds a BA from Xavier University, an AA from Cincinnati State, an English as a Second Language teaching certification from University of Cambridge and is one class from having a Masters in Intelligence Operations. Donshay speaks German.
KRISTEN MAHONEY – Director of Policing Leadership Academy – University of Chicago. Kristen Mahoney serves as the Director of the Policing Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago. In this role, Kristen is responsible for the day-to-day management, operations, and strategic leadership of the Policing Leadership Academy. Kristen served as the Principal Deputy Director at the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice, and created the National Law Enforcement Knowledge Lab which is a trusted resource for law enforcement and the communities they serve. Kristen also served as the Executive Director of the Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention. In that role, she led the planning, promotion, legislative, and investment strategies for the State of Maryland with government entities, private organizations, and the community to advance public policy, enhance public safety, reduce crime and juvenile delinquency, and serve victims. She came to the state government after serving as the Chief of Technical Services for the Baltimore Police Department and the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice for the City of Baltimore.
Kristen received her B.A. from Sweet Briar College and her J.D. from the University of Baltimore. She is a member of the Maryland Bar and has practiced law with the Legal Aid Bureau of Maryland, specializing in the representation of abused and neglected children.
Dr. DONOVAN CHAU is a faculty fellow in the Kugelman Honors Program at the University of West Florida. He teaches and supervises undergraduate and graduate students in the Government and Information Technology departments. He also works in law enforcement as a liason supporting cross-functional information sharing and serves in the US military as a member of an Intelligence Community element. Previously, Dr. Chau was an associate professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino. And before academia, he worked as a professional staff member in the US House of Representatives and a US government contractor in homeland security and counterterrorism. He received his PhD from the University of Reading (UK).
Dr. KATE VERGARA –Global Health Consultant, PhD, MPH
Kate Vergara has focused her career on addressing public health disease burdens in vulnerable populations internationally and domestically for over 20 years. She was awarded and executed major contracts concentrated on polio eradication programs through World Vision US and USAID, partnering with the CORE Group Polio Project, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, WHO, Rotary International, CARE International, Catholic Relief Services, AMREF, Save the Children, American Refugee Committee, Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, CDC, and the National Ministries of Health of Angola, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Sudan. Working across the private and public sector, Dr. Vergara supported global immunization programs providing healthcare for a population over 1.6 billion people across multiple high-risk countries. Currently, Dr. Vergara serves as Vice President Health Impact at NJOY LLC furthering the mission of ‘Making Smoking History’. She directs an extensive suite of human subjects research studies through development, execution, and submission to the US Food & Drug Administration. Dr. Vergara credits discovering her passion for public health to the opportunity granted by the US State Department Fulbright Program. She was awarded a Fulbright to Peru in 2003-04 to study tuberculosis and intestinal parasites deep in the Amazon jungle. Two decades later, her fondness for the Fulbright mission and community continues. Dr. Vergara currently serves as a Board Member for the Fulbright Association Chicago Chapter. Originally from Chicago, Dr. Vergara holds a Bachelor of Science from New York University, a Master of Public Health, as well as a PhD in Public Health from University of Illinois-Chicago. She also is an Adjunct Faculty and Course Lead for Epidemiology at Baylor University’s Master of Public Health program. To keep up with her teenage sons, she is also an Ironman 70.3 athlete, avid marathon runner, and volunteers with US Medical Reserve Corps.
ON BEHALF OF THE FULBRIGHT CHICAGO MENTORING PROGRAM we are thrilled to announce the Fulbright Chicago Chapter’s first kick-off event of the year! Mark your calendars for an evening of captivating storytelling and cultural exploration.
📅 WHEN January 16, 2024
⏰ TIME 6:00 PM Central Time
Join us as Fulbright Alumni Alan Teller and Jerri Zbiral take us on their incredible journey of “Following the Box” from Chicago to India.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTA mysterious shoebox discovered at an estate sale, filled with photographs and negatives from India in 1945, sparked a quest for Chicago couple Alan and Jerri. Their journey led them halfway across the world as they sought to unravel the history behind these fascinating images. In India, they collaborated with local artists, inspiring a unique body of work that reflects a cross-cultural dialogue between past and present. This project, initiated with a Fulbright award, showcases the enduring power of art to bridge cultures and time.
JOIN US ONLINE To be part of this extraordinary event, please join us via Zoom at the link below:
We warmly invite everyone to join us in experiencing Alan’s and Jerri’s journey. This event promises to be not only an exploration of art and history but also a celebration of our shared human experiences across different cultures.
Looking forward to seeing you there! Mete Ozgurses and Marilyn Susman on behalf of the Fulbright Chicago Chapter
“THE FIVE-MINUTE FULBRIGHT” presentations will be delivered at the Fulbright, U.S. Department of State & CCGA Extravaganza on Jan. 25, 2024 at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Every Fulbright experience is unique. They range over a vast number of fields, areas of interest, cultures and regions of the world. Each Fulbright alum can speak for an entire evening on their experience however, this is different. We will have five Fulbright alums summarize their Fulbright experience in five minutes each.
Each Fulbright presentation can have up to three slides and must include your country, year, and topic/research project.
1) Slides can be pictures, words, whatever you prefer.
2) Make it interesting – hit the best parts of your experience, include whatever you want to help share the richness of your Fulbright experience.
DEADLINE has been extended to Jan. 15 at midnight, by completing the short application on the link below:
IN CELEBRATION OF 2023 International Education Week, the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association invite you, your friends, family, and colleagues to a presentation of Chicago architectural history. The talk will focus on Chicago’s major historical events, and how those events lead to pioneering innovations in architecture and structural engineering that have influenced the building of modern cities around the world.
The presentation will be led by Dr. John Zukowsky, an art historian with numerous honors and professional positions including that of Curator of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago. The lecture will take place at the Hull House Museum which is part of the Art and Architecture College at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC.)
Whether you’re a Chicago native, or visiting from halfway around the world, this will be an excellent opportunity to learn about some of the most fascinating facts about the architecture of our wonderful city and its impact on industrial development, commerce, world-wide architectural innovations, and lives of those who make Chicago their home.
WHAT Presentation on Chicago’s architecture, Q & A, and networking WHEN Wednesday, November 15, 2023 4:00pm-5:30pm WHERE Hull House Museum Dining Hall 800 South Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60607 COST This educational event is presented to attendees at no cost. Refreshments will be served. RSVP Click on the linkRSVP
FULBRIGHT CHICAGO 