Growing tomatoes from seawater, providing free surgeries to patients in need, and eradicating disease from the farm-to-table pipeline—these aren’t some superheroes’ side projects; they are real-life impacts made by global leaders with ties to UC Davis.  

As the only University of California campus to host the Mandela Washington Fellowship or the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship— and one of only five universities in the U.S. to host both, UC Davis provides global change-makers with vital and unique experiences that benefit the UC Davis community, each Fellow’s home country, and the world. 

A Long and Exceptional History 

UC Davis has welcomed 32 cohorts of the Humphrey Fellowship since 1986 and seven cohorts of the Mandela Washington Fellowship since 2016. Both of these prestigious programs are highly competitive among Fellow and host applicants. 

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship—administered by the Institute of International Education and sponsored by the United States Department of State—brings mid-career professionals from countries with developing and emerging economies to select U.S. universities for an entire academic year. 

Administered by IREX, the six-week summer Mandela Washington Fellowship, a flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative and a program of the United States Department of State, provides young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa with opportunities to participate in academic coursework, leadership training and networking.  

Each program will continue in 2024, with UC Davis being named a host university for the Humphrey Fellowship for another five years and the Mandela Washington Fellowship—an annually renewed program—for summer 2024. The UC Davis community will continue to have the opportunity to connect, collaborate and learn from these outstanding professionals and leaders. 

“The goal of these Fellowships is to improve intercultural relationships, diplomacy and mutual understanding,” said Jennie Konsella-Norene, Associate Director of Global Professional Programs at UC Davis, “And that’s really achieved through this incredible exchange of people and ideas.” 

More Than a Singular Experience 

For Marilyn Mawusi Ama Azumah, a 2022 Mandela Washington Fellow from Ghana, ongoing collaborations with her Davis network are already creating immediate changes across health care in her country.  

“Through the fellowship, I have learned more innovative ways to create solutions, to improve patient care and to empower the staff I work with,” said Azumah, who serves as a ward manager at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.  

She credits the networking and collaboration skills she honed at UC Davis to an incredible number of lives impacted.  

“I learned how to network and collaborate more effectively than I did before,” she said. “As a result, we have impacted the lives of over 4,000 people by providing free medical screenings and health education, 45 individuals benefited from free surgeries for fibroids, lymphomas and hernias, and we were able to donate medications to four [Community-based Health Planning and Services] compounds.” 

Since returning to Ghana, Azumah has also collaborated with her Fellowship mentors, including Dean of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis, Stephen J. Cavanagh and Associate Clinical Professor Laura Van Auker from the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis, to organize an online leadership training for more than 300 health workers.  

A Catalyst for Continued Progress 

Talandila Kasapila, who participated in the Mandela Washington Fellowship last summer and currently serves as a park manager for Lake Malawi National Park UNESCO World Heritage Site, found his time in Davis to be both professionally and personally inspiring. 

“The Mandela Washington Fellowship was a moment of growth in terms of my leadership knowledge, skills and connections,” he said. “It laid a strong foundation for me to be able to contribute to creating a more inclusive and sustainable future.” 

Kasapila is especially grateful for the interpersonal skills he was able to explore within his cohort and the larger Davis community. “Being in mid-level senior management, I was never trained on how to handle the constant political and social pressure and being able to lead people with compassion, beyond authority,” he said. “Through the fellowship's exposure to leadership tools, now I have a clear Leadership Development and Action plan enabling me to further develop as a leader and continue making positive impacts.” 

Kasapila plans to continue learning more about best practices in both environmental conservation and community management. He warmly refers to Hugh Safford, a research faculty member in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis, as his “career coach and mentor.” Kasapila recently enrolled in a master’s degree program in Japan after being awarded a Japanese International Cooperation Agency Scholarship.  

Returning Home with Renewed Purpose 

While each Fellow brings unique perspectives and passions to Davis, the leaders who are proud to call themselves Fellows share a powerful commitment in common: a commitment to drive positive change back home. 

"Far after the Fellows’ time in Davis, they continue to nurture [Davis-made] collaborations after returning home,” said Konsella-Norene.  

For example, 2023-24 Humphrey Fellow Bagher Yousefi, a professional in agricultural water management from Iran, is working closely with Isaya Kisekka, a professor of agricultural water management and an irrigation engineer at UC Davis. Together, they are refining desalination methods that Yousefi aims to implement at farms in his home country and beyond. 

“I have gained valuable knowledge about water management that will be highly beneficial for my local community,” said Yousefi. “This [Fellowship] has given me a significant opportunity to refine my method, which could prove immensely beneficial globally.” 

2023-24 Humphrey Fellow Pilar Lillo, a veterinarian specializing in livestock and agriculture within the Ministry of Agriculture, Chile, has pointed to her time working with the California Department of Food and Agriculture this past academic year as a key inspiration for bringing cutting-edge knowledge back to Chile.  

“During my affiliation with the Animal Health and Food Safety Services Division, I am acquiring invaluable theoretical and practical skills in areas such as meat inspection, environmental stewardship, antimicrobial resistance and educational outreach,” shared Lillo. 

She has been especially invigorated by what she’s learned first-hand about climate-friendly best practices and plans to share her new insights with colleagues. By staying in contact with new U.S. connections met through the Fellowship, she will be able to continue exploring and implementing new ideas and processes that safeguard Chilean animals and citizens—and ultimately the greater global community—all while keeping responsible environmental stewardship top of mind. 

Solving Global Issues in a Small California College Town  

Fellows point to UC Davis’ world-class expertise and dedication to interdisciplinary collaboration as major draws to participating in these robust programs, but when asked what they appreciate the most about their time in Davis, one answer rings true for almost everyone: the Aggie community. 

One of the key elements of UC Davis’ approach to hosting Fellows is cultural exchange and service. For example, Lillo and other Fellows participated in Putah Creek cleanups and community service collaborations with the Yolo Food Bank and Davis Community Meals. Host families and host friends also included Fellows in traditional U.S. holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving, as well as organized trips throughout California to share experiences outside of Davis. 

“UC Davis boasts an exceptional multicultural environment, where one can encounter a multitude of languages spoken while traversing its streets,” said Lillo. “This rich diversity is seamlessly interwoven with a profound sense of respect, friendship, and community—a privilege to experience firsthand.” 

Konsella-Norene emphasized that not only do Fellows and their home countries benefit from these programs, but the UC Davis community also benefits from this exchange of ideas, which is a vital component of the programs. 

“By bringing their experiences and knowledge from their home countries to Davis, we learn so much from these Fellows,” she said. “And it allows UC Davis faculty, students and staff to learn new ways to think about the pressing issues relevant to all of us. These programs offer inspiration for people to get to know the world around them and we cannot overlook that.”