FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - For the past 65 years, the IRF Fellowship Program has represented a life-changing opportunity for 1,371 transportation students to further their education and make lasting impacts in their home countries. On February 11, 2015, the IRF formally launched a campaign to raise US $4 million in endowments in pursuit of our goal to train the next generation of transportation leaders

Today, the International Road Federation (IRF) is unveiling a series of recorded testimonials from IRF Fellows and contributors in support of this campaign.

Padmini Gudipudi (India), a doctoral student at Arizona State University explains how the IRF Fellowship Program has helped her draw the connections between her research work and broader development goals.

Samuel Zephaniah (Kenya) stresses the unique networking value of the ten-day road scholar program which has allowed him to interact with a variety of organizations shaping transportation policy.

Marie Louis (Haiti), who has set her sights on launching the country's first bike-sharing service, describes how the Fellowship Program has given her the leadership skills she needs to advance her projects.

Jose Ortega (Ecuador), a pavement construction student, explains how he aspires to disseminate engineering best practices in his home country by working with a network of universities.

"In my professional capacity, I have frequently encountered alumni of the program, and they are some of the best, most talented professionals with drive and high potential," said Brian Stearman, past chairman of the IRF.

The IRF needs your help to make our fundraising target a reality to ensure promising students like Padmini, Samuel, Marie and Jose benefit from a life-changing opportunity to leverage their education. Please visit  http://www.irfnews.org to see how the Fellowship Program changes lives and how your organization can reap benefits by giving to the program.

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ABOUT THE IRF: The International Road Federation, founded in 1948, is a not-for-profit, non-political organization with the mission to encourage and promote development and maintenance of better, safer and more sustainable roads and road networks. With a network in 117 countries across six continents, the IRF believes it can make a difference by providing best practices and expert advice to today's multi-faceted world of transport.