Program Information
ICePP and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS) has regularly hosted the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), since its inception in 2014. Drawing on the expertise of AYSPS faculty and friends, ICePP has constructed academic and leadership programming that exposes fellows to public management, public finance, public health, and policy and practice at the subnational level across Georgia.
ICePP continues to enjoy wonderful partnerships with federal, state, and local government agencies, corporations, and local businesses. Not only do we visit these organizations, but local leaders also spend time with fellows in intimate group settings and panel discussions. Many fellows have met with Ambassador Andrew Young, the Mayor of Atlanta, the Governor of Georgia, Georgia Supreme Court justices, and longtime Georgia legislators. Business leaders come from across the state to engage with our fellows.
Mandela Washington Fellows experience the rich cultural and civil rights history of Atlanta, interact with a range of honored visitors, and form close relationships with their cohort, peer collaborators, and professional mentors. Our community partners return year after year, enjoying the impact of the program and the relationships they have built with fellows over the years.
Leveraging the local resources including the deep history of our city, its industry and resourcefulness, and the powerful organizations and passionate individuals found here, we curate a rich program each year. We anticipate an incredible summer with our next cohort of fellows, partners, and colleagues.
Leadership Training
Leadership Training is designed to provide fellows with additional skills to enhance their leadership capacity in their home communities. These sessions focus on the theme of servant leadership and will develop the capacity to creatively solve problems and work within a team environment. Fellows will also work on their Leadership Development Plans (LDPs) during some of these sessions.
Vips focuses on Adaptable Leaders and top-notch executives. He speaks, creates, and facilitates our leadership experiences. He also plays the role of ThinqShift’s CEO.
Design thinking is a proven way of coming to better solutions in less time. IBM has re-envisioned design thinking, creating a framework for the speed and scale of the modern enterprise. We are aligning large, dispersed teams and empowering them to continuously deliver better, more human-centered outcomes to the market.
Devika is the President of Account Services at O’Neill Communications. Her ability to convey ideas and thoughts through the written word was recognized by the Magazine Association of the Southeast (MAGS) two years in a row for Best Feature for her coverage on the impact of South Asians in America. She also manages a weekly column with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Southeast’s largest daily newspaper.
U.J. is a passionate believer in the power of human ingenuity to transform the world. He has seen transformative innovation from the vantage point of selling door to door in India to leading global innovation and marketing at P&G and Coca-Cola. He developed the Blue Earth model of Transcendent Innovation and Branding based on his experience of seeing ‘ordinary’ people achieve ‘impossible’ outcomes when inspired and empowered, even in highly resource-starved environments. UJ’s main role at Blue Earth is to help teams remove mental barriers, craft breakthrough innovation, and develop scalable brands and business models.
StoryMuse provides unique strategies for personal, business, organizational, and community development through reality storytelling & theatre techniques–everywhere it is needed.
Michael L. Thurmond won a 2016 landslide victory to become chief executive officer of DeKalb County, one of the most diverse counties in the Southeast. Since his Jan. 1, 2017 swearing-in, Thurmond’s primary mission is restoring trust in county government. His other priorities include adopting a balanced budget, ensuring accurate water bills, removing blight, offering summer youth employment, improving employee compensation, and fulfilling the federal/state sewer consent agreement. Thurmond, a former member of the Georgia General Assembly and the first African-American elected to a statewide office without prior appointment, is widely regarded as a ‘turnaround expert’ after fundamentally transforming the culture and enhancing operations of complex organizations such as the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, the Georgia Department of Labor and the DeKalb County School District.
Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, a native Georgian from DeKalb County, served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1987-1992 and was then elected to the State Senate, where she served three terms. In July 1998, she left the Senate to run for Lieutenant Governor and finished first, ahead of six Democratic challengers. She lost in a runoff to the second-place finisher. In 2003, she was elected to the House where she continues to serve, representing the 82nd District.
When Rep. Oliver was elected to the Senate, she was appointed to chair the Judiciary Committee during her freshman term, a rare legislative distinction. The appointment was also notable in that it marked the first time in 40 years that a woman had been named to chair a standing Senate committee. During the 2004 session, she was appointed Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, becoming the first person to serve as Chair of both House and Senate Judiciary Committees and the first woman to ever serve as Chair of either committee.
Rep. Oliver currently sits on the House Appropriations, Judiciary, Governmental Affairs, Juvenile Justice and Science and Technology Committees. The Georgia Supreme Court to the Committee on Justice appointed her for Children and by Speaker David Ralston to the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform and Child Welfare Reform Commission.
Rep. Oliver’s legislative accomplishments have included authoring and passing significant legislation for the protection of children and consumers, including Georgia’s anti-stalking law, along with legislation to protect neighborhood activists from intimidation. In recent years, she successfully sponsored a bill expanding the definition of mandated reporters of child abuse and legal recognition of post adoption custody agreements. She has been honored for her legislative work, being named Woman of Achievement by the Atlanta YWCA and Legislator of the Year by the Garden Club of Georgia. In 2011, she was given the Common Cause Democracy Award and the Georgia Conservation Voters Legacy Award. In 2013, she won the Big Voices for Children Award given by Voices for Georgia’s Children.
She earned a BA from Vanderbilt University and a law degree from Emory University. She served as a visiting professor at the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory and prior to her Legislative service was a Magistrate Court Judge in DeKalb County. In 2011, in honor of the 175th anniversary of Emory, Oliver was one of 35 women out of 175 or so Emory History Makers – those individuals who have shown courageous and ethical leadership on behalf of the greater community and a legacy of imparting knowledge to others and making significant contributions to the life at Emory. Rep. Oliver continues to practice law in Decatur.
As the Director of Well-Being Services, Mr. Smith leads staff in partnership and collaboration with community-based organizations and oversees programming focused on education, youth development, youth career preparation, physical and behavioral health services, child welfare support services, and independent living programs.
Prior to this role, Lamar held several leadership positions managing Faith-based Initiatives, Emergency Management, Constituent Services, and statewide Education Initiatives for the Division, while serving as Special Assistant to the Department of Human Services (DHS) Assistant Commissioner and DFCS Deputy Division Directors. In 2005, Mr. Smith was one of several child welfare professionals chosen to help reform New Jersey’s child welfare system. As the Assistant Director of Training, he contributed to the reformation of New Jersey’s child welfare training program; establishment of the State’s first child welfare training consortium; and the development of the state’s case practice model. Additionally, he has served as a Communications Advisor on political campaigns in both Atlanta, Georgia and Trenton, New Jersey. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University.
Mrs. Latson is the President/Founder of a non-profit organization, Women Helping Women, Inc. She has held leadership positions in the following organizations: Urban League Guild of Tampa, (National Officer for five (5) years National Council of Urban League Guilds; Black Public Administrators, President (Actively participated in our national conference coming to Tampa, FL during my tenure. She has served on the Women’s Resource Center Board and worked as a captain representing the organization during the United Way Annual Campaign. She was the first African-American Chief Deputy of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Hillsborough County, FL.
Site Visits
Site visits are one type of experiential learning that are excellent for bringing classroom sessions to life. They provide fellows with insight into how Americans deal with challenges—both successfully and unsuccessfully. Fellows also view these visits as introductions to a broad network of Americans whose work might have applicability in their home countries.
The Center for Civic Innovation (CCI) is a community-driven research and development lab for local governments, nonprofits, and social entrepreneurs. CCI’s mission is to eliminate inequality in Atlanta through effective public sector solutions designed from the ground up. CCI opened in 2014, after a diverse group of people who love and live in Atlanta wanted to build a community space for conversation and action around Atlanta’s future. CCI hosts an in-house incubator called Civic Labs, regular workshops for community-based social entrepreneurs at all stages, and it works with local public institutions to invest in early stage community initiatives and ventures.
AYSPS works very closely with the Atlanta Fed. Many of our adjunct faculty and former students work at the Fed. We plan to arrange this site visit with leadership at the Fed. The Atlanta Fed territory covers the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which includes Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, and portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. In its monetary policy role, the Bank seeks to keep prices stable and economic growth at its maximum sustainable rate. The Bank president plays a role in deciding the direction of interest rates and meets with the other Bank presidents and the seven governors at the Board every six weeks at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta is an engaging cultural attraction that connects the American Civil Rights Movement to today’s struggle for Global Human Rights. The Center’s purpose is to create a safe space for visitors to explore the fundamental rights of all human beings so that they leave inspired and empowered to join the ongoing dialogue about human rights in their communities. The Center was established in 2007, and its mission is to empower people to take the protection of every human’s rights personally. Through sharing stories of courage and struggle around the world, The Center encourages visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the role they play in helping to protect the rights of all people.
WorkSource Atlanta serves as the workforce system for the City of Atlanta. The agency provides job seekers with resources to attain sustainable employment and collaborate with business leaders for the recruitment and development of their labor needs. Its services include GED preparation and assistance, vocational rehabilitation services, job readiness and interview skills training, computer skills development, interview opportunities, and more.
The University of Georgia (UGA) was chartered by the state of Georgia in 1785. UGA tackles some of the world’s grand challenges, from combating infectious disease and creating a dependable food supply to advancing economic growth and strengthening cyber and global security. Among public universities, UGA has been one of the nation’s top three producers of Rhodes Scholars over the past two decades, and its honors program is ranked as one of the top 10 in the country. The university is also home to the Peabody Awards, the most prestigious prize in electronic media.
The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. A nongovernmental organization, the Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers to increase crop production. The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library was opened in 1984. The library contains and solicits material of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, major figures in the Carter administration, the Carters’ political or close personal friends, figures of secondary importance with significant aspects of the Carter administration, and President Carter’s family.
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget supports the state by producing short- and long-term financial analyses, running budget development, and overseeing fiscal controls.
United Way of Greater Atlanta brings together people and resources to tackle complex issues and drive sustainable positive change to help the community thrive. United Way draws together the efforts of people and organizations across Greater Atlanta’s 13 counties to work collectively on issues most strongly affecting child, family and community well-being. It focuses its investments on the building blocks of the area’s lives and community – education, income, health and housing.
The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration in Montgomery, AL, documents the enslavement of African Americans and the evolution of racial terror lynchings, legalized racial segregation and racial hierarchy in America. Relying on rarely seen first-person accounts of the domestic slave trade, the museum’s critically acclaimed research materials, videography, exhibits on lynching, and recently composed content on segregation, this museum explores the history of racial inequality and its relationship to a range of contemporary issues from mass incarceration to police violence. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow, and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence.
The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. EJI is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. EJI challenges the death penalty and excessive punishment and provides re-entry assistance to formerly incarcerated people. Additionally, the organization produces short films, publishes reports and educational materials, provides recommendations, and hosts educational tours on these topics.
Goshen Valley Boys Ranch is the flagship program of the Goshen Valley Foundation. It is a home for 40 young men, ages 11-18, living in the Georgia state foster care system. Goshen Valley is a family-based model of care. There are six homes, and a full-time house parent couple cares for each young man who comes to the Ranch. Young men are surrounded with love and care through intentional relationships and programs that focus on hope and healing. All young men at Goshen Valley Boys Ranch participate in on-site weekly counseling, public school education, on-site tutoring and are active in local youth groups.
Get exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to the world headquarters of CNN and take an inside look at how a live broadcast is produced and sent to viewers all over the world. Visitors also get a more in-depth look at how the world’s largest news organization operates. From the historic first newscast to the now living legacy, learn how CNN became the worldwide leader in news.
The Supreme Court of Georgia is the highest judicial authority of the US state of Georgia. The court was established in 1845 as a three-member panel. Since 1896, the justices (increased in number to six, then to seven in 1945, and finally to nine in 2017 have been elected by the people, and today those elections are non-partisan. Three of the state’s nine sitting Justices were re-elected, all unopposed, in 2012.The first Chief Justice of the Court was Joseph Henry Lumpkin, who was appointed in 1863. There have been 27 Chief Justices, and the current Chief Justice of the Court is Hugh P. Thompson.
The mission of DeKalb County government is to make the priorities of the citizens of DeKalb County the priorities of County government by achieving a safer DeKalb, building stronger neighborhoods, creating a fiscally accountable and more efficient county government, and uniting the citizens of DeKalb County.
Community Service
Community service activities are designed to expose fellows to America’s service culture while at the same time providing another touch point for how Americans address challenges. These activities also allow fellows to work with Americans from a variety of backgrounds toward a common goal.
The YMCA is the nation’s leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The Fellows will host a mentoring career fair for the YMCA’s middle and high school students during day camp. Over the summer, they host a teen camp that focuses on academic enrichment, career readiness, civic leadership, and the arts. The mentoring career fair will be an incredible opportunity for their students to have short 1:1, 2:2 sessions with the Fellows to learn about the great work the Fellows are doing in Africa.
Atlanta Community Food Bank’s (AFCB) mission is to fight hunger by engaging, educating and empowering the community. AFCB works with more than 600 nonprofit partners—including food pantries, community kitchens, childcare centers, night shelters and senior centers—to distribute over 60 million meals to more than 755,000 low-income people in 29 counties across metro Atlanta and north Georgia. While AFCB’s core work is food distribution, its efforts extend far beyond that. From supporting community gardens to assisting people in finding economic security, the Food Bank covers a wide range of opportunities for people to learn and get involved. Its seven projects are Atlanta Prosperity Campaign, Atlanta’s Table, Community Gardens, Hunger 101, Hunger Walk/Run, Kids In Need and Product Rescue Center.
MedShare is a humanitarian aid organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people, communities and our planet by sourcing and directly delivering surplus medical supplies and equipment to communities in need around the world.
Goshen Valley Boys Ranch is the flagship program of the Goshen Valley Foundation. It is a home for 40 young men, ages 11-18, living in the Georgia state foster care system. Goshen Valley is a family-based model of care. There are six homes, and a full-time house parent couple cares for each young man who comes to the Ranch. Young men are surrounded with love and care through intentional relationships and programs that focus on hope and healing. All young men at Goshen Valley Boys Ranch participate in on-site weekly counseling, public school education, on-site tutoring and are active in local youth groups.
Gateway Center works to end homelessness in Metro Atlanta through therapeutic program and community collaboration. The Gateway Center (GWC) is designed to serve as the “gateway” to the community continuum of care that helps individuals move out of homelessness. GWC provides 369 beds for men who enter into programs geared to address the underlying reasons for their homelessness, such as unemployment, addictions, mental illness or domestic abuse. GWC strives to provide a supportive and IAMCHANGED setting where individuals can receive the tools they need to end their homelessness and achieve self-sufficiency.
Cultural & Social Activities
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is about mutual understanding. While academic and leadership activities form the basis of the program, cultural and social interactions are the primary way to ensure strong understanding between fellows and Georgians. Fellows will experience American life and culture outside of a professional setting during these experiences.
- The Andrew Young School and Mount Olive Baptist Church will host welcome receptions for the Fellows. The Fellows will have the opportunity to network with leaders in business and the community.
- Several faculty members and AYSPS board members, including the dean, will host dinners.
- Georgia State University, Clark Atlanta University, and the University of Georgia Mandela Washington Fellows will have the opportunity to engage in a friendly soccer match on the University of Georgia Campus.
- The Coca Cola Foundation will host a reception for Georgia State University and Clark Atlanta University Fellows at The Coca-Cola Company Headquarters.
- Other potential social and cultural activities that Fellows will have access to include but are not limited to: