Emerge Lanka: Leadership
Emerge Lanka Foundation Officers: | |
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Amanda Van Dort – Sri Lanka Country Director Amanda Van Dort is a Sri Lankan American that was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her father is Dutch Burgher and her mother is Sinhalese, both of which moved from Sri Lanka to the States in the late 70′s for graduate studies. Amanda is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University, where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Science with Highest Honors. She participated in a Pre-Med program, and focused on Preventative Medicine with a specialty in Cardiovascular Rehabilitation. During her time at college, she was Student Leader on campus, President of the Exercise Science Organization and was an Undergraduate Research Fellow for three years. In her previous job, she worked as a Wellness Specialist for the University of Michigan, and Coordinator of Project Healthy Schools at the University Preparatory Academy in Detroit, Michigan. She worked with students (10-14 years of age) and taught exercise, nutrition and wellness habits. Another portion of her job included working with local organizations to promote health/provide accessibility to nutritious food to an urban population with a high poverty rate. Amanda has a strong personal interest in public health, humans rights, and social justice. She would like to pursue graduate studies in International Public Policy, and work to better Sri Lankan society. Her goals as Country Director include increasing social awareness through publicity and policy change, as well as the continuation of an amazing program by maintaining and developing new partnerships in the Sri Lankan community. |
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Nirukshi de Lanerolle – Programme Coordinator Nirukshi de Lanerolle is a mother figure to countless young girls through her work with orphanages and children’s programmes across the country. In the past, she has worked with World Vision Lanka as the Coordinator of Sponsor Relations and with Sarvodaya Suwasetha Sewa Society Ltd. where she was the Web and Donor Relations Manager. Her organizational skills, initiative and fluency in both Sinhala and English are an asset to Emerge. She was Emerge Lanka Foundation’s first employee, and has been the Programme Coordinator for more than three years. |
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Iroshini Kalpage – Programme Development Officer Iroshini Kalpage grew up in Nuwara Eliya. She has been involved with many activities and workshops regarding women and child’s rights, rights of children in residential care, gender based violence, ethnicity, religion, gender, caste, good governance, conflict resolution and capacity building. She has produced several peace documentaries with a focus on women and children rights. In addition, she has published various peace articles for newspapers. Iroshini will be finishing her Social Science degree in upcoming years. |
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Uadaya Sivakumar – Financial Officer Uadaya Sivakumar is proud of her upbringing by her single mother. She has a passion for women’s issues. Before joining Emerge Lanka, she worked with Women Defining Peace as their Finance Officer, where she supported projects to eliminate violence against women and encourage women’s political representation. Through her work, she has attended many trainings on women’s rights, gender-based violence, Muslim women’s Issues, and engaging men to prevent violence against women and in promoting equality. These workshops fueled her commitment to the issues which affect women and children of Sri Lanka. She is currently doing final year of Management Studies at University of Nawala. |
Emerge Interns:
2012 Summer Interns in Sri Lanka
Emerge Lanka Foundation Board of Directors: | |
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Ellen Sojka – Co-Founder of Emerge Lanka Foundation Ellen Sojka has been involved with Emerge since her senior year at MIT when she was inspired both by the cause and the people promoting it. After graduation, she moved to Sri Lanka as Emerge Global’s first Sri Lanka Country Director, where she set-up Emerge Lanka Foundation, Emerge Global’s sister entity. In the fall of 2009, she moved back to Boston as U.S. Director. She now serves as the Chair of the Board of Emerge Lanka Foundation, helping to provide strategic advice while continuing to pursue her passion for global social impact. In addition to her work with Emerge, Ellen has spent time working as a Management Consultant with Stroud Consulting, on the trading floor at Banc of America Securities, as an engineer at Intel, and as a Server and Maitre d’ at No. 9 Park, a fine dining restaurant in Boston. She graduated from MIT with a BS in Chemical Engineering and minors in Management and Chemistry in 2008, and is an avid volleyball player. |
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Farzana Khan – Programme Communication Specialist at UNICEF Farzana Khan is currently serving as Programme Communication Specialist at UNICEF, working with grass-root level organizations and communities to understand the problems they face and implement strategies to resolve them. She has over 20 years of experience in branding and marketing in the private sector, as well as a lifetime of experience helping non-profits and charitable causes raise funds, spread awareness, and bridge relationships between the public and private sectors. Farzana is currently Vice-President of Rotary Club of Colombo Regency and a member of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) and the Association of Business Executives (UK). She has a Bsc in Business Administration and MBA from the Post Graduate Institute of Management. A key highlight in her achievements occured post-tsunami when she helped raise funds to build two villages and a school through her Rotary Club. She is also a member of the Young Professional Business Women of Sri Lanka. |
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Luise Ter Haar – Co-Founder and Director of the Refuge Children’s Home Luise Ter Haar is the Co-Founder and Director of the Refuge Children’s Home in Sri Lanka, a home for 20 girls that have been sexually and physically abused. In addition to overseeing the set-up of the home when it was first launched, she currently oversees administration, fundraising and vocational training. She has also served as a programme coordinator for Fridsro, an NGO that works in institutional care, humanitarian aid, and development projects in Sri Lanka. With Fridsro, she provided humanitarian aid post-tsunami, coordinated livelihood projects for tsunami survivors, and provided psychosocial programmes for children. |
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Alia Whitney-Johnson – Founder of Emerge Global Alia Whitney-Johnson holds a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from MIT and an MPhil in Development Studies at Oxford University, where she studied ethical apparel and innovative human resource management practices to promote empowerment as a Rhodes Scholar. Her passion for international development has led her to conduct tsunami relief work in Sri Lanka, refine a process to convert agricultural waste into charcoal for use in Haiti, and develop appropriate technologies in Guatemala. Through her work, she has also been a consultant to the World Bank. Her greatest passion, however, lies in her work with young women in Sri Lanka who have survived abuse. After traveling to Sri Lanka in the summer of 2005, she founded Emerge Global to enable Sri Lankan teenage girls who had survived abuse to develop business and life skills through jewelry design. In 2007, she was named one of Glamour Magazine’s Top Ten College Women and was also selected as a Truman Scholar for her commitment to public service. In 2009, she was selected as one of 20 young social entrepreneurs under the age of 30 to be a YouthActionNet® Global Fellow. She is a member of the MIT Corporation, MIT’s Board of Trustees, and was named a Sauvé Scholar in 2011 to support her work with Emerge. |
The Emerge Team in Action
