From a Global Education to a Global Career

The WorldDenver Young Professionals and StudyColorado are proud to present a panel of alumni from internationally-focused university programs who will discuss the importance and impact of a global education and how it has helped them to build their global careers from founding an NGO to conflict resolution and security reform.

About Our Panelists

Hawa Coulibaly 
M.A Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver 
Current Project assistant at the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, Mali field Office. 

Hawa Coulibaly is a project management for development professional. After graduating from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, she returned to Mali to work on the implementation of a project for enhancing Security Sector Governance in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Coulibaly works specifically on the communication of the project regarding the process of Security Sector Reform in collaboration with a network of media specialists and journalists.

Lindsey Kruger
Founder and Executive Director, NIVAS

Lindsey Kruger founded NIVAS in 2013 to aid marginalized families living in poverty in their quest for secure housing. In its short time, the small organization has helped roughly 2,500 people to build new resilient homes or improve their existing houses in rural Nepal. Her team spent 3 years working collaboratively to rebuild a 5 village district that was devastated by two earthquakes in 2015. More recently they have developed a specialized program to work with severely marginalized single mothers experiencing homelessness.

Lindsey’s 17 years in the architecture and design field, including a board position with Architecture for Humanity, are what lead her to assist families directly in their need for residential architecture and construction services. She holds a BFA in Interior Design from RMCAD as well as a Masters in Development Practice from Regis University. Her firm Kruger Design Studio has been featured in media such as Modern in Denver Magazine and her work has won awards such as the Ann Love Award for Historic Preservation. In her role as founder and Executive Director of NIVAS, Lindsey leads the organization in its mission to provide equitable access to resilient and secure housing for those most in need. 

Melvin Foote
Founder and President, Constituency for Africa (CFA)

Mr. Melvin P. Foote is the Founder and President of the Constituency for Africa, (CFA), a 25-years old Washington, D.C.-based network of organizations, groups and individuals committed to the progress and empowerment of Africa and African people worldwide. CFA’s mission is to build public and private support for Africa, and to help shape U.S. policies towards Africa
 
Mr. Foote has traveled and worked extensively in more than thirty-five African countries and has participated in numerous high-level missions to Africa. He has received high level awards and recognitions including the “Ordre National du Lion” from the Government of Senegal, the Congressional Black Caucus 2001 Annual Legislative Conference's Diggs Award for Foreign Affairs, the “Leadership Award” by the National Newspaper Publishers Association. He was named a “top 100 Westerners” by Western State College of Colorado and was honored by the ECOWAS Ambassador Corps in Washington as part of their salute to African-American leadership

Mr. Foote is a regularly requested speaker on radio and television as well as a prolific writer of articles and editorials featured in newspapers and magazines across the United States and in Africa.

Mr. Foote has a Bachelors in Sociology from Western Colorado University (then Western State College of Colorado) and a Masters in public administration from CU Denver.

Hans Von Meister
Founder and Chief Operating Officer, LearningLeaders, Shanghai

Hans Von Meister graduated from the University of Colorado in 2009 with undergraduate degrees in Chinese and Mathematics. During his time in Boulder, Hans was a volunteer for the “It’s Elementary” program, creating and leading Chinese cultural training classes at several local elementary schools.

After graduating, Hans moved to Shanghai, China to work as an Operations Manager for the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Since then, Hans has worked in several start-ups, primarily in the education space. His most recent company, LearningLeaders, is a public-speaking and debate training organization focusing on improving communication and leadership skills for middle and high school students.

Hans currently lives in Shanghai with his wife and two daughters. Outside of work hours, Hans can be found playing hockey or composing music.

Kate Charlton
Suncor Energy USA, Canada

Kate Charlton is an engineer-turned-finance-turned-communications professional, who has spent the last 10+ years working across nearly all facets of the energy sector. Over her career she has worked in consulting in power and utilities, M&A and capital allocation in oil and gas, and currently is the Director of Investor Relations for a global energy leader. She has worked in the US, Canada and on global projects. In her spare time she is a passionate cook, avid surfer, skier and sommelier.

About Our Moderator

Inta Morris
COO/Deputy Director, Colorado Department of Higher Education
Director, StudyColorado

Inta Morris serves as Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and concurrently as Director of StudyColorado. StudyColorado is an initiative of the state, its institutions of higher education and the business community focused on supporting the internationalization efforts of Colorado’s colleges and universities.  Prior to joining the department in July 2007, she served as academic and political affairs officer for the Canadian Consulate General in Denver, and before that she worked in several positions in Washington, D.C. fostering ties between the scientific and academic communities of the United States and countries of the former Soviet Union. She began her career working for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.  Inta received her undergraduate degree in international relations from the University of Colorado Boulder, and her graduate degree also in international relations from George Washington University. Inta is an avid hiker; enjoys international travel; and when at home, enjoys cooking and gardening.

Note: As a nonpartisan convener of global affairs programming, WorldDenver provides an unbiased forum for experts, world leaders, diplomats, and representatives from the public and private sectors to share their expertise and views on a broad spectrum of issues that matter to the world. We aim for our events to inspire curiosity and further reading, discussion, and civic engagement among our members and the Denver community on the global issues that we present.