The following is attributable to USAID Deputy Spokesperson Shejal Pulivarti:
On Thursday, October 20, Deputy Administrator Paloma Adams-Allen attended the third and final day of USAID’s Second Annual Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Conference and Career Expo at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida.
Deputy Administrator Adams-Allen announced the winners of the conference’s Innovation and Diversity Engagement Awards Case Competition, where students were challenged to create potential solutions that address a global development challenge, with a specific focus on women potato farmers in Peru. The winning team was the Maria Elena Partnership, made up of FIU undergraduates Camila Zapata Canut and Elias Castilla Marquez. The winners were awarded $15,000, provided by the PepsiCo Foundation as part of its Racial Equality Journey commitment to invest $40 million over five years in scholarships that provide access to professional training and higher education for 2,000 Black and 2,000 Hispanic students.
The event brought together students, alumni, faculty, and administrators from HSIs, as well as implementing partners and other members and friends of the Hispanic/LatinX community, to learn about USAID’s work, careers in international development and humanitarian assistance, and the avenues for partnering with USAID.
Deputy Administrator Adams-Allen delivered the keynote address focusing on the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in USAID’s recruiting, programming, and partnerships. Following her remarks, Deputy Administrator Adams-Allen discussed USAID’s diversity and equity priorities and explored opportunities with El pagnier Kay “EK” Hudson, FIU’s first Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Assistant Vice Provost for DEI, Emmanuele Bowles; and the Assistant Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, Carleen Vincent-Robinson.
Following this, Deputy Administrator Adams-Allen met with Dr. Pablo Ortiz, FIU’s Vice Provost for the Biscayne Bay Campus and Vice President for Regional and World Locations. They discussed partnering more closely with FIU to intentionally create a talent pipeline that feeds into the Agency and requested ideas on further collaboration between USAID and FIU on DEIA.
Deputy Administrator Adams-Allen then met with the Interim President of FIU, Mr. Kenneth Jessell, to discuss opportunities to further strengthen the current partnership and explored potential areas for collaboration between USAID and FIU on USAID programs.
The event concluded with a networking session where Deputy Administrator Adams-Allen connected with attendees and partners.