On February 10, 2023, Partners President & CEO John McPhail spoke at a winners' announcement event for the 2022 U.S.-Andean 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund Grant Competition. During the event, he thanked the competition's donor-partners: the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and the Colombian Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Minciencias), for their generous support of the 24 scholarship-winning teams that were announced. Formal remarks were delivered by John, along with the Corporate Vice President of Strategic Programming at CAF; the Executive President of CAF; the Vice Minister of Higher Education of Colombia; the Vice Minister of Knowledge, Productivity, and Innovation at Minciencias; the Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia; and the Director of Public Diplomacy Office in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

To better reflect who we are as an organization and the programs we're implementing, we've reorganized the units of the organization. Our new programmatic units are: Education; Labor; Agriculture & Food Security; and Community & Volunteer Engagement. These units will better help the communities we serve.

The Membership Unit is now the Community & Volunteer Engagement (CVE) Unit. For more information on the new structure, read our press release.

This month, the CVE Unit launched its first edition of a bimonthly member-only newsletter full of information about upcoming events, opportunities, and updates on what members need to know about maximizing their membership with Partners of the Americas. Become a member today.

Travel grant applications for our Education and Culture program are open until March 31, 2023. Visit the program webpage to learn more and watch the most recent information session recordings.

The Education & Global Citizenship Unit is now the Education Unit. For more information on the new structure, read our press release.

On February 10, 2023, the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund Grant Competition announced 24 new grant-winning teams between higher education institutions in the U.S. and Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The teams will foster access to education, innovation, and workforce development, thanks to the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and the Colombian Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Minciencias).

On February 11, 2023, the Juntos Aprendemos program, funded by USAID in Colombia, commemorated the International Day for Women and Girls in Science by celebrating the work of Nathalie Quintero, a Venezuelan Aerospace Engineer for NASA. Nathalie was the first Latina to receive Boeing's Florida Space Coast Operations (FSCO) Engineer of the Year Award in 2021. Listen to Nathalie speak about what inspired her to become a scientist. Nathalie is an inspiration to girls like Nayibe, a 10th-grade student in Cúcuta, who leads a clean energy project for her school. Listen to Nayibe's story.

The Child Protection Unit is now the Labor Unit. For more information on the new structure, read our press release.

Last month, Partners' Improving Substantive Gender Equality in the Mexican Workplace (GEM) project, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, began implementing its baseline study. This study will help the project to understand the current state of gender equality in workers' organizations and workplaces in Mexico, and will inform the project's indicators to be used to monitor implementation throughout the life of the project. After the successful pilot test of the study's data collection instruments, the GEM team is working to refine these instruments before expanding the scope of the study across the project's three target regions (Chihuahua, Jalisco, and the Mexican Valley) and two target sectors (call centers and electronics manufacturing). 

The Economic Development & Health Unit is now the Agriculture & Food Security Unit. For more information on the new structure, read our press release.

In February 2023, Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Volunteer, Dr. Yong Park, traveled to Jamaica to train colleagues at St. Ann Bee Farmers' Association on queen breeding. Dr. Park is working with the St. Ann Beekeepers to understand the necessary conditions and processes needed to breed queens and maintain a larger number of hives. Together, they are learning to improve the productivity of their apiary by having access to many young and healthy queens. If you are interested in participating in a F2F assignment and traveling to one of our host countries, please email farmertofarmer@partners.net with your resume or CV attached. 

The DEI Committee received a total of 80 responses on its survey and is now analyzing the data. The Committee looks forward to sharing the findings next month. Thank you to everyone who completed this tool to help Partners learn who is in our organization and how best to support our team.

As a benefit to all of our Chapter members across the Americas, members can book professional meeting spaces for free at our Washington, D.C. Home Office. All of our conference and meeting rooms are perfect for trainings, meetings, and events. Our newly renovated spaces are equipped with medium-to-large tables, comfortable seats, high-quality video-conferencing technology, wireless internet, and well-stocked coffee and tea stations. Individual members can also use one of our “hot desks,” which are individual offices with chairs and monitors that connect to your laptop. When Chapters visit D.C., they will have a place to convene and change lives. Please email vnoguera@partners.net or click here for more information.