The INDIA: INSIDE OUT team is composed of seven graduate students in the Master of Public Diplomacy program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
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Hend Alhinnawi started her career working with AMIDEAST, the United Nations World Food Program and World Health Organization; supporting their programs in international development, media, fundraising and resource mobilization. Exploring various parts in the Middle East and Africa including Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Kenya, Hend was inspired by ordinary people doing extraordinary things. In India, she is interested in exploring the United Nations and USAID’s role in public diplomacy initiatives and how they relate to community development, education and women’s empowerment.
Read Hend’s posts here.
Maya Babla is a rising public diplomat pursuing a career in international development and public service. In the past, she’s worked in government offices at the state and municipal levels, for non-profits, and research organizations. Programs and organizations of interest to her are those focused on women’s empowerment, conflict resolution and transforming education through new technologies, and she’s eager to see this type of work up-close-and-personal while in India. Maya writes on issues relating to foreign aid, education, and gender equality. She tweets as @mayababla and you can connect with her on LinkedIn.
Read Maya’s posts here.
Jessica Castillo is a long-time municipal civil servant in the Los Angeles area and Master of Public Diplomacy candidate with research interests in urban issues, tourism, public diplomacy of non-state actors, and a regional focus on Latin America. To expand her perspectives in these areas, she is looking forward to exploring the successes and challenges of India’s rapid rise as an emerging power. As a participant of the India: Inside Out project, she plans to examine the previous actions and potential diplomacy opportunities of India’s most influential cities, New Delhi and Mumbai. She hopes to gain a broader understanding of urbanization and how strategies at the city/local level can generate positive development outcomes, help to define national identities, and contribute to the progress of neighboring states.
Read Jessica’s posts here.
Anna Dawson is a second year Master of Public Diplomacy student at the University of Southern California and a senior editor for USC’s Public Diplomacy Magazine. She is a native Californian with an itch to travel the world. This trip will be her first time to India! Her research interests include the ways to communicate public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy. She is excited to learn more about the ways in which India conducts public diplomacy with Great Britain and with other BRIC countries, especially Brazil. She will also concentrate on India’s cultural diplomacy, including Bollywood diplomacy, gastrodiplomacy and tourism. Follow her on Twitter @a_daws.
Read Anna’s posts here.
Jerry Edling is a second year Master of Public Diplomacy candidate at USC and Editor in Chief of “PD” magazine. He works as an editor and writer at KNX, the CBS Radio all news station in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Writers Guild of America, west, and has been nominated for three Emmy Awards, three Writers Guild Awards and a Mark Twain Award. He won an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2011 for KNX’s coverage of the mudslide in La Canada Flintridge, California, and previously won two Golden Mike Awards for his work in television and three Associated Press Awards for programs he initiated in radio. He has a special interest in international broadcasting and hopes to research India’s use of media in its public diplomacy efforts on and beyond the Indian subcontinent. Jerry tweets as @MalibuWriter.
Read Jerry’s posts here.
Mona El Hamdani is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at USC. She is a Fulbrighter coming from Morocco. Previously she worked as Country Program Manager for The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) in Morocco, where she worked directly with high-level journalists, media owners, civil society organizations leaders and government representatives to promote freedom of expression and responsible and inclusive journalism in Morocco. Mona was also a Program Coordinator at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in charge of program evaluation and monitoring. Through her work with NDI, she worked with the youth and women wings of many Moroccan political parties to promote youth and women active participation in the Moroccan political scene. During the India: Inside Out project, she will explore and research diplomatic relations between India and the Gulf countries, particularly public diplomacy initiatives focused on the huge Indian population living and working in many Gulf countries.
Read Mona’s posts here.
Aparajitha Vadlamannati is a second year Master’s of Public Diplomacy student and President of the Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars at the University of Southern California. Being of Indian descent, Aparajitha has always been interested in studying South and Southeast Asia and seeks to bridge the gap between India and America. Experiences with the Pollinator Partnership, the World Affairs Council of Northern California, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations and, currently, with the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, have increased her curiosity to study public diplomacy conducted by the government of India, how to evaluate public diplomacy and the growth of corporate social responsibility in India. On this journey to New Delhi and Mumbai, Aparajitha seeks to explore the workings of Indian government public diplomacy and India’s rising soft power.
Read Aparajitha’s posts here.
