The DateKeepers

Leila ben Gacem is an Ashoka Fellow, Fatma Fehri Awardee, social entrepreneur, and city councilwoman in her hometown of Béni Khalled, Tunisia. After earning her degree in biomedical engineering from Boston University and working for ten years at a series of multinational corporations, Leila pivoted to her true passion: social entrepreneurship. 

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Since 2006, Leila has launched and contributed to numerous initiatives, from her company Blue Fish to the Digital Citizenship project to the Dar el-Harka co-working space in the Medina of Tunis and more, to make Tunisia's cultural heritage more sustainable and economically resilient and restore the faith and confidence of the Tunisian people in their culture and homeland. 

Arjun is the CEO of Overwatch Data, an AI company that helps organizations monitor the open and deep webs and preemptively identify events and emerging narratives that threaten to generate real-world violence. Prior to founding Overwatch through Y Combinator, Arjun led a policy and risk team at Stripe and served as a senior product policy advisor for Google Search, where he led policy efforts on information quality, user safety, and countering disinformation. He has published on elections integrity, digital currencies, and the startup ecosystem.

Arjun earned his Master of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School as a Fulbright scholar, where he also designed a tech policy course for the Business, Engineering and Policy schools with Former SecDef Ash Carter. His professional endeavors include training US election officials on cyber security, advising Twitter on content moderation, serving as a Product Manager for the US Census Bureau’s data portal, and serving as an Australian diplomat for eight years, in which capacity he drafted Australia’s cyber strategy with a focus on geopolitics across the Indo-Pacific. Arjun has also negotiated trade agreements and led UN aid programs on elections integrity, disability rights, and landmine clearance, and on a diplomatic posting to Cambodia, reported on human rights, elections, and China’s diplomatic influence in Southeast Asia.

Aicha Adoui studies the intersection of soft power, diplomacy, and international higher education. Her wide-ranging research interests include internationalization, education, AI, technology and intelligent systems, intercultural communication, and international relations. She is also an expert in communication studies with a focus on intercultural communication, business communication, and oral communication, and she trains professionals within the fields of new technologies, electronics, and offshoring.  

Aicha has contributed her expertise in project management, problem solving, community engagement, and youth involvement to several American and Moroccan nonprofits, government initiatives, and non-governmental organizations and agencies. Her book "International Higher Education and The Rise of Soft Power as Cultural Diplomacy: A Comparative study of Morocco and South Korea" is now available to read. 

Currently a research anthropologist at Yale University, a member of the Yale Council on African Studies, and a Visiting Professor at Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia, Dr. Teferi Abate Adem has spent decades conducting field research that examines how farmers and communities pragmatically mobilize grassroots responses to crop failures and food insecurity brought on by climate change.

Dr. Adem has taught, lectured, and conducted research at universities in Ethiopia and the United States, offered his consultation services to institutions including the World Bank, WI-HER, Sussex University and Forum for Social Studies, and FARM-Africa, and published in numerous books, academic anthologies, and high-impact journals. He holds a PhD in anthropology from Boston University, USA, and an MA in social anthropology and a BA in sociology and social administration, both from the University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

Gaurav Misra is India's first UN-recognized life skills coach, with a professional interest in gamification and a passion for helping young people transform themselves into productive, successful, and employable human beings. Through his affiliation with the UPES, India he has contributed to the School of Life, an innovative initiative aimed at teaching university students practical life skills such as leadership, collaboration, interpersonal communication, and social responsibility.

Gaurav has mentored, coached, and trained corporate leaders, university graduates, and grade school students on every inhabited continent. He is a Fulbright scholar, a Global Leaders for Innovation & Knowledge (GLIK) scholar, a three-time Blackboard Award winner, and a two-time winner of the Fulbright in the Classroom grant, under whose auspices he conducted cultural exchange programs for K-12 students in the US in 2021. In addition to studying Life Skills at the University of Montana and earning a diploma from the Indian Society for Training and Development, Gaurav holds a degree in English literature, which enriches his understanding of humanity and informs his passion for his work. 

Currently head of communications for the British Consul General – New York and manager of a social impact consultancy, Philanthropic Impact (π), Toby Usnik brings to the table over 30 years of expertise in strategic communications. He's held leadership roles in multinational organizations including the UK government, Christie's, The New York Times, and American Express, and he's a sought-after career coach, public speaker, and instructor on AI and Large Language Models for social impact. He's also the author of The Caring Economy: How to Win With CSR and host of a weekly podcast by the same name.  

Toby holds a BA in history and French from Hampden-Sydney College, an MS in university administration from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M. Phil. in international and comparative education from Columbia University. He's a graduate of the Coro Foundation’s Leadership New York program (class of 1997) and a Fulbright scholar (Belgium, 1990–1991). He served as a board member of the Empire State Pride Agenda civil rights organization for nearly two decades and as director of The New York Foundation for the Arts for five years, and he co-led the Communications Advisory Council for the Humane Society of the United States for a decade. As a charity auctioneer, Toby has raised more than $5 million for nonprofits. He's also a private pilot and resides in Manhattan and the Hudson Valley.

Born and raised in Irosin, Sorsogon, a small town in the Philippines, Dr. Mila Rosa Librea-Carden first came to the US in 2013 as a fellow of Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching for International Teachers. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis in Science Education, from Kent State University, and she also holds an MS in biology from Ateneo De Manila University, Philippines. Before coming to the USA, she taught high school biology at Ateneo de Manila High School and the Immaculate Conception Academy and served as director of graduate studies at the Far Eastern University in the Philippines. 

Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Science Education at the College of Education at the University of North Texas. Her scholarship focuses on making science accessible to all, particularly students with (dis)abilities and special educational needs. Her work has been published in leading science education journals, including the International Journal of Science Education and Research in Science Education. Her most recent project examines the unique experiences of scientists with disabilities, their scientific views, and their scientific identities in an effort to contribute to the very limited literature on successful scientists with (dis)abilities, inspire students with (dis)abilities, and challenge internalized ableism. 

David J. Smith is an educator, consultant, and career coach specializing in conflict resolution, peace-building, and humanitarian action. As president of the Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education, Inc., he facilitates the creation of experiential learning opportunities for students and professionals. He also directs the National Community College Peacebuilding Seminar, and he's served as a senior program officer and manager of national outreach at the US Institute of Peace, and has taught at several institutions, most recently the Carter School at George Mason University.

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David is a recipient of the William Kreidler Award for Distinguished Service to the field of Conflict Resolution, given by the Association for Conflict Resolution, and he's taught peace studies and alternative dispute resolution at the University of Tartu in Estonia as a Fulbright scholar. His publications include Peace Jobs: A Student’s Guide to Starting a Career Working for Peace (2016) and Peacebuilding in Community Colleges: A Teaching Resource (2013). He holds a BA from the American University, an MS in conflict resolution from George Mason University, a JD from the University of Baltimore, and a graduate certification in positive psychology from the University of Missouri. In addition, he's completed course work with Coach Training Alliance and is an official member of the Forbes Coaches Council. 

Maria Teresa Lago Lao holds three Master's degrees (in Clinical Neuropsychology, Research in Psychology, and Project Management and Planning in Developmental Contexts) and has spent decades working to empower people with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities around the world. Most recently, she's served the United Nations Development Programme as a Diversity and Inclusion Specialist.

When she's not putting her knowledge of psychology, hands-on experience with project development, and multilingualism to use in the field, Maria Teresa spends her time with her husband and young son, whom she's raising to be a citizen of a world more diverse and inclusive than the one into which she was born.  

Dr. Richard Vogel currently serves as an Assistant Professor in Communication & Media at Culver Stockton College in Canton, MO. His research interests include the promotion of media literacy and critical thinking and integration of these topics into K-12 curricula. He teaches a range of courses including media law, English composition, media writing, production, media theory, and public speaking.

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Prior to his time at CSC, Dr. Vogel served as a consulting producer to an award-winning news program and produced a skit comedy show. He's also presented talks in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, and via zoom to a conference in Paris and in 2018, under the auspices of the Fulbright, traveled to Bangkok, Thailand and created a media literacy curriculum for grades K-12, which he also presented to Malaysia's Ministry of Education.

Sara Lynn Thelen is a freelance sign language interpreter from Grand Ledge, Michigan who holds a BEI II certification with medical and mental health endorsements. She interpreted in medical, mental health, and higher-education settings from 2017 to 2022 and worked for the Social Security Administration between 2014 and 2017.

She is currently an operations manager at a global security think tank in Washington, DC, and continues to offer online interpretation services using VRS (Video Relay Services). She is fluent in French and ASL and proficient in Spanish and Persian. 

Candace Eros Diaz is a queer Xicana writer with a BA in English from California State University, East Bay and an MFA in creative nonfiction and fiction from Saint Mary’s College of California. Her writing has earned support from the San Francisco Writers Grotto, VONA, The Steinbeck Fellows Program, and Lambda Literary; has appeared in CRAFT, Huizache, Arroyo Literary Review, Under the Gum Tree, and elsewhere; and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Candace is also an executive administrator with over two decades of experience across industries, from arts and culture to government to higher education. Her expertise includes content creation, website design, database administration, and more. From 2018-2022, she served as a grant writer at the San Francisco Arts Commission and co-designed the infrastructure to administer over $12 million in annual grants, and from 2012-2018 she managed the MFA program in Creative Writing at Saint Mary’s College of California, developing its programming and reading series in coordination with internationally acclaimed authors. Finally, she's consulted for the African American Art and Culture Complex in San Francisco, the 18th Street Art Center in Los Angeles, and elsewhere.