STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The American Association of University Women (AAUW) State College and the Penn State Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows program will host the presentation “International Perspectives on Women in Society” from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Graduate State College hotel (formerly the Atherton Hotel).
The featured panelists will be Humphrey Fellows Abby-Gail S. Blanchard, director and trainer at Blanchard Institute for Educational Development and Research NV in Suriname, and Shehrenna Gulamani, a senior manager of external linkages at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, Pakistan.
Blanchard holds a bachelor of science in education degree and a master’s in education and research for sustainable development degree from the Anton de Kom University in Suriname.
She has approximately eight years of work experience within several higher educational institutions in Suriname. Within these years she has been working on assessing, developing and implementing quality assurance systems and writing and reviewing national and international accreditation reports. In 2020 she founded her own business, the Blanchard Institute for Educational Development and Research NV, where she serves as director, consultant and trainer.
Blanchard will examine quality assurance systems and accreditation in higher education in the U.S during her fellowship.
“I plan to present about Suriname in general and certain challenges which Surinamese women are facing in education and their social environments,” she said.
Gulamani is a higher education administrator, trainer and counselor. She has a bachelor of business administration degree and an MBA. She previously worked at Aga Khan Education Services Pakistan leading the career initiatives portfolio in the careers and scholarships department. Before commencing the Humphrey Fellowship at Penn State, she worked as a senior manager of external linkages at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi, Pakistan. In her professional journey she has worked on institutional accreditation, student leadership and development, financial assistance and welfare, anti-harassment, faculty development and internationalization.
Her interests include enhancing quality youth education access, sustainable leadership development, policymaking and counseling.
“I will share some details about Pakistan, about my career journey as a professional, how privileged I was … not everyone is blessed to have that opportunity,” Gulamani said. “We can all relate to each other. We live in the same world. My focus will be to highlight and identify constraints and opportunities; we always have concerns and issues that we come across in our professional interactions, but we should also share the positive developments encouraging and supporting women in their professional development.”
Those wishing to attend should send a check for $23 payable to “AAUW State College” c/o Christine Bishop, 205 First Ave., State College, PA 16801. Late payments will be accepted at the door, but advance reservations are required by Feb. 6. Those with questions should contact Bishop at cbishop@ccysb.com or 814-441-3571. A lunch buffet is included with the fee.
The event is sponsored by Altrusa International Centre County, Community Diversity Group, Global Connections, Soroptimist and Ten Thousand Villages.
The Humphrey Fellowship Program is a one-year nondegree program of combined academic and professional development opportunities. It brings accomplished mid-career professionals from designated countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East to selected universities in the U.S. for public service, advanced study, professional training and work-related experiences.
The program was established in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter to honor late Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. As the fellowship was being founded, Carter received encouragement from a key advocate — former Penn State President John Oswald.
The Humphrey Fellowship Program is administered by the Institute of International Education and the primary support for the program comes from the U.S. Department of State.