Webinar Series
Career Webinar Series
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired March 26, 2024
Migration & Refugee Integration: A Social Justice Worker's Journey & Lessons Learned From Working With NGOs in Germany
Speaker: Zak Reimer
Zak Reimer, UM School of Social Work alumnus, is on a dual journey in the heart of Europe - helping with refugee integration while immersing in the daily realities of life as an immigrant. To enhance integration efforts, Zak created a podcast to amplify the voices of German NGOs engaging in diverse integration projects, from language cafes to job placement. Zak also helped facilitate deliberations in asylum centers to empower individuals to share their experiences and perspectives. Zak hosted youth groups to support refugee families living in temporary housing facilities, providing youth with health avenues for creativity, social connection, and physical activity. In this webinar, Zak will share stories about working with refugees. A key lesson learned is that integration is a two-way street and integration is for everyone.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired February 27, 2024
Be an Agent of Change for Gender Equality and International Service
Speakers (from left to right): Betsy Pickhardt, Emily Nguyen, and Kate Schilling
Betsy Pickhardt is a returned Peace Corps volunteer (Mongolia) & Peace Corps campus representative, and UM alumnus. She is passionate about cultural exchange, community development, international cooperation, and inspiring others to participate in sustainable development.
Emily Nguyen is a returned Peace Corps volunteer (Guinea), Peace Corps regional representative, and Peace Corps office of recruitment and diversity. She has served as an agroforestry volunteer working with cashew plantation owners on sustainable land management practices in Guinea.
Kate Schilling is a foreign service office (Mexico & Colombia), in the U.S. Department of State. She has served as a press officer in the European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) Bureau. She has also worked for the American Red Cross in disaster response and the Haiti earthquake response.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired February 8, 2024
Working in Global Development: Overview, Careers, and Viewpoints
Speaker: Tenly Snow
Tenly Snow is a senior-level global development professional with more than 15 years of experience as a project lead and technical specialist in global health and development. She has worked with major donors, including USAID, The Gates Foundation, the World Bank, etc. She has led development projects and activities in dozens of countries throughout Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and South America, working for non- and for- profits and technology startups. Tenly is a Missoula native, UM alum, and former Peace Corps volunteer.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired October 30, 2023
Is Development Aid Losing Effectiveness: A Beneficiary's Tale
Speaker: Dr. Mofarahus Sattar
Dr. Mofarahus Sattar grew up in Bangladesh and earned his doctorate from the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. Dr. Sattar has been working in the development field for over two decades. He worked on projects funded by USAID, Canadian CIDA, German GIZ, Danish DANIDA, and multilateral donors such as FAO, UNDP, the World Bank, IFAD, etc. Based on his extensive experiences working on both the recipient's side and the donor's side of the international development sector, Dr. Sattar will share his insights about the effectiveness of aid in the development context of Bangladesh.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired October 18, 2023
Overcoming Informality: Innovative Social Entrepreneurship to Advance Migrant Workers' Rights and Services in India
Speaker: Rajiv Khandelwal
Rajiv Khandelwal is the Co-Founder and Director of Aajeevika Bureau. Under his leadership, Aajeevika Bureau has pioneered a range of solutions for vulnerable migrant workers and households - skill training, legal aid, financial services, health care, and destination support. Rajiv was elected an Ashoka Fellow in recognition of innovative ideas to address problems of seasonal migrant workers and received the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, from Schwab Foundation.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired October 10, 2023
Addressing the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine: Transnational Competencies for Response and Recovery
Speakers: Dr. Phyllis Ngai, Dr. Peter Koehn, & Chris Hyslop
Dr. Phyllis Ngai, Dr. Peter Koehn, and Chris Hyslop discuss the humanitarian response in Ukraine in connection to Migrant Health and Resilience: Transnational Competence in Conflict and Climate Displacement Situations, a new book in Routledge’s Global Health Series that addresses the pressing need to build durable responses in the wake of wrenching and increasing human dislocation, compounding health challenges, and the need to rethink approaches to humanitarian action. The book is co-authored by 4 scholars with UM connections.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired April 19, 2023
Addressing Local Needs In the Development Sector: A Montana-Syria Connection
Speaker: Sam Sweeney
Sam Sweeney grew up in Belt, Montana, and now runs a small NGO working in northeastern Syria. Sam founded the Mesopotamia Relief Foundation in 2019, which works primarily in the agriculture sector with a persecuted community, the Assyrian Christians, who were directly targeted by ISIS when it took over their villages in 2015. ISIS left behind a series of destroyed villages, but no major international NGOs have focused on the area, which was among the most devastated by ISIS in Syria. Studying the issue prompted Sam to look into why none of the major NGOs working in the area helped the area, and this prompted him to start a new organization, officially based in Montana, to help the area.
Learn about the challenges facing the NGO sector and the opportunities for students that exist in Montana, work overseas, and the work of Sam's own NGO.
Learn how you can get involved by watching the video below.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired March 15, 2023
From Global to Local: Addressing Refugee & Migration Crises
Speaker: Dr. Susan Martin
Dr. Susan Martin is the Donald G. Herzberg Professor Emerita of International Migration in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Montana and Rutgers University. She was the founder and director of Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of International Migration and Certificate Program on Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies. Prior to joining Georgetown’s faculty, Dr. Martin was the Executive Director of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, which was mandated by statute to advise the President and Congress on U.S. immigration and refugee policy. She received her Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Martin has authored or edited more than a dozen books and numerous articles, and book chapters. She serves on the boards of Rutgers University, the Center for Migration Studies, and Jesuit Refugee Service USA.
This webinar will focus on the causes and consequences of large-scale displacement of people around the globe, with particular attention to four issues of deep concern to the United States: the situation of asylum-seekers and others along the U.S.-Mexico border; the resettlement of refugees into the United States; the use of humanitarian parole for admissions; and U.S. leadership in addressing displacement worldwide. It will also suggest ways that students at the University of Montana can help refugees and asylum-seekers at the local level and beyond.
Learn how you can get involved and click the webinar below.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired February 1, 2023
IDS Students To Share Rewarding Internship Experience in Africa
Speakers: Reed Miller (UM senior) & Ivayla Mitkova (UM junior)
Reed Miller worked for the Nature Conservancy in northern Tanzania and learned tremendously about the economic and cultural challenges of the region and how international volunteers and safari neocolonialism impact development.
Ivayla Mitkova worked with real-life data directly from the Mozambique National HIV/STI Program and sharpened her data analysis and GIS mapping skills.
Re-watch this webinar series of Reed and Ivayla reflecting on their recent experiences, and learn how you can successfully explore international internship opportunities.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired April 1, 2022
Working With Youth in Mozambique: Skills for International Development Work
Speaker: Orrin Tiberi
UM alumni, Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador, & Monitoring & Evaluation Advisor for Mozambique's National HIV/AIDS & Sexually Transmitted Infections Program
Working with youth can be challenging in multiple ways. In Mozambique, the National HIV Program has been piloting a novel approach to engaging youth in their own HIV care by using youth mentorship and outreach in the community and health facility. In this webinar, you will learn about skills for working with youth in different cultural settings and ways to start preparing for international development work.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired February 8th, 2022
Bridging the Gap: Environmental Education & International Development
Speakers: Sierra Diemling, UM Alumni & Katie Connelly, UM Alumni
In this webinar, UM alumni talk about how IDS can connect you with careers in environmental education, how experiential learning plays a part in IDS-related explorations, and how a local Missoula nonprofit, where Sierra and Katie work, is providing opportunities for economic development and sustainable tourism through sea turtle research on far-flung former Costa Rican banana plantations.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired February 24, 2022
Career Paths in International Development
Speakers: Alice Thomas
Director, Central Asia Institute
In this webinar, you will learn about the key roles that girls' education plays in addressing the world's greatest challenges, from poverty, poor health, and armed conflict to climate change. Alice will also discuss career paths in international law, environmental sustainability, humanitarian affairs, & girls education in low-resource places. Alice Thomas served as Senior Policy Advisor at Refugees International, worked on legal and policy solutions to climate change as Staff Attorney at Earthjustice, and helped positions at the American Bar Association, including Deputy Director of the Asia Law Initiative.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired March 22, 2021
Montana to Mozambique: International NGOs Careers
Speaker: Orrin Tiberi
UM alumni, Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador, & Monitoring & Evaluation Advisor for Mozambique's National HIV/AIDS & Sexually Transmitted Infections Program
In this webinar, you will learn about international work in Africa and Latin America. Orrin Tiberi, an alumnus of the International Development Studies Program at the University of Montana, will speak about working in Africa and Latin America and careers with international NGOs/non-profit organizations. Orrin Tiberi is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Ecuador and a former ASPPH/CDC Global Health Fellow based at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Division of Global HIV and TB. He also served in the Global Health Corps. Currently, he is a Monitoring & Evaluation Advisor for Mozambique's National HIV/AIDS & Sexually Transmitted Infections Program, supporting data visualization and use for decision-making.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired April 7, 2021
How'd I Get Here?!? Coursing a Career in Conservation & Non-profit Management
Speaker: Clara Moulton
UM alumni & Four Corners Director, Southwest Conservation Corps
In this webinar, Clara Moulton talks about how her global perspective through coursework in the IDS Program has helped her in domestic-development fields. Clara was born and raised in Great Falls, MT, where she first developed her love for wild places, open spaces, and winding trails. After receiving her B.S. in Geography and minors in International Development Studies, Mountain Studies, and Wilderness Studies from the University of Montana, she be-bopped around the country working as a Park Ranger in Zion National Park, a cranberry farmer in Wisconsin, a Montana Conservation Corps Big Sky Watershed Corps member with the Clark Fork Coalition in Missoula, MT, and a Watershed Coordinator with Big Thompson Watershed Coalition in Loveland, CO. After thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2014, Clara found her way to SW Colorado where she began working with Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) as a Crew Leader, later serving as the Individual Placements Program Manager, and now as the Four Corners Director.
IDS Career-Development Webinar Series: Aired February 16, 2021
Getting Your Foot in the Door: Career Strategies for Internationalists
Speaker: Chris Hyslop
Director, Montana World Affairs Council
In this webinar, Chris Hyslop discusses careers in international development and humanitarian affairs. You will learn about some formal channels and a few "tricks of the trade" in getting a job. Chris Hyslop is the Executive Director of the Montana World Affairs Council, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering global awareness and understanding in Montana’s classrooms and communities. Chris began his professional career as a high school teacher. He then served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet state in Central Asia, from 1995-1997. Following his service, he worked with humanitarian organizations and the United Nations worldwide in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Sudan, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Chechnya, the Balkans, China, Liberia, and Eritrea.