United Nations Association of Minnesota

5001 Chowen Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55410

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATIONS OF MINNESOTA
SPEAKERS BUREAU

HUMPHREY FELLOWS 2013-2014

Joo Abreu Martins, Cape Verde
Mr. Abreu Martins is an architect and urban planner graduated from Viosa Federal University at Minas Gerais,
Brazil. He is a professor of architecture and urban planning at Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde. Last year,
He worked as a coordinator of two urban projects in Sal Island and Espargos and worked as a consultant of
FAO United Nations for primary schools canteen for those islands. He concurrently has a project to reform
extremely poor people of his city. And as a teacher he is encouraging students to use and create technology in
problem solving and environmental sustainable plans. During his fellowship, he wants to acquire new
knowledge that will be applicable to launch proposals for the new cities, promoting a debate on the need of
multidisciplinary teams in the planning process, and encouraging the local and central authorities to look into
comprehensive regional plans to join a global world perspective. Back in his country, he will look into
economic development projects that could support the low-income communities such as the farmers and
fishermen to meet the needs of electrical energy, lack of water, accessing education, health and transportation
services in and around the ten islands of Cape Verde.
Areas of I nterest: Urban and Regional Planning, Community Engagement

Leandro Ivan Chulak, Argentina

Mr. Chulak was the former CEO of the Urban Guard where he developed new policy on democratic security to
strengthen democracy and the rule of law. He was a political advisor in the Congress of Argentina and also the
director of public affairs for the Government of Buenos Aires. Mr. Chulak earned a law degree with a focus in
labor law from the University of Buenos Aires, Law School. During his fellowship year at the University of
Minnesota, Mr. Chulak will focus on public policy analysis and public administration, particularly new
theoretical and practical tools that will help rethink strategies that are being currently applied in Argentina to
improve public policy, with a focus on security and crime prevention.
Areas of I nterest: Public Policy, Law, Journalism

Nurjemal Jalilova, Turkmenistan

Ms. Jalilova is the Head of the International Unit of the Public Finance Department with the Ministry of
Finance. She coordinates foreign aid projects, and programs financed by multilateral entities, including the
European Commission, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. She also works with multi-
disciplinary teams of international consultants and missions, project managers and project implementation units.
She graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Law from Turkmen State University, and holds a masters degree
in banking and finance from the University of Antwerp. As a Humphrey Fellow, Ms. Jalilova plans to get a
better understanding of policy issues in the area of public finance management. She believes that the knowledge
and skills gained during her fellowship will be valuable for making comprehensive analysis and research in the
field of public finance management, and providing policy recommendations to ensure sustainable development
in Turkmenistan. Back in her country, she would like to continue doing research work on the effectiveness of
public spending in resource-rich countries.
Areas of I nterest: Economic Development, Public Finance Management
United Nations Association of Minnesota
5001 Chowen Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55410
Lidija Karakamceva, Macedonia

Ms. Karakamceva is the Deputy Head Administrator of the Committees Department at Assembly of the
Republic of Macedonia. She coordinates and monitors the work of a legislative sector comprised of 21
committees that operate in different areas. She has also been involved in the International Cooperation activities
within the Assembly, especially in the national delegation. She is an economist graduated from the School of
Economics at Skopje, and holds a masters degree in Public Policy and Management from the University
ofPittsburghwith a concentration in public and international affairs. During her fellowship, she has a particular
interest in parliamentary affairs in the U.S. and a non-partisan effective parliamentary administration that
contributes to the production of high quality legislation based on sound legal principles. Upon her return to
Macedonia, she intends to apply her new knowledge to the Parliamentary work that will strengthen the
democratization of her country.
Areas of I nterest: International Affairs

Sarah Kyei, Ghana

Ms. Sarah Kyei is the Program Manager of Alliance for African Women Initiative in Accra, Ghana. Her role is
to manage several donor funded projects including the Kids Fund, Women in Oil Industry, Livelihoods Project
for Women, Youth Development Project and Strengthening Community Care and Support for Orphan and
Vulnerable Children (SCASO), working in close partnership with World Vision International with funding from
United States Agency for International Development. She earned a Masters in Social Science in Public and
Community Service from the University of East London, United Kingdom. Her past professional experience
includes working with womens organizations and in the future she would like to deepen her work by
empowering young women through the creation of a vocational training model that leads to their employment
and job creation. During her fellowship, she intends to combine academic courses on public policy formulation,
gender and development, and experiential learning in fundraising, networking and visits a variety of vocational
institutions.
Areas of I nterest: Communicable Diseases, Womens Human Rights, Economic Empowerment

Suzana Miljevic, Montenegro

Ms. Suzana Miljevic currently works as an Adviser for the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism.
She is responsible for drafting project flow, capacity building, human resources and strategic communications.
Ms. Miljevic earned a masters of Performance Management Systems in Economics from the University of
Montenegro; a Certificate in Regional Policy from the University of Hiroshima, and a Certificate in Human
Capabilities from the Institute of Applied Manpower Research in India. As a Humphrey Fellow, Ms. Miljevic
will focus on strategic planning and organizational culture, strategic communication, project monitoring and
evaluation. Back in Montenegro, her wish is to make a contribution by creating a new strategy for maximum
output with minimum resources, improving policy, organizational structure and project management in public-
private partnerships focusing on inclusive public policy dialogue.
Areas of I nterest: Housing

Andrs Prez, Colombia

Mr. Prez is currently a Police Officer with the National Police of Colombia. He is an adviser to the General
Director of the Police, focusing on the management of the police information system. Mr. Prez received a
degree in business administration from EAN University, a degree in police management from National Police
Academy "General Santander" in Bogot, and a masters in Management with specialization in organizations
research from Universit Pierre Mends in Grenoble, France. His main duties include designing strategic
United Nations Association of Minnesota
5001 Chowen Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55410
planning methodologies to monitor the performance of public safety policy, and guidelines for transparency and
accountability for each one of the decentralized units in the country. As a Humphrey Fellow, Mr. Prez wants
to reflect about best practices in his field in the U.S., compare them with those in his country, develop
leadership skills to bring change in the implementation of strategies to anticipate crime occurrence using new
emerging technologies, and strengthen relationships with U.S. institutions. Upon his return to Colombia, Mr.
Prez purpose is to make an impact in higher education and research, in order to train new analysts inside the
National Police and other public institutions.
Areas of I nterest: Public Security, Decision Making Process, Information Systems

Arqam Tariq, Pakistan

Mr. Tariq is a member of Pakistan Administrative Service, the elite Group of Civil Service of Pakistan. Until
recently, he was the Deputy Commissioner of Gilgit, where his main role was to implement policy decisions of
the government and provide input for public policy making. In that capacity he supervised the work of all
government departments including health, education, environment protection, women rights, physical
infrastructure and police. Currently Mr. Tariq is working as Deputy Director in Health Sector Reforms Program
of the Government of Punjab. He is responsible for introducing new health initiatives for improving health care
system. Mr. Tariq graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Statistics from Government College University,
Lahore. He holds a masters in Business Administration from Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. He
believes the Humphrey fellowship will provide him with an opportunity to enhance his skills in the field of
public administration with focus on decentralization and results based management; combining both
professional development training and exposure to diverse U.S. organizations. This, he thinks, will be helpful in
overcoming some of the socioeconomic problems currently faced by Pakistan.
Areas of I nterest: Public Administration System in Pakistan, Health, Local Government

United Nations Association of Minnesota
5001 Chowen Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55410
UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATIONS OF MINNESOTA
SPEAKERS BUREAU

UNA-MN BOARD MEMBERS AND ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS

Ambassador Robert A. Flaten
Vice-President of the United Nations Association of Minnesota and Ambassador in Residence at St. Olaf
College. Retired career Foreign Service Officer and served as Ambassador to Rwanda from December 1990 to
November 1993. Served in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa for over 30 years. Was Office Director for
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh in the State Department in 1987-1990. USAF, 3 years. M.A. in
International Relations from George Washington University. Pursued doctoral studies in South Asian Area
Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Member of Rotary and American Foreign Service Association/Upper
Midwest. Testified in Tanzania for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Past Chair of the
Executive Committee of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters
from Luther College in 2001 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from St. Olaf College in 2001.

Joseph E. Schwartzberg, Ph. D.
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1928, Schwartzberg received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in
1960. He has since taught at the University of Pennsylvania (1960-64 and summer, 1965), the University of
Minnesota (1964-2000) and Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi (1979-80). His academic specialties are
the geography of South Asia, political geography, and the history of cartography. Schwartzberg has also done
pioneering research on the geography of the Indian caste system during two years of field work during which he
bicycled over 10,000 miles throughout India and conducted interviews, with the help of Indian assistants, in
about 325 villages. He has served on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and as a
consultant on South Asia to numerous publishers, Granada TV (UK) and several government agencies in the
United States and India. A life-long peace activist, Schwartzberg has a particular interest in the United Nations
system and has published extensively on UN reform in Global Governance and other journals. His 2004
monograph, Revitalizing the United Nations: Reform through Weighted Voting, has been circulated worldwide,
especially in the diplomatic community.

Jay Shahidi
Human rights activist and small business owner who lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He was born in Tehran,
Iran under the regime of the last Shah, and came to the United States in 1968 after attending college in U.K. for
two years. While living in London, he became a strong critic of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. He has
worked as a citizen lobbyist in the areas of war prevention, refugee rights, disarmament, environmental
protection, population stabilization, public education, economic development and elimination of poverty. He
has written numerous articles on these issues and is available for public speaking. Some of his social
commentaries are available at the website of the Twin Cities Daily Planet, www.tcdailyplanet.net, under film.
Jay had helped found and has had leadership roles in over 40 organizations and groups, and is a long-time
activist at Amnesty International and is a staunch critic of the current policies of the Government of the United
States regarding civil liberties, torture, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Israeli-Palestinian stalemate, world
militarization, environmental destruction and the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. He is also an
ardent proponent of fair (real free) trade.