fletcher women working to protect the environment and slow ... · fletcher women working to protect...

Fletcher Women’s Network Newsletter

September 2008

Issue 4, September 2008 Editor: Tracy Garcia, F’05

Fletcher Women Working to Protect the Environment and Slow Climate Change

Welcome to the Fletcher Women’s Network’s (FWN) second newsletter with a thematic focus – this one researched by guest editor, Tracy Garcia. While our last issue focused on education, this issue features eleven Fletcher alumnae applying their skills and dedication to protecting our planet: Amanda Bradley, Winnie Chan, Hannah Fairbank, Ladeene Freimuth, Stephanie Hanford, Lauren Inouye, Kristin Kurczak, Janot Mendler de Suarez, Nadaa Taiyab, Mieke van der Wansem, and Patrin Watananda. You will be introduced to how they are contributing to what Patrin calls the “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental impact. They reflect the variety of Fletcher women, including those employed by their own small businesses, working with NGOs or governments, or consulting to large, established businesses; based in such far-flung locations as London, Vancouver, Cambodia, the Middle East, California or Massachusetts; and working to change impacts on our planet by influencing the practices of individuals, families, companies and musicians! With its reporting on an inspiring range of creative approaches to a major challenge, this issue makes one wonder how Fletcher women may be responsible for new levels of innovation. Here are some glimpses of what follows: When Nadaa was at Fletcher, “conversations on climate change centered around whether or not it existed. Now, just four years later, the debate has evolved from ‘whether’ to ‘what’ to do about it, and how it will fundamentally alter how we live and produce.” Similarly, when Stephanie joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Geneva in 1998, the term sustainability was little known in the U.S. A decade later, the concept has become a priority concern for local businesses, multinationals, consumers, community activists and international policymakers. Patrin says, “Corporate responsibility and sustainability have risen enormously in the public consciousness, particularly on environmental issues and in the U.S. So from a career perspective, it's a hot field - though we'll see what happens now that we're heading into economic downturn. Will corporate responsibility budgets be the first to go? Or will the increasingly volatile business environment make companies view sustainability as a lens to drive competitiveness and reach new markets?”

Several alumnae reflect on what it is like to be a woman working in this field. According to Lauren, “the environmental field lends itself to entrepreneurial enterprises and is friendly to women. It’s relatively easy to transfer between the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, which is helpful for balancing a family life with career.” Yet Winnie notes, “Women are not well-represented in senior positions in the environmental public sector. But with more entering the field, the demographics are beginning to change.” In an effort to counter the challenges of being a woman in the “man’s world of inter-governmental agencies,” Janot takes pains to “acknowledge women whose talents and perspective represent to me the single largest reservoir of untapped power to change the world.”

Another theme is how environmental issues relate to and draw from nearly everything that a Fletcher education covers. Ladeene outlines how climate change and water scarcity could serve as a “security threat multiplier” in the Middle East, but that research by Shira Yoffe (F’94) and others indicates that cooperation occurs over trans-boundary water issues more frequently than conflict. Thus, regional and multilateral efforts to address climate impacts might have the promising side effect of promoting peace as well as environmental sustainability. With Fletcher’s Center for International Environment and Resource Policy, Mieke trains senior officials from developing nations in multilateral dialogue and negotiation techniques to help them identify common interests between the demands of social and economic development and to protect the environment. So please read on – and know, too, that while most of you may have received this newsletter electronically from one of our listserves, members of our new online community (our “NING” – see page 7) can find this and all back issues of our newsletter under the “Newsletters” discussion topic. Beyond that, we will be using the NING to start discussion topics complementing our newsletters. We encourage you to post reactions to this issue, questions for the featured alumnae, and additional information.


September 2008

Fletcher Women and the Environment

Environmental Entrepreneurs After graduation in 1994, Stephanie Hanford founded Connectivity Consulting, from which she she helps small businesses to Fortune 100s articulate the case for sustainability. Stephanie also recently co-founded ‘The Woodstock Principles’ (www.thewoodstockprinciples.com), a grassroots movement dedicated to greening the music industry. Woodstock encourages the sale of eco-friendly merchandise at concerts and urges musicians and others in the industry to “travel lighter.” Woodstock presents itself as hip, non-judgmental and international. Its co-founder is from Argentina and its website is in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and soon Italian. Meanwhile, Nadaa Taiyab (F’06) is using the diverse experiences she gained at Goldman Sachs, the World Bank, the Environmental Defense Fund, and a non-profit social venture fund in Mumbai, to launch a strategy consulting company. Based in Vancouver, ClimateStream will help corporations in North America and India address the threats and opportunities arising from the global shift to a low carbon economy. As the need increases for companies to integrate climate change into their strategic thinking, ClimateStream will be there to help. Have any other Fletcher alumnae started businesses relating to the environment or climate change? If so, introduce your company, initiative or Fletcher friend on the NING!

Carbon Credits Carbon credits are in the news, and many may work for organizations or companies with some interest but little direct experience. Lauren Inouye (F’07), however, works for Sindicatum Carbon Capital (www.carbon-capital.com), a London-based firm that invests in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction projects, mostly in capturing methane from coalmines and landfills. The firm turns a profit by selling carbon credits from the projects, which are regulated and registered through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a specialized UN process. Lauren has come to her current work over the years: she studied climate policy as an undergraduate; worked at Winrock International, a nonprofit that supports renewable energy projects in developing countries; and spent a year doing field research on CDM projects in Indonesia. Once at Fletcher, Lauren followed the international business track in addition to coursework in environmental and energy policy. She happily reports, “I use what I learned in Professor Jacque’s finance courses every day! Working in carbon finance demands a solid understanding of the UN policy framework, the market forces that influence demand for carbon credits, financial modeling, and at least a passing understanding of technical issues. Being around Fletcherites absorbed in international development, governance and negotiation helped me to understand my own field better. The Fletcher MALD was a great degree for me because it is inherently so interdisciplinary and flexible.” In fact, Fletcherites may still be helpful: Lauren might be interested in bartering carbon credits with Amanda Bradley (F’96), who is director of Community Forestry International’s (CFI) Cambodia program. Amanda is “hoping to help the [Cambodian] government secure carbon credits on the voluntary market for protecting existing community forest areas and channeling a large part of the net revenues to local communities for forest protection, enrichment planting, and livelihood improvement. Our avoided deforestation project provides an exciting market-based mechanism to secure long-term financial support for forest protection.” (See Yuki Tobinaga’s profile of Amanda on page 3). Continued on page 4


September 2008

Profile: Amanda Bradley F’96 by Yuki Tobinaga F’96

Although raised by British parents in Connecticut, Amanda Bradley is clearly a woman of Asia, as her Asian classmates will testify. Fluent in Japanese and Khmer, and more comfortable on a Cambodian cyclo than in a New York cab, it is no surprise that Amanda began her career at Sanyo Electric in Japan. She returned to the United States to work for the National Audubon Society in New York and to study environmental policy at Fletcher. Upon graduation, Amanda put her Fletcher learning to work as an aide to a parliamentarian in Japan active in environmental policy issues. She decided to stay in Asia when she received an offer to join Global Witness’s advocacy and lobbying work on illegal logging in Cambodia. The project to which Global Witness assigned Amanda developed into a local NGO, Mlup Baitong (roughly translated as “Green Shade”). The NGO’s mission is to increase environmental awareness in Cambodia and assist local communities in sustainable resource management. After helping Mlup Baitong transition to local leadership, Amanda joined Community Forestry International, a USAID-supported NGO. CFI helps local communities obtain the legal rights to manage forest resources near their villages. Amanda believes “this is critical for their livelihoods, since many depend on forest products for food security. It is particularly important in the current context of land grabbing and forest clearance and conversion throughout the country.” Amanda finds “Phnom Penh a very friendly city and fun place to live...so that's why I've ended up staying here for more than 10 years!” Still, she is ready for a new challenge. She has not decided where to go to next, but wants to steer clear of large institutions and hopes one day to work in Bhutan. Note: Lynn Salinger has been working recently in Cambodia and Phyllis Cox worked there a while back. Phyllis recommends http://www.cambodianscholarship.org/ for those “committed to improving the lives of children in Cambodia through education, especially poor and at-risk girls who are, for a number of reasons, often denied equal access to schooling.” Any other Fletcher alumnae? Why not start a Cambodia sub-group or discussion on our NING? And if anyone has worked in Bhutan, perhaps they could contact Amanda?

Amanda, lower right, and colleagues.


September 2008

Continued from page 2 Fletcher Women and the Environment

Private Sector Innovation Patrin Watanatada (F’05) is employed at SustainAbility, a for-profit social enterprise that works with companies to understand the risks - and opportunities - associated with sustainable development. Founded in 1987 as partially strategy consultancy, think tank, and advocacy group, SustainAbility's goal is to help companies embed sustainability into their core business strategy and operations. It is not about philanthropy, but rather the “triple bottom line” of economic, environmental and social impact. SustainAbility’s more than thirty employees are based in London and Washington, D.C., as well as in Zurich and New York – and will soon be in India and the U.S. West Coast.

Patrin works primarily with food & beverage multinationals – an industry she describes as “fascinating from a sustainability perspective because of the sheer range of issues (rural livelihoods to public health to climate change and more) and complexity of trade-offs. For example, reducing packaging seems like a no-brainer of a good idea, but if you reduce it too much, the food might be more vulnerable to damage - and then you've just wasted all of the resources going into its production. Not to mention that you lose room for nutritional labeling.” Patrin has advised Coca-Cola on its sustainable agricultural strategy, helped Mars choose an independent coffee certification for its out-of-home beverages business, and developed a sustainability map of the supply chain for the food services business that runs the U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria (famously "greened" by Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi).

Kristen Kurczak (F'04) is Senior Business Development and Policy Advisor for BP Biofuels-Africa. Kristen looks at opportunities for building successful biofuels operations for BP alongside strategies for sustainable, rural socioeconomic development on the continent. She works with business, government and civil society on policy development and partnerships for the sustainable production, distribution and consumption of biofuels. Recently married, Kristen is based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She and her husband welcome Fletcherites to Sub-Saharan Africa for safari and wider adventure: [email protected].

Protecting Wildlife As a natural resource planner for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Fremont, California, Winnie Chan (F’03) develops comprehensive conservation plans to manage seven national wildlife refuges in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas. This involves setting long-term objectives for recovering endangered species, enhancing or restoring habitat, providing visitor wildlife activities, supporting migratory birds, and providing environmental education. Winnie first attended Tufts University as an Urban and Environmental Policy student intending to work on national environmental policy issues. She says, “I took a few classes at Fletcher and became fascinated with the global perspective, especially in the context of international environmental problems. The experience led me to pursue a dual degree, which prepared me for my first post-graduate position with the U.S. delegation to the International Whaling Commission. Boy, those international law and international negotiation classes came in handy! Working with and interacting with my peers at Fletcher, whether they were focused on humanitarian or security studies, was an enlightening experience. It allowed me to share my perspective with others not necessarily familiar to environmental issues.”

Continued on page 5


September 2008

Continued from page 4 Environmental Challenges and Peace-Building Since she graduated in 2004, Hannah Fairbank has worked as a Biodiversity and Natural Resource Specialist in the Office of Natural Resources Management of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Hannah has traveled to over 15 countries in the last four years to carry out three responsibilities: managing several landscape-level conservation programs being implemented by international environmental NGOs in Asia and East Africa; supporting USAID field offices in SE Asia and Latin America in the design, procurement, implementation and evaluation of biodiversity conservation programming; and providing technical leadership in international conservation by advising U.S. delegations to relevant UN conventions, the developing and delivering of technical trainings and documents and engaging in interagency collaboration on international conservation priorities. One of Hannah's most recent trips took her to the mountains of Laos where she was part of a team performing due diligence biodiversity and social monitoring of multilateral development bank investment in hydropower. After participating in an environmentally-focused exchange program in Israel, Ladeene Freimuth (F’95) took a job as deputy director of EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME). With offices in Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, and Amman, FoEME implements on-the-ground projects involving Palestinians, Israelis, and Jordanians to restore and protect trans-boundary water streams and aquifers along the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. FoEME manages rainwater harvesting projects that help collect and store water that is then used to operate school bathrooms. This essentially enables girls to go to school and contributes to their empowerment. FoEME also provides “low tech” solutions to treat sewage, so that more water resources remain clean for domestic, agricultural, and environmental uses. And, through its focus on the environment, FoEME also fosters regional-peace building by uniting nations in the region around the common challenge of water management. At Fletcher, Ladeene focused on climate change and trans-boundary water management issues, areas of study that prepared her perfectly for her subsequent work with FoEME. But Ladeene also credits her Fletcher training in conflict management, international law, and environmental policymaking with helping her to do her job effectively.

Environmental Education Literally the day after Fletcher graduation, Janot Mendler de Suarez (F’98) began a part-time position with an under-funded venture at an intern’s wage. Although there was the promise of decent pay as soon as a World Bank grant came through, “the real impetus was that as a single mother I was desperate for a job that would enable me to do useful work in my field and allow me to work from home. The gamble paid off. But not without several years of working 80 hours per week, with no fringe benefits and growing awareness that men in comparable positions were earning more.” The United Nations’ Global Environmental Fund (GEF) is the world’s leading independent donor funding mechanism addressing global environmental concerns, with a focus on international waters. Janot was instrumental in launching GEF’s International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (www.iwlearn.org), a global network of professionals that advances the practical, innovative scientific, institutional and legal reforms necessary to establish integrated trans-boundary management regimes. Earlier this year in Hanoi, Janot was recognized before several hundred of the world’s water leaders for her service to the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands. While she is grateful for that, she said that what moved her beyond words was the simple thanks from a man from Papua New Guinea for “talking with people such as us.” Continued on page 6


September 2008

Continued from page 5 Environmental Education

And environmental education is stronger than ever back at Fletcher, in part thanks to Mieke van der Wansem (F’90) who is happy to be back as Associate Director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP). At CIERP, environmental problems are considered part of a “mal-development” process. CIERP seeks to redefine development by identifying a new energy trajectory that will simultaneously meet economic, social and environmental needs. At the Center, Mieke focuses mostly on energy and climate, international forest management, and water issues. She involves many Fletcher students in CIERP’s projects to provide a rich learning experience.

Mieke’s other CIERP activities include organizing a state of the art ‘dialogue’ on “Scaling Alternative Energy: The Role of Emerging Markets” which brought together leading manufacturers and investors in alternative energy products and technologies with policy-makers to discuss initiatives in Brazil, China, India, and the Middle East. She also helps run a campus lecture series related to energy and climate that covers environmental topics ranging from science to social justice. Mieke, who grew up in the Netherlands, has also had

opportunities to return there: she has been working with the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality to establish an innovative, effective and efficient Forest Financing Mechanism (FFM).

The work-life balance may extend to sharing professional interests within one’s family. Mieke’s husband, Steven Lanou, is in charge of sustainability at MIT. Believing in practicing what she preaches, Mieke and her family (including two children, Anneke (7) and Sofie (5)) were featured on “Energy Smackdown,” a local reality TV show. Team “van der Nou” competed with other Medford families to reduce household carbon emissions – and they won the competition, due in large part to their community outreach efforts. Visit www.energysmackdown.com to watch the show!

Plans for a Network Gathering at Fletcher

We have a core committee planning a Fletcher Women’s Network gathering in March 2009. Elisabet Rodriguez (F’90) heads up the initiative, with support from Barbara Crane, Marcia Greenberg, Karen Radel Aylward and Lynn Salinger. We welcome others who wish to volunteer. The gathering will focus on us: featuring where and how Fletcher alumnae are taking leadership roles, enabling face-to-face networking related to professions and areas of interest, discussing issues of common concern, and whatever else prospective participants would like to include. We will soon send a “Save the Date” notice, and hope that Fletcher women may arrange their schedules to attend. If you have ideas, find any of us on the “NING”!

Elisabet Rodriguez


September 2008

The FWN’s Vision, Mission Statement and Operating

Principles Having started the Fletcher Women’s Network tentatively in 2006, and gradually tested to see whether it would address needs and generate enthusiasm, we now have evidence that the Network has a constituency. As local groups are developing, we need some basic foundations and guidelines that define both the global network and smaller, related groups. The result is our vision, mission and operating principles. Here we share the vision and mission, while we have posted them along with the principles on our public site, http://fwn.uit.tufts.edu (and which you can access from the main page of our “NING” (see below):

Fletcher Women’s Network Vision and Mission, July 2008 Our Vision The Fletcher Women’s Network (FWN) will become a world-wide network of women graduates of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy who support one another’s professional and personal development, and enhance their opportunities to contribute at local, community, national and global levels. Our Mission Recognizing that there are women-specific challenges relating to career advancement, the visibility of achievements, and women’s leadership in public life, Recognizing the still pervasive expectations that women take primary responsibility for family needs, thereby increasing pressures of work-life balance, and Recognizing that some needs and experiences of Fletcher women graduates lie outside the normal scope of alumni organizations, The mission of the Fletcher Women’s Network is to form an international community of women graduates of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (“the School”) who together may 1) continue to learn about, share experiences related to, and discuss international affairs, world cultures, and current events; 2) promote one another’s professional development; 3) make themselves available to other women as mentors, and 4) contribute to the School’s future.

Presenting the FWN Online Community: Our NING! We are now “online,” and accessible to Fletcher women students and alumnae all over the world. On May 15 we launched our “Online Community” through “NING” technology. NING is a new social networking application that is something like “Facebook,” but password-protected. We now have nearly 200 Fletcher women on the system!

This online system is important to our network for several reasons. First, the NING is a “one-stop” virtual meeting place. By going to the “Members” tab, you can search for friends and Fletcher colleagues who have signed on. You can send private email messages to other users or post a public comment on an individual’s profile page. The NING user you are trying to reach will receive a notice on her email account alerting her to your message. Continued on page 10


September 2008

About our Local Groups….

The Washington, DC Fletcher Women’s Network (FWN-DC) has been busy this spring and summer. A group of six women have stepped forward to formalize the DC leadership team: Wendy Swire (President), Uzma Burki and Camelia Mazard (Executive Vice-Presidents), Vanessa Ortiz (VP, Professional Development), Sarah Prosser (VP, Programs), and Cathy McAuliffe (VP, Communication and liaison to the Fletcher Alumni Association of Washington, D.C.). The team’s first kick-off event was a happy hour after work in July to welcome the Fletcher summer interns. Turnout for the event on a typical hot, muggy DC evening was terrific. Over 25 alumnae attended, including 4 current interns (for the full slide show from the evening, see the main page of the NING!). The major FWN-DC initiative this year will be launching a mentoring program that Vanessa Ortiz will spearhead with help from the leadership team and volunteers. Vanessa asked the interns and alumnae at the happy hour to provide information on what Fletcher women are looking for in a mentor, and how the program can best serve both mentors and mentees. Continued at top of next column

Continued from bottom of left-hand column

Program events for the upcoming year include:

• November, 2008: Launch the mentoring program and brown-bag lunch speaker from the World Bank.

• February, 2009: Panel and presentation for the visiting Fletcher students on the Washington Trip

• May, 2009: Professional development event combined with a social event or dinner

The team will announce specific dates and times through the DC listserve and on the ‘NING,’ so stay tuned. If anyone is interested in joining the DC group but is not yet on the listserve, please email Cathy McAuliffe ([email protected]) or Wendy Swire ([email protected]). The team also welcomes volunteers and ideas for other programs. Please look them up if you are coming to DC or want to attend an event. In the Bay Area, Prina Levermore F’83, invited Fletcher Women to a reception held at the Russian Consulate General. Prina is executive director of Climate of Trust Council, an international organization that conducts government-funded programs promoting democracy in the former Soviet Union. She organized an exchange program between Russian law officials and the San Francisco Police Department, District Attorney's office, and Public Defender's office.

Cathy McAuliffe and Wendy Swire at the July Happy Hour. (Both photos courtesy of Erica Burman F’91.) Vanessa Ortiz and Sarah Prosser at the July Happy Hour.


September 2008

Did you know that…? • Ann Imlah Schneider (F’56) has worked on academic research/relations at the U.S. Department of State and then in the administration of international studies grants at the U.S. Department of Education. Since leaving the Department of Education she has focused on research projects to strengthen international exposure in undergraduate training of K-12 teachers. Check out her web site at www.internationaledadvice.com.

• This summer, Kristen Rainey (F’06) interned in business development at Banyan Tree Spa, a Singapore-based resort and spa company, with global spa operations conducted out of the Phuket, Thailand office, where Kristen currently resides. Banyan Tree is world-renowned for its commitment to sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. Kristen's internship is part of her MBA program at the Johnson School of Management at Cornell, where she focused on Sustainable Global Enterprise last year. With three other students, Kristen traveled to Mozambique in March as part of a sugar cane ethanol consulting project. She returns to Ithaca this fall and will spend her last semester of business school on exchange at SDA Bocconi in Milan.

• Gabby Hermann (F’05) lives in Esslingen, Germany, working part-time as Program Director at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy Europe, based in Berlin. She just finished a project in Serbia on capacity building for sustainable urban development issues, namely brownfield redevelopment. The rest of the time she spends with her 20-month old son – and she may have already delivered her second child!

• Iliriana Kacaniku (F’04) has just entered her fifth year with Kosovo Foundation for Open Society, where she coordinates the European Integration program. She also hosts the Fletcher Club Prishtina, and looks forward to a larger number of Fletcher alumni and alumnae in town.

• Sarah Titus (F’05) has just relocated to the Washington, DC, area where she has started a new job in the Migration and Refugee Services division of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. She will be conducting education and outreach for their anti-trafficking program - a federal award from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (part of the Rescue and Restore effort)/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Sara Feldman, F’06, also works there.

• Isa de Sola (F’08) has just moved to Lisboa, Portugal, with her husband. She is busy job-searching and learning Portuguese. Though there are few Fletcherites on the Iberian Peninsula, Isa hopes to establish a European-wide Fletcher Women’s Network in the near future.

• Lucila Castañeda (F’76), from Guatemala, is doing freelance medical research, mainly relating to violence on children. She is committed to documenting the economic impact of violence on children's lives.

• Leylac Naqvi (F’04) is a consultant for program development at The Asia Foundation in Pakistan, working on a variety of projects including in the areas of human rights and health. She lives there with her husband Ijlal Naqvi (F’04) who is doing dissertation research for a PhD in Sociology from UNC-Chapel Hill.

• Maria Luisa Hayem Breve (F’09) is working for a non-profit, Project Concern International, and will be based in Delhi, India. She expects to travel to Jaipur several times.

• Emma Drew Hodgson (F’91) is relocating to Melbourne, Australia, for 18 months due to her husband’s new role at KPMG. She will continue working part time for KPMG and her email address will remain unchanged.

• Martha Brettschneider (F’91) has just relocated back to Vienna, Virginia, after spending three years in Stuttgart, Germany with her family.


September 2008

Endnote: And for next time . . . Our next newsletter will focus on Fletcher women working on human rights, and our guest editor is Phyllis Cox (F’68). If you are in this field, or if you know of other alumnae whose work is related to human rights (generally, women’s, disability, minorities, indigenous, etc), please context Phyllis at [email protected]. The following newsletter may be about refugee work, alumnae with the U.S. Department of State and other Foreign Ministries, or at the World Bank, or alumnae in journalism. It only depends on who wants to be guest editor for the next issue. If you want an “excuse” to find Fletcher alumnae who are in your field or institution, please head up an issue. Guest editors identify Fletcher women for their theme, and may generate articles by asking them to write about themselves, writing a profile, or writing an article about multiple alumnae. Our team of Claire Carroll for substantive editing and Stacy Bernard Davis for production will take the text from guest editors and finalize the issue. If you would like to develop an issue, please contact Claire Carroll or Marcia Greenberg, either through the NING or at [email protected] and [email protected].

Continued from page 7

Presenting the Fletcher Women’s Network’s NING! Second, the system provides information for personal or professional networking. The information on the profile pages should describe professional experience and interests, avocations and hobbies, national origin or current location, etc. When you post information about yourself, please think about what would be useful for someone seeking a mentor, or for a peer colleague wanting to exchange information. You can also post your CV, photos, and other useful attachments. Third, the system enables us to engage in virtual discussions. The discussion sections are open to all users and cover a variety of topics. So far, we have posted FWN newsletters and are set up for reactions to the third newsletter about alumnae in education and this fourth newsletter about environmental issues. There are also book recommendations under “summer reading,” employment opportunities, and requests for information from those who have worked in Honduras, Egypt or Sri Lanka. The NING can be whatever Fletcher women want it to be! This is just a start, and the utility of such systems depends on members’ initiatives. So whether you want to exchange information about serious topics like Iran or global warming, find others who have worked in a country that is your focus, or exchange photos or film and music recommendations, the NING is the place to go. We would like the system to be owned and shaped by us all. Joining the NING is easy. First, you must be invited by a current user. The invitation system protects the privacy of our community. If you are not yet on the system, simply send an email to Isa de Sola ([email protected]) or Marcia Greenberg ([email protected]) and they will “invite you” onto the system. You need only enter the email address at which you were invited, create a password, and set-up your own page – then explore and communicate and innovate!

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