PROJECTS
Project | 01
Project | 01
Women Who Lead in Agriculture Speaker Series
On her own initiative, Dr. Lewis conceptualized a program in collaboration with the Ralph J. Bunche Library and the Office of Global Women’s Issues at the Department of State to develop a speaker series called the “Women Who Lead in Agriculture.” The goal of the series was to broaden the Department’s understanding of issues that affect women in agriculture, particularly as they relate to the conduct of foreign affairs and diplomacy.
Speakers discussed the biggest issues facing agriculture today, such as biotechnology, food security, and gender inequality in entrepreneurship. The results were several new connections for participants both within and outside the government. One such connection is an on-going collaboration between the CEO of the Global Farmers Network, one of the featured speakers, and the use of farmers as speakers for Global Biotech Outreach Programs. As a trusted messenger for agriculture, farmer voices have increased the credibility and reach of the program.
Project | 02
Project | 02
Women in Agriculture Biotechnology Workshops
Dr. Lewis developed and launched a “Women in Ag Biotech Strategy”to advance opportunities for women in the agriculture sector worldwide part of the Economic and Business Affairs (EB) Bureau’s Office of Agricultural Policy (AGP) larger 2017 and 2018 Biotech Outreach Strategy. EB and U.S. Embassies in Africa developed a series of one-day events to cultivate a growing pool of women scientists and policy makers knowledgeable on the use of biotech crops in food insecure countries.
These women are the new voices for food security and economic opportunity in Africa. EB held forums in conjunction with USDA FAS and Embassies Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Accra, Ghana and Pretoria, South Africa. As a result, the forum connected 250 women in agribusiness across the continent. These participants are finding their voice by engaging with policymakers and forming policy-working groups to promote the use of biotech crops and women’s empowerment.
Project | 03
Project | 03
Young, Gifted and Brown Program, LLC.
Raising the profile of women and youth during her three month tour as an Embassy Science Fellow at Embassy Accra in the summer of 2018. Dr. Lewis conceived of a program that would capture the imagination of youth. Again on her own initiative, collaborating within and outside the Embassy, she launched the program Young, Gifted, & Brown, a pipeline program targeted for young women and entrepreneurs in STEM.
Young, Gifted, & Brown fostered the spirit of entrepreneurship for local youth to stimulate the local economy and increase global prosperity. The program was so successful the Embassy plans to use her program as a template next year. She has also garnered the support of her interagency colleagues to carry out the program in 2019.