The Developing America Advisory Board
Dr. Fanta Aw
Dr. Fanta Aw is Assistant Vice President of Campus Life and Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer in the School of International Service in Washington D.C. Dr. Aw oversees all administrative, programmatic and personnel operations related to International/Intercultural programs and services and student engagement in the Office of Campus. Units for which she has oversight include International Student and Scholar Services, Student Activities, University Center, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Center for Community Engagement and Service, and the Kay Spiritual Life Center. Dr. Aw advises American University leadership on matters related to campus internationalization, and issues of inclusion, diversity and equity. In the School of International Service, Dr. Aw teaches graduate courses related to immigration, internationalization of higher education, and international higher education policy. Dr Aw was the 2013 recipient of the University Award for Outstanding Teaching, in an Adjunct position.
Dr. Aw is President and Chair of the Board of Directors of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the largest membership association of international educators with close to 10,000 members. She also serves on the advisory council of the Intercultural Management Institute at American University. Dr. Aw has led workshops and training for the Department of State, the Institute of International Education, AMIDEAST, American Councils for International Education, the College Board, and NAFSA: Association for International Education.
Dr. Aw has been interviewed by major global media outlets including CNN, Agence France Press, USA Today, Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, National Public Radio, Middle East Broadcast Corporation, Future TV Beirut, Voice of America, Washington Business Journal, WAMU, Radio France International, Channel 9 CBS, Tajikistan TV, KSA2 -Saudi Arabian, English-language TV, Washington Diplomat, Sichuan TV, Chengdu TV, Sichuan Daily, Chengdu Daily, Huaxi Daily, Chengdu Commercial Daily, Chengdu Evening Daily, Xinhua News, China News Service, Guangdong TV, Guanzhou TV, Guanzhou Daily, China Daily.
PhD in Sociology with concentrations in transnational migration, international education and social stratification from American University.
Dr. Aw is President and Chair of the Board of Directors of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the largest membership association of international educators with close to 10,000 members. She also serves on the advisory council of the Intercultural Management Institute at American University. Dr. Aw has led workshops and training for the Department of State, the Institute of International Education, AMIDEAST, American Councils for International Education, the College Board, and NAFSA: Association for International Education.
Dr. Aw has been interviewed by major global media outlets including CNN, Agence France Press, USA Today, Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, National Public Radio, Middle East Broadcast Corporation, Future TV Beirut, Voice of America, Washington Business Journal, WAMU, Radio France International, Channel 9 CBS, Tajikistan TV, KSA2 -Saudi Arabian, English-language TV, Washington Diplomat, Sichuan TV, Chengdu TV, Sichuan Daily, Chengdu Daily, Huaxi Daily, Chengdu Commercial Daily, Chengdu Evening Daily, Xinhua News, China News Service, Guangdong TV, Guanzhou TV, Guanzhou Daily, China Daily.
PhD in Sociology with concentrations in transnational migration, international education and social stratification from American University.
Joe Eldridge
Joe Eldridge is the Head Chaplain at the Kay Spiritual Life Center at American University and has spent more than twenty-five years working in the public policy arena as an advocate and analyst on international human rights and humanitarian issues. In 1991 he established the Washington Office of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights; during the mid-1980s he worked in Honduras consulting on human rights and development issues; and after a three-year sojourn in Chile in the early 1970s he co-founded the Washington Office on Latin America and served as its first director. He has an MA in International Relations from American University, a MDiv from Perkins School of Theology at SMU, and a DMin from Wesley Theological Seminary. He is married to Maria Otero and they have three children.
BA – Tennessee Wesleyan College MTh – Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University MA – International Relations – SIS Wesley Theological Seminary – Doctorate of Ministry
BA – Tennessee Wesleyan College MTh – Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University MA – International Relations – SIS Wesley Theological Seminary – Doctorate of Ministry
Chris Palmer
Chris Palmer is a full-time professor of Film and Media Arts. He is also a speaker, author, and environmental and wildlife film producer. He has swum with dolphins and whales, come face-to-face with sharks and Kodiak bears, camped with wolf packs, and waded hip-deep through Everglade swamps. Over the past thirty years, he has spearheaded the production of more than 300 hours of original programming for prime-time television and the IMAX film industry, work that won him and his colleagues many awards, including two Emmys and an Oscar nomination. And from this treasure trove of experience came his two controversial and entertaining memoirs about the dark side of wildlife filmmaking: Confessions of a Wildlife Filmmaker (2015) and Shooting in the Wild (2010). In 2004, Chris joined American University’s full-time faculty as Distinguished Film Producer in Residence at the School of Communication. There he founded, and currently directs, the Center for Environmental Filmmaking. Chris is also president of the One World One Ocean Foundation, a multimillion-dollar global media campaign to save the oceans. Visit ChrisPalmerOnline.com for more information about Chris Palmer.
BS (First Class Honors) Mechanical Engineering, University College London; MS Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture, University College London; MPA John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
BS (First Class Honors) Mechanical Engineering, University College London; MS Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture, University College London; MPA John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Documentary original film score, Composer, Dr. Michael Kurek
American composer Michael Kurek's recent music, hailed for its lush neo-romanticism, has garnered performances by numerous symphony orchestras and chamber groups throughout the U.S and in fourteen countries on five continents. His works have been heard nationwide on NPR and several other countries’ national radio broadcasts, also profiled in national print media and music journals. Kurek has received several national awards for his music, including the prestigious Academy Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (the Academy’s top annual award for lifetime achievement in composition), also the Academy’s Charles Ives Award and national awards or fellowships from the American Symphony Orchestra League, BMI, NEA, Meet the Composer, MTNA, the Tanglewood Music Center’s Fromm Fellowship in Composition, and others. Recorded on New World Records, he is active in the Recording Academy in Los Angeles. He has been a popular guest composer at universities and an adjudicator of the national composition contests of ASCAP and others. His teachers included the German composer Hans Werner Henze, French composer Eugene Kurtz, and Pulitzer-prize winning American composers William Bolcom and Leslie Bassett. He holds the doctorate in composition from the University of Michigan and serves on the faculty of Vanderbilt University, where he chaired the department of composition/theory for fourteen years. In 2006, the Panhellenic Council and all ten sororities of the university presented him with the award “Best Blair Educator at Vanderbilt.” For more information, go to the Michael Kurek web site at www.michaelkurek.com.
At the American Academy of Arts and Letters May 1994 Ceremonial in New York, composer Ned Rorem read aloud the following commendation: "Michael Kurek's music harmonizes in a charming and compelling way, intense lyricism with intellectual depth, clear and elegant formal design, and with a richly imaginative orchestral surface. His harp concerto exemplifies his ability of displaying a musical narrative that is as accessible as it is demanding. His musical world is an intensely traditional one, accented and punctuated by gestures and rhythms of today."
At the American Academy of Arts and Letters May 1994 Ceremonial in New York, composer Ned Rorem read aloud the following commendation: "Michael Kurek's music harmonizes in a charming and compelling way, intense lyricism with intellectual depth, clear and elegant formal design, and with a richly imaginative orchestral surface. His harp concerto exemplifies his ability of displaying a musical narrative that is as accessible as it is demanding. His musical world is an intensely traditional one, accented and punctuated by gestures and rhythms of today."
Shoshanna Sumka
Shoshanna Sumka joined the Center for Community Engagement and Service in the summer of 2005. As the Assistant Director for Global Learning and Leadership, her primary responsibility is overseeing the Alternative Break program and other international immersion programs. Shoshanna is from Silver Spring, MD and has lived overseas for fifteen years. As an international & experiential education professional, she has lived, traveled and/or worked in Kenya, Israel, Indonesia, Ecuador, Belize, Eastern Europe, Venezuela, Zambia and India. She lived in Ecuador for five years where she was the director of the University of Idaho’s study abroad program and taught Service-Learning courses about indigenous groups in the Amazon rain forest, the Andes, and mangrove restoration in coastal regions.
She is a founding member of the Haiti Compact: Higher Ed with Haiti and has traveled several times to that country to engage with grassroots women's empowerment organizations.
Master’s of Applied Anthropology, Cultural Resource Management, University of Maryland; Bachelors of Arts, Sociology/Anthropology, Earlham College
She is a founding member of the Haiti Compact: Higher Ed with Haiti and has traveled several times to that country to engage with grassroots women's empowerment organizations.
Master’s of Applied Anthropology, Cultural Resource Management, University of Maryland; Bachelors of Arts, Sociology/Anthropology, Earlham College
Executive Producer/Cinematographer
A seasoned professional with more than 30 years of experience in film and video production, Jim Standridge is a recipient of multiple awards including 4 Emmys, 32 Tellys, and 18 ACE awards in cinematography and editing. His eye for nuance and creative flair make him an invaluable part of any team, and he lends fresh visual perspectives to every project he works on.
Jim's career highlights span the globe, including documentaries, corporate film/videos, commercials and infomercials including Sears, Pepsi, Intel, Ford, Weyerhaeuser, Skanska, Kiewit, U.S.G.S., Warn Industries, Nike, Caterpillar Safety Training Services, Dell Computers, Mentor Graphics, Fred Meyer, Rite Aid, Yamasa of Japan, Pro-Form, Doritos, BurgerKing, Portland Trailblazers, Shark Multi Vac, Slendertone, Pacific Coast Pillows, FSI, Flir Systems, Grass Valley, Amtrak, Bowflex, and extensive work for Hewlett Packard.
As a father of three, Jim also has a keen interest in interactive multi-media and educational programming. Jim's critically acclaimed and award winning children's entertainment includes The Bibleman Adventure, starring Willie Aames (Pamplin Entertainment) 14 episodes; Bibleman Live!, National Tour (Pamplin Entertainment); Bibleman Jr. (Pamplin Entertainment) 6 episodes; Heaven's Sake Kids (Pamplin Entertainment) 4 episodes; The Missy Files (Pamplin Entertainment) 2 episodes; Wee Sing (Price Stearns and Sloan) 3 episodes; Rainbow and Kites (English as a second language) 10 episodes; and The Doctor Wilderness Show (CBS Entertainment) TV Pilot.
His television experience also extends to segments for national shows and networks such as The CBS Evening News, CNN, A&E, Cops. Hard Copy, Unsolved Mysteries, The Montel Williams Show, Oprah, MTV, VH1, Geraldo's "Now It Can Be Told," Comcast "Newsmakers," PBS NOVA, Entertainment Tonight, TBN, and INSP Networks.
His long format documentaries include UnDivided (Theatrical release / Lightning Strikes Entertainment), Lord Save Us From Your Followers (Theatrical release / Lightning Strikes Entertainment), Future Quakes "Unlocking the Mysteries of Bay Area Earthquake Faults" (U.S.G.S.), Delta Revival "Restoring a California Ecosystem" (U.S.G.S.), The Rockabilly Legends (Jerry Naylor Productions / PBS), The Transylvania Trophy (Ukraine /Warn), and The Camel Trophy (Chile & Argentina / Warn) The Mobile Office (Europe / Hewlett Packard).
Jim's comprehensive technical knowledge and extensive range of skills combined with his instinctive artistic eye gives him an undeniable creative edge. He creates visually arresting work that cuts through the clutter.
Jim's career highlights span the globe, including documentaries, corporate film/videos, commercials and infomercials including Sears, Pepsi, Intel, Ford, Weyerhaeuser, Skanska, Kiewit, U.S.G.S., Warn Industries, Nike, Caterpillar Safety Training Services, Dell Computers, Mentor Graphics, Fred Meyer, Rite Aid, Yamasa of Japan, Pro-Form, Doritos, BurgerKing, Portland Trailblazers, Shark Multi Vac, Slendertone, Pacific Coast Pillows, FSI, Flir Systems, Grass Valley, Amtrak, Bowflex, and extensive work for Hewlett Packard.
As a father of three, Jim also has a keen interest in interactive multi-media and educational programming. Jim's critically acclaimed and award winning children's entertainment includes The Bibleman Adventure, starring Willie Aames (Pamplin Entertainment) 14 episodes; Bibleman Live!, National Tour (Pamplin Entertainment); Bibleman Jr. (Pamplin Entertainment) 6 episodes; Heaven's Sake Kids (Pamplin Entertainment) 4 episodes; The Missy Files (Pamplin Entertainment) 2 episodes; Wee Sing (Price Stearns and Sloan) 3 episodes; Rainbow and Kites (English as a second language) 10 episodes; and The Doctor Wilderness Show (CBS Entertainment) TV Pilot.
His television experience also extends to segments for national shows and networks such as The CBS Evening News, CNN, A&E, Cops. Hard Copy, Unsolved Mysteries, The Montel Williams Show, Oprah, MTV, VH1, Geraldo's "Now It Can Be Told," Comcast "Newsmakers," PBS NOVA, Entertainment Tonight, TBN, and INSP Networks.
His long format documentaries include UnDivided (Theatrical release / Lightning Strikes Entertainment), Lord Save Us From Your Followers (Theatrical release / Lightning Strikes Entertainment), Future Quakes "Unlocking the Mysteries of Bay Area Earthquake Faults" (U.S.G.S.), Delta Revival "Restoring a California Ecosystem" (U.S.G.S.), The Rockabilly Legends (Jerry Naylor Productions / PBS), The Transylvania Trophy (Ukraine /Warn), and The Camel Trophy (Chile & Argentina / Warn) The Mobile Office (Europe / Hewlett Packard).
Jim's comprehensive technical knowledge and extensive range of skills combined with his instinctive artistic eye gives him an undeniable creative edge. He creates visually arresting work that cuts through the clutter.
Public Relations Specialist, Allenmediastrategies.com
Burke Allen brings three decades of media, marketing, public relations and entertainment industry experience to our clients. His broad background includes successful stints as a radio and TV host, writer, top-rated morning show personality, radio station owner and programmer, broadcast consultant and media trainer/educator prior to launching Allen Media Strategies in 2003. The firm works with national entertainers, New York Times best-selling authors, television and radio personalities and political leaders on their individual strategic goals.
Burke’s extensive roster of award winning authors and speakers have landed exposure on every major television and radio network and cable outlet, and hundreds of leading print and online outlets. His extensive background in the music industry includes roles as a national booking agent, club owner, concert promoter and artist manager, overseeing dozens of successful live concert events with national headliner talent from small club shows to festivals for over 50,000 people.
The author of Becoming Semi-Famous, Burke is a regular contributor to various industry publications and was spotlighted in a recent cover story for INSIGHTS magazine. A Billboard Magazine award winner, Burke is also a sought after public speaker on media and marketing and P.R. strategy, including online audio, video and text initiatives.
Burke’s extensive roster of award winning authors and speakers have landed exposure on every major television and radio network and cable outlet, and hundreds of leading print and online outlets. His extensive background in the music industry includes roles as a national booking agent, club owner, concert promoter and artist manager, overseeing dozens of successful live concert events with national headliner talent from small club shows to festivals for over 50,000 people.
The author of Becoming Semi-Famous, Burke is a regular contributor to various industry publications and was spotlighted in a recent cover story for INSIGHTS magazine. A Billboard Magazine award winner, Burke is also a sought after public speaker on media and marketing and P.R. strategy, including online audio, video and text initiatives.