Youth Empowerment & Change

UWM Digital Humanities Lab (E272 Meeting Room), UWM Library, 2311 E Hartford Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211 – 2^nd Floor, East Wing, next to the Curriculum Library

Explore the role of youth in addressing challenges confronting society. This international panel of young global changemakers will describe the origins of their activism or community involvement, compare the state of democracy in the U.S. and their countries, and suggest ways to support young people working for positive change here and around the world.

Meet the Panelists:

Sabaa Abdulrazzaq

My name is Sabaa (Saba’a) from Baghdad- Iraq. I have been in Wisconsin since 2014; I came from an immigrant family looking for peace and a stable life. I got my undergrad from UW-Milwaukee with a BS in Biochemistry and Clinical Pharmacology. I worked as a teacher assistant for 4K at the YMCA for three months. Worked as Leader for kids after school at Boys and Girls Club for the school year. I worked as a Research Specialist at UW-Oshkosh in Biology- Parasite with Dr. Shelly.

Choosing this master’s program in Sustainable Peacebuilding MSP would engage my experience of community people with Health and Education.

Cynthia Chirinda

Cynthia is a Human Capital Development, Strategy and Communications practitioner who has worked with various corporates, international development agencies, government ministries, coalitions, political organizations, faith-based organizations, and commissions in areas of leadership development, youth, and women empowerment. She is a holder of a BBA in Marketing Communications from IMM, South Africa.

She joined the MSP program because of its transformative learning approach that engages complex global challenges and enhances capacities for ethical community engagement on an international scale. As an Institute for Systems Change and Peacebuilding Fellow, Cynthia is eager to apply Systems Thinking and Peacebuilding skills to promote wholeness in communities. Her goal is to become a systems change and social dialogue expert who facilitates social change and transformation in families, communities and nations.

As a life coach, speaker, and published author, Cynthia’s messages promote disruptive thinking by provoking people and institutions to challenge their comfort zones, live integrated lives and create trans-generational solutions through paradigm shifts and transformative actions.

Khatera Nazari

Khatera is actively involved in global education and refugee advocacy. Currently, she serves as a coordinator and interpreter for Hanan Refugee Relief, working with children from Afghanistan, the Rohingya community, Burmese refugees, and Indonesians. Additionally, she is a member of the AI Taskforce at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and is enhancing her skills through an AI BootCamp.

Throughout her professional journey, she has been a Research Coordinator at UWM, collaborating on the Afghanistan Oral History Project with the vice chancellor of UWM, and an officer in UWM’s Data Science Club. I co-founded and instructed at the Women and Children’s Center at Fort McCoy, assisting Afghan refugees in their transition. I founded the Hazara School in Afghanistan, supporting students in career development and English language acquisition.

She is pursuing a degree in Data Science at UWM, where she has been on the Dean’s Honor List and received the Dr. Ahmad Nasef Scholarship. Her literary work includes an essay featured in the 2022 Afghan American Artists and Writers Association publication at UC Berkeley. She is expanding her knowledge through the Data Science BootCamp by Women in Tech Afghanistan and DevLab, and a Coding Bootcamp at the Zomia Center.

Mala Nan Leth

Mala Nan Leth is a first generation University student, and an underrepresented racial/ethnic minority. She was born in Bangkok, Thailand, growing up on the Thai/Myanmar border in a refugee camp, Ban Dom Yan (BDY). Her family resettled in Milwaukee in 2014 as refugee newcomers. She lives with a single mother who works part time to support her and her other three younger siblings.

Due to a shortage of staff in the refugee school, Mala was a teacher of first grade children in BDY Camp when she was just 14 years old. She interned at the International Institute of Wisconsin for two semesters: Spring 2021 and Summer 2021; she worked in the Refugee Resettlement Program for newcomers, and also worked part time at IIW helping with case notes management and Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration (PRM) Case reviews in the Spring and Summer of 2022. Mala also has tutored at South East Asian Literacy (SEAL) from 2018 to the present. This is a place where refugee children get help with homework and learn about American culture.

Mala decided to further her education upon learning about the Master of Sustainable Peacebuilding (MSP) Program through Catholic Charities. She has first hand knowledge of the violence in Myanmar/Burma, as it is her families’ land. She would like to be able to work with the United Nations helping refugees and immigrants outside of the United States. Her goal is to learn how to prevent violence, bring peace, while hoping to give a new life and home to those who belong nowhere.

Mala achieved her bachelor’s degree in Social Work with honors from UWM, served on the US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants, and is a member of the Rohingya American Society. She joins the MSP as an Advanced Opportunity Program Fellow.

Okeowo Segun Daniel

Okeowo Segun Daniel is a dedicated social impact entrepreneur, project manager, community manager, education and training consultant, and peace advocate who has made significant contributions in the non-profit sector. He holds a BSc in Educational Technology from the University of Ilorin and has worked tirelessly to provide quality education, sustainable development, Peace and Resilience building training, and advocacy for children, educators, youths, and communities.

Previously, he served as a Training and Program Director for One African Child Foundation and Founding Impact Officer for World Economic Forum, Global Shapers Community, Ilorin Hub. He also held the Director of Partnership for the hub, focusing on building a supportive network for youths worldwide and providing them with the right resources to create sustainable impacts in their communities.

Daniel’s expertise in training educators in West Africa on peace and resilience building and preventing violent extremism has earned him recognition from various organizations, including UNESCO INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CAPACITY BUILDING IN AFRICA (UNESCO IICBA), NATCOM UNESCO, UNODC, and Global Shapers Community.

Okeowo Segun Daniel is a visionary leader with a passion for social change and empowering the next generation to create a better world. He currently Founded World Youth Hub to support youths around the world with right resources they need and promote their work. He’s also Currently pursuing his Masters in Sustainable Peacebuilding at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.