ANNOUNCING THE NEW
MALAYSIAN-AMERICAN ALUMNI PARTNERSHIP (MAAP)
September 8, 2010
Malaysian-American Alumni Partnership Executive Committee; Back row from left: Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Sarasvathi Sri Vani, Nicholas Papp, Dhakshinamoorthy “Dash” Balakrishnan, Dr. James Coffman, Juhaidi Yean Abdullah, Tryphena Mathius, Jack Lim Yeu Tjek; Front row from left:Chua Wei Jim, Faisal Hassan, Sabina Wong and Terianne Campos
On August 23, 2010, U.S. Embassy Cultural Affairs Officer Nicholas Papp and State Alumni Member of the Month (February 2010) Faisal Hassan co-hosted a meeting to form the Malaysian-American Alumni Partnership (MAAP). This new partnership is led by an executive committee comprising Malaysia’s top alumni leaders who have been active in promoting alumni outreach.
The Malaysian-American Alumni Partnership will:
· network and associate alumni of U.S. Government sponsored exchange programs;
· engage you in public diplomacy programs of the U.S. Embassy;
· create a forum for sharing your experiences, information and resources;
· provide you up-to-date information and share information on activities, ideas or news via traditional and new media;
· provide mentoring of junior alumni;
· give back to the community;
· provide professional opportunities for alumni as well as opportunities for current grantees to participate in local events and activities;
· serve as a contact point of adjustment and re-entry of new alumni; and
· raise awareness of the U.S. government exchange programs and identify future exchange program participants.
The executive committee voted unanimously to adopt the MAAP Constitution and elect officers which include:
· Faisal Hassan (alumnus of the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program)as President;
· Sabina Wong (alumna of the Study of the U.S. Institute for Student Leaders on New Media) as Vice President of Communications;
· Chua Wei Jim (YES alumnus) as Treasurer.
The officers will be mentored by more senior alumni including:
· “Dash” Dhakshinamoorthy (Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship and
International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumnus) as mentor to the
President;
· Juhaidi Yean Abdullah (Humphrey alumnus) as mentor to the Vice President of Communications, Sarasvathi Sri Vani (IVLP alumna) as mentor to the Treasurer;
· Ong Kian Ming (Fulbright and IVLP alumnus) as mentor to the Secretary.
All alumni of U.S. Government sponsored exchange programs are automatically a member of this partnership.
The new executive committee members are very excited to embark on this new alumni partnership which will turn its attention to involving alumni in implementing two high-profile alumni projects – a leadership development camp for local youth as well as a series of community development projects across Malaysia focused on leadership development, environmental preservation, English language learning, poverty reduction and social entrepreneurship. Therefore, as a member of the Malaysian-American Alumni Partnership (MAAP), we welcome your participation and support.
Please look for an upcoming message from the newly elected President, Faisal Hassan.
For more information on the Malaysian-American Alumni Partnership, please contact the U.S. Embassy’s Alumni Coordinator Tryphena Mathius at MathiusT@state.gov or call (03) 2168-5046 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (03) 2168-5046 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
Please feel free to forward this message to fellow alumni in Malaysia.
