South Asia and the Yale World Fellows
In its 10th anniversary year, the incoming cohort of Yale World Fellows includes five Fellows who have expertise in, or hail from, the South Asia region. India is represented twice in the incoming class of sixteen Fellows, and other South Asian countries represented include Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Inaugurated during Yale’s 2001 tercentennial celebration to enhance the university’s global reach, the Yale World Fellows program offers outstanding mid-career professionals from around the world a four-month period of intensive academic enrichment and leadership training. The South Asia affiliated World Fellows include the editor of a leading business newspaper in India, a medical doctor and clinical researcher, a senior civil servant, a public health financing specialist, and the CEO of India’s largest community water systems operator.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Fellows Program and, as part of its celebrations, Yale will host the “Return to Yale Forum,” slated for Oct. 8-11, during which all current and past fellows will gather on campus for four days of discussion and dialogue. Plans are also in the works for the program to host a BBC World Debate, in collaboration with BBC World News, on global leadership in the 21st century.
The 2011 class of Yale World Fellows includes the following individuals affiliated with the South Asian region:
Monika Halan (India)
Editor, Mint Money
Monika Halan is editor of India’s second largest business newspaper, Mint Money, which has an exclusive partnership with the Wall Street Journal. She is a media personality well-known for her financial expertise.
Sonali Kochhar (India)
Medical Director, India, Institute for OneWorld Health.
A medical doctor and clinical researcher, Sonali Kochhar leads efforts to develop safe, affordable, and accessible drugs and vaccines for diseases prevalent in the developing world, including HIV/AIDS. She previously served as Medical Director for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
Habib Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)
Head, Center for Regional Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
An influential policy maker, Habib Ur Rahman has been a senior advisor in the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development.
Chrishan Thuraisingham (Sri Lanka)
Senior Fund Portfolio Manager, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
A public health financing specialist with a background in international capital markets, Chrishan Thuraisingham manages a $500 million portfolio of grants across Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor for the Global Fund.
Adrien Couton (France)
CEO, Naandi Community Water Services
As CEO of the largest operator of community water systems in India, Adrien Couton is applying entrepreneurial solutions to water challenges. He previously managed the Acumen Fund’s global water and agriculture portfolios.
This year, the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs welcomes Alexander Evans, a 2009 alum of the World Fellows Program, as a Senior Fellow for 2011-2012. Evans, a counselor in the British diplomatic service with particular expertise on South Asia, has worked at the Department of State as senior advisor to Ambassador Marc Grossman, and previously to the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
https://worldfellows.yale.edu/
*Content for this feature contributed in part by the Yale Office of Public Affairs and Communications and the Yale World Fellows Program.