JA Alumni News: June 2023

Dear JA alumnus,

For the first time, we’re gathering JA alumni leaders across Africa and Asia Pacific for a cross-national leadership boot camp: the JA Alumni Leaders Academy.

This opportunity to further develop alumni leaders in both regions is possible only with support from the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF). PMIEF sponsored the travel cost of ten JA Africa alumni leaders and eleven JA Asia Pacific alumni leaders, on top of financing the boot camps. PMIEF’s executives will also share their expertise in project management with our JA alumni leaders.

Warm regards,

JA Worldwide Alumni Team

FOR THE GLOBE

#2MinuteDrill is back, and you can win US$50,000

Pitch your business on the Apple TV Show 2 Minute Drill and you could win US$50,000. Hosted by JA University Chief Chancellor David Meltzer, 2 Minute Drill is devoting one episode of Season 6 entirely to the JA alumni community, and only JA alumni-owned businesses will be accepted for that episode. The deadline to apply is June 29. Find out whether two minutes really can change your life!

June 2023 JA Alumni Clubhouse

Join us on June 15 at 9amEDT/3pmCEST/9pmHKT to brainstorm and exchange ideas on best practices for building your local alumni chapter, including a presentation on global, regional, and local alumni initiatives and a facilitated breakout session to support alumni leaders in starting an alumni chapter, growing and engaging members, and working with JA offices. You’ll also get early access to JA alumni opportunities that you can share with your network. RSVP to attend the June JA Alumni Clubhouse. We can’t wait to see you on June 15.

The March 2023 JA Alumni Clubhouse covered recruitment and retention, along with presentations from Henna Kaski (an alumna of JA Finland), Nelly Cetera (an alumna of JA Argentina), Milton Hernández (an alumnus ofJA Mexico), Mark Wang (an alumnus ofJA Guam), and Viktor Tsvetanov (an alumnus ofJA Bulgaria). If you missed the March session, we’ve got you covered! You can still watch the recording and view the slides.

JA Alumni Leaders Africa 2023–2024

Meet the ten newly appointed JA Africa alumni leaders. These ten alumni will attend the first-ever Alumni Leaders Academy in Kampala, Uganda, and then go on to lead the JA alumni network in their countries through July 2024. The JA Alumni Leaders Academy is a three-day intensive boot camp aimed at developing and growing JA alumni networks in the African region. One alumnus from each country was selected to participate in the academy with the goal of creating a sustainable strategy for their local alumni chapter.

Here’s the list of new JA alumni Presidents representing each location:

• Côte d'Ivoire: Ibrahim Coulibaly
• Eswatini: Bonginkosi Ntshalintshali
• Ghana: Emmanuel Nyame
• Kenya: Ted Mwatha
• Mascareignes: Pooja Teerbhun
• Nigeria: Imade Iyamu
• South Africa: Ntwanano Rikhotso
• Uganda: Edrine Lusiba
• Zambia: Steven Banda
• Zimbabwe: Godfree Saruchera

Read more about the ten alumni leaders here.

JA Alumni Leaders Asia Pacific 2023–2024

Meet the eleven newly appointed JA Asia Pacific alumni leaders, who will be attending the fully funded JA Alumni Leaders Academy Asia Pacific in Malaysia, and then leading their alumni community for the next year:

• Azerbaijan: Aytan Pashayeva
• China: Wu Xiaojie
• Guam: Angel Payumo
• Hong Kong SAR–China: Matthew Hui
• Indonesia: Stevia Putri
• Japan: Mone Hamada
• Korea: Matthew (Kang Seok) Oh
• Malaysia: Poi Shie Xian
• Malaysia: Kaeyshia L Kesh (Vice President)
• Philippines: Raine Nakpil
• Turkmenistan: Isgender Kerimow

Read more about the eleven alumni leaders here.

WHAT'S HAPPENING

“Startup Your Mind” Food and Water Waste Hackathon

Organized at Isola co-working space, 43 JA alumni participated in a food and water waste hackathon. These innovators were also trained in public speaking and had the opportunity to network over a meal. Check out more highlights of the hackathon on Instagram.

Connect Cascais, Portugal

With the theme of “Uniting for a Brighter Future,” JA alumni across Europe will gather in Cascais, Portugal, July 6–9, 2023, to explore local culture, learn entrepreneurial skills, and indulge in Portugal’s technology startup ecosystem. Get your early-bird tickets on gatheralumni.org by June 17.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Elaine Wu Xiaojie, JA China alumna

It has been 14 years since Elaine participated in JA Company Program, but her engagement with JA has never stopped. She was a volunteer workshop facilitator for JA Our World program, and then became a JA office intern, JA University Committee President, and a business volunteer for JA Career Go. Elaine was later assigned to lead the JA alumni network in Shanghai and will now lead the JA China alumni chapter. Professionally, Elaine has extensive marketing and product experience in the skincare industry (Unilever, L’Oreal, and Nivea). In just six years, she rose through the ranks and is now the Marketing Manager for Nivea in the Female Face Care category. Connect with Elaine on gatheralumni.org.

Imade Iyamu, JA Nigeria alumna

Imade’s participation in Venture in Management Program, JA’s mini-MBA program for college graduates, changed her career outlook. Her passion for education led her to become an instructor at Yale University and a board director of a charter school in the United States. Native to Nigeria, she is now working at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker while completing her MBA at Columbia University. She is also one of the Clinton Global Initiative Fellows for 2023. Imade attributes much of her success to JA, which helped pull her up from unemployment after college graduation. Connect with Imade on gatheralumni.org.

HOUSEKEEPING

• Join the Alumni Leadership Group on Gather.
• Email Sarah Rapp for potential partnerships and synergy.
• Email Howard Leong for JA alumni involvement.