Information Session and Alumni Speaker Panel: Communications and Journalism

This information session provides prospective U.S. applicants with an in-depth look at the Fulbright Specialist Program and the opportunity to hear from a panel of Fulbright Specialist alumni who completed projects in the field of Communications and Journalism:

Alumni panelists:

Beth Michalec is a full-time faculty member and internship coordinator in the Corporate Communication Department at Penn State University Lehigh Valley (PSU-LV) located in Center Valley, PA.  She earned her Ph.D. in Rhetoric in 2020 from Duquesne University’s Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies.  Her doctoral work included dual emphases in integrated marketing communications and the rhetoric and philosophy of technology, as well as a special interest in communication ethics. She has presented multiple single-authored papers at state, regional, national and international conferences, and her diverse research interests include corporate social responsibility, philanthrocapitalism, integrated marketing communication, social media, crisis management, and the ethical intersection of the public and private spheres of communication and innovation. Prior to her career in academia, Michalec served as program manager and executive director of the Robert H. Mollohan Family Charitable Foundation. She served as a Fulbright Specialist at the University of Zagreb in Croatia in 2022.

Doug Mitchell is the Founder and Director of NPR's Next Generation Radio.  Officially named in 2000, the program is a 5-day audio-focused, digital media "sprint."  That means each selected cohort spends a week with a mentor, creating a short form, non-narrated audio story, writing two pieces, producing video pieces, and sharing their work via various social media tools. Since 2013, the project has had 400+ alumni that are 72% women and 75% people of color. Roughly 40% of our alumni work in non-profit media, with seven working for NPR as full-time employees.

Doug spent 21 years as a producer and show director for NPR and has been an adjunct professor with the Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY and the Georgetown University Master's in Journalism program.  Also, he's done three international fellowships, each time to Chile. He served as a Fulbright Specialist at Catholic University in Chile in 2007.

Information Session and Alumni Speaker Panel: Public/Global Health

This information session provides prospective U.S. applicants with an in-depth look at the Fulbright Specialist Program and the opportunity to hear from a panel of Fulbright Specialist alumni who completed projects in the field of Public/Global Health:

Alumni panelists:

Catherine Pirkle is an Associate Professor in the Office of Public Health Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her research focuses on women’s health across the lifespan, in which she specifically looks at how experiences during childhood and adolescence contribute to the development of chronic diseases and disability. She also works extensively on the links between environmental issues, such as exposure to contaminants like mercury and lead, and their effects on the food security and wellbeing of mothers and their children. Her work has brought her to the Arctic, Bermuda, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Mali, the Philippines, Senegal, and South Africa. She has served as a Fulbright Specialist at Universidad de Cartagena in Colombia (2020) and Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil (2017).

As an advocate, educator, and collaborator for over 20 years, Karen Kwok, FNP-BC, MPH, CIC supported communities with their wellness agenda in Public Health Advisor and International Development Consultant roles. Karen’s areas of scholarship include improving access to primary health care and development of community partnerships with recognition from American Nurses Credentialing Center, Robert Wood Johnson, Bill and Melinda Gates Institute, California Governor Gray Davis, President Obama, and Peace Corps for her service. Karen has contributed to global health initiatives including capacity development, strategic planning, and program evaluation with Ministries of Health spanning Latin America, Central and Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan. She served as a Fulbright Specialist at the Ministry of Health in Kosovo in 2019.

Information Session and Alumni Speaker Panel: Law

This information session provides prospective U.S. applicants with an in-depth look at the Fulbright Specialist Program and the opportunity to hear from a panel of Fulbright Specialist alumni who completed projects in the field of Law:

Alumni panelists:

W. Jesse Weins is Teaching Professor at Arizona State University, in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. His work focuses on criminal and constitutional law and process.  Before teaching, he worked in juvenile case management and practiced public interest law and defense.  Jesse received his law degree with distinction from the University of Nebraska, where he served as an executive editor of the Nebraska Law Review.  He taught for 10 years at Dakota Wesleyan University, where he was an academic dean for 5 years.  Jesse is an alumnus of the Fulbright Specialist program, having spent the fall of 2018 at the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law in Bhutan, where he developed a core course in legal skills and instructed the Himalayan nation’s first cohort of law students.

Rumu Sarkar was awarded a Fulbright Specialist award as an expert in international law. She lectured at the John Paul II School of Law in Lublin, Poland in 2016, and received a standing ovation from her 80+ Polish law students! As a result of her Fulbright connection, Professor Sarkar is an Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University, School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, where she teaches international development law to the Pentagon’s active duty medical doctors and global health specialists.

Information Session and Alumni Speaker Panel: Engineering Education

This information session provides prospective U.S. applicants with an in-depth look at the Fulbright Specialist Program and the opportunity to hear from a panel of Fulbright Specialist alumni who completed a project in the field of Engineering Education.

Alumni panelist:

Kenneth McDonald is a Professor of Engineering Management, Department of Systems Engineering, United States Military Academy.  His recent academic focus is on character development education.  He also studies engineering ethics and how it applies in today’s complex world.  Dr. McDonald has authored and co-authored over 50 technical publications to include book chapters and refereed publications on infrastructure, capacity development, geotechnical engineering, engineering management, value modeling and ethics. He is also co-author of the book “Pursuing the Honorable – Reawakening Honor in the Modern Military”.  He graduated from West Point in 1985 with a BS in Civil Engineering. He earned holds a Masters in Geography; City and Regional Planning; Environmental Engineering; Information Systems Management; and Ethics and a PhD in Geological Engineering.  He is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE), a Project Management Professional (PMP), a Certified Professional in Engineering Management (CPEM), and a Certified Planner (AICP).  He has served as a Fulbright Specialist at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kosovo (2020) and College of the Marshall Islands (2016).