Today the IYPF celebrates its fifth birthday. A lot has happened during the last five years. This is a reflection of the amazing young professionals who have been a part of this journey.
To reflect this, our birthday ‘thing’ was to invite those who attended the inaugural International Young Professionals Summit in October 2001 – where the IYPF was launched – to share details on themselves five years on. We also asked all of those who have served as Directors of IYPF over the last five years to share a message.
The result is the following.
Join us in celebrating our 5th birthday. Be inspired by what young professionals such as you are doing to make the world a better place for all, both now and in to the future.
Messages and profiles from:
Alexandra Meldrum
Nathan Fabian
Sarah Jo Dawson
Lockey White
Rochelle Jones
Martha Lee
Lisa Ryan
Peter Bodetti
Chet Tremmel
James Moody
Cordinal Beckford
Paul Lupunga
Birgitte Rasine
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Alexandra Meldrum, IYPS 2001 delegate
When I attended IYPS 2001, I was a young professional engineer with an interest in social justice. I was working in operations management in Sydney for an international food company. I was interested in learning about creating sustainable change, and I attended the IYPS2001 sessions on food and agriculture, and sustainability. Five years on, I have changed direction with my career and enjoy exploring new opportunities. I am now applying my experience to a number of projects and networks as a facilitator of strategic change, assisting people to initiate, develop and improve systems for sustainable change, skill development and performance improvement. One of my current projects is working as a social entrepreneur, leading a project to establish a new business venture to raise funds for the counselling charity, Lifeline. I teach at the Australian Graduate School of Management at The University of NSW, and I work as a counsellor. I now lead the IYPF Implementation team, a group of young professionals seeking to make a positive difference in the world. Our team supports some fantastic projects around the world!
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Nathan Fabian, IYPS 2001 delegate and former IYPF Director
Ideas and dialogue are powerful tools. We should not underestimate their impact or the momentum they can build to shape the future.
Congratulations to all those involved with the IYPF in its first 5 years and your contributions to shaping a better future.
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Sarah Jo Dawson, IYPS 2001 delegate and current IYPF Director
As a qualified chemical engineer, I continue to try to help the environment and sustainable development. As Safety, Health and Environment Manager for Unilever and now for Total Petrochemicals UK, I have supported site-based improvement activities and have had the opportunity to work on some exciting Global CSR and sustainable development projects. Outside work, I attended IYPS 2004 and now work as IYPF President, I sit on the International Advisory Board of the Mersey Basin Campaign and still do local conservation work. I have gained further qualifications, including a NEBOSH Diploma and an MBA. I am now happily married to Chris Dawson and we live in Marsden, Yorkshire. Sarah-Jo Dawson (nee Lister)
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Lockey White, former IYPF Director
Lockey has recently moved back to Portland, Oregon after stints in other places in the US and is working in Tech again. She is currently serving as Director of Development for an open source software development company called OpenSourcery. They service only nonprofits and sustainable businesses so it's an interesting niche.
Lockey is also co-coordinator of Fast Company Magazine's Portland Company of Friends group, that sees her coordinating their speaker series, this month featuring John Haines, Executive Director of Mercy Corps Northwest). She has also have been volunteering at various music festivals, including EarthDance (a major international gathering for peace) and Vegoose (your average jam band hippie fest in Vegas; see
www.vegoose.com<).
Lockey is a member of the tt30 (think tank 30) group of The Club of Rome, and is on the Board of Directors for SustainUS, a group representing the United States' youth voice for sustainable development.
Whilst studying, she was the recipient of the Morris K. Udall scholarship for excellence in environmental policy, awarded by the United States Congress.
With a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College, and a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, and a Bachelor of Science in Natural resources Management Policy with a minor in International Relations, Lockey brings a unique perspective to the IYPF as a sustainable development advocate, environmental lawyer, and businessperson.
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Rochelle Jones, IYPS 2001 staff
Since IYPS in 2001, Rochelle completed her Honours degree and got married in 2003, then lived in Bangkok for two years where she completed a Masters in International Development, and started working as a writer/reseacher for an international women's rights organisation - the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID). Rochelle is now back in Brisbane and still works for AWID, but also works at the Office for Women in Policy Research - part of the Queensland Government's Department of Justice and Attorney-General. Rochelle is hoping to return to SE Asia very soon! You can check out some of her work at
www.awid.org/analysis.
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Martha Lee, former IYPF Director
Happy birthday IYPF! It's been a good long five years! During my involvement in IYPF two years ago, one of which as President, I was also initiating a non-profit called Youth Employment (Singapore) [YES] which helps young people in the areas of career guidance, job search skills and facilitation of employment. Through my work with IYPF and YES, I have not only learned much about myself, increased my skills and knowledge but most importantly hopefully made a positive difference. I am currently pursing my Masters in Public Policy and Management and am eager to contribute even more. Being young educated professionals, we are in a position to give and help. Do not be anything less than what you are meant to be.
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Lisa Ryan, IYPS 2001 delegate
In 2001, I was working as the coordinator of an environmental education research centre at Griffith University. Since then my partner and then 4yr-old son spent a year volunteering in East Timor, assisting the local community in rebuilding their lives, through a community capacity building ecotourism project. This was incredibly rewarding and we learned much from the Timorese people. We returned home with a permanent reminder of our time...our second child. I now teach Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast and am involved with the Queensland Environmentally Sustainable Schools Initiative. I am also in the IYPF Sustainable Consumption Working Group and have enjoyed the many friendships and networks made through IYPF.
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Peter Bodetti, IYPS 2001 staff, founding member and Director
Happy Birthday to the IYPF!!! Almost six years ago a small group of people sat around a table at a café in Brisbane dreaming up this wonderful plan for a Summit, that eventually lead to the idea of a foundation to follow through with the actions from this summit to ensure it was not another 'talk fest'. Five years on, the IYPF has grown into the energetic network of young professionals that it now is. Thank you and congratulations to all that have developed this dream into what it is today, and all the best in continuing to inspire, inform and equip the young professionals of today and future generations to change their world for good.
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Chet Tremmel, IYPS 2001 delegate
My name is Chet Tremmel (Chet is not my real name, but my nickname because it would be very hard for you to pronounce my real first name Jörg). I am the founder and Scientific Director of the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations (FRFG), a think tank on intergenerational justice and sustainability (
www.intergenerational-justice.net). I studied Business Administration at the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel, Germany and Political Science at the University of Frankfurt, before I completed my PhD in Sociology at the University of Stuttgart. Besides working for FRFG, I am a lecturer at the Free University Berlin and the University of Frankfurt. I love to remember the IYPS in 2001. It was great to meet other people, to discuss all night (be tired all day) and learn about other points of view.
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James Moody, IYPS 2001 staff, founding member and Director
It is hard to believe that it has been five years since the IYPS. In this time we have seen some major changes in the world; some for the better, many for the worse.
Something that hasn't changed is the need for young professions to become more engaged in making a difference. Issues from development to environment, labour to trade are becoming more critical that ever before and it is the young professionals cohort that can lead the charge in finding a better way to address these issues.
I believe the next step for the organisation is to start engaging other young professionals groups more deeply, building off the good reputation of the foundation and bringing the drive, passion and lust for change to professional networks across the globe. Balancing this with the continuing need to implement direct-action projects that can produce results will be a challenge, but something I think that the current leadership team of the IYPF will accomplish!
Five years is an important milestone for any organisation, and the IYPF has shown that through hard work, strong networks and dedicated people we can accomplish anything! Congratulations to everyone in making the dream at the International Young Professionals Summit a reality!
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Cordinal Beckford, IYPS 2001 delegate
Cordinal W. Beckford here from Jamaica. I attended the IYPS in Brisbane in 2001. Presently, I am the Managing Director of my own construction company in Jamaica. Indeed we are doing well. I am indeed delighted to know that the struggles continue. Please continue to be the voice for the voiceless, the un-attached and the marginalized youths.
Again, big-up and hope to see you sometime in North America. I would very much like to participate in conferences, training in construction, project management, entrepreneurship, etc.
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Paul Lupunga, IYPS 2001 staff and former IYPF Director
Volunteer Work:
1. Patron of Kabuta School of 100 kids aged 2-13 in one room, turned 2yrs in May type of day care that meets at my place.
2. I am a friend of In-Community Care for Orphans (I-CCO) 300 kids in a suburb around here, I mentor the Director and strategise the organisations plans.
Formal Employ:
1. Economist - Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Coordinator for: Harmonising Aid around local priorities, Development Assistance Database Maintainance, Aid Policy Formulation, Paris Declaration (2005) compliance monitoring
Personal Work
Married 2003 December
Run Summit Paints (PVA, Terracota and Gloss)
Evangel Baptist Church - Membership
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Birgitte Rasine, IYPS 2001 delegate
Job: head of LUCITA Inc (
www.lucita.net)
Where am I now: still running LUCITA!
What am I doing/have done since IYPS 2001: our company has designed and built lots of high-end web sites for businesses and non profits trying to make a difference in the world. We have also produced a few videos and done lots of design and communications projects, including marketing campaigns.
But the three most significant projects, the three we are most excited about and proud of, are:
1.) Tsunami--stories of human resilience /
www.lucita.net/tsunami
Started in 2005, this project uses high end photography to bring the spirit of strength and resilience of those who survived the tsunami, to the entire world. Currently, we are partnering with the eco6 conference in Zurich, Switzerland (see
www.eco6.co.uk) to raise funds for the tsunami communities through the sale of postcards and calendars.
2.) The Colors of Perception and the US Responsible Media Forum
In the fall of 2005 we published The Colors of Perception, a ground-breaking, 130-page report on social responsibility in the media and communications industries in the US. See
www.lucita.net/market/reports.php.
One of the indirect results of that effort is the US Responsible Media Forum (see
www.usresponsiblemedia.org), a nationwide forum to gather all manner and size of media entities in the US to define, address and find more sustainable ways of doing business. We are partnering with the UK CSR Media Forum.
3.) The Mayan Calendar Portal
This is a portal to gather the scientific and cultural knowledge about the Sacred Mayan Calendar together in one place. See
www.maya-portal.net and stay tuned for the unveiling!
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