MMEG Talks: Educación Socioemocional para Alumnos con Neurodivergencia

Creando Aulas Más Equitativas Apoyando a un Alumnado Neurodiverso

Al apoyar diferentes formas de aprendizaje y proporcionar a los estudiantes estrategias socioemocionales, los educadores pueden fomentar entornos donde todos los estudiantes prosperen. Estas Charlas MMEG (en Español) se centrarán en cómo las prácticas inclusivas pueden ayudar a construir espacios de aprendizaje verdaderamente equitativos, enriqueciendo a toda la comunidad al cultivar la empatía, la conexión y un sentido más profundo de pertenencia.

Panelistas

• Josefina Díaz Páez, becaria del programa LAC 2016 (México), máster en investigación y desarrollo educativo (2016), especialidad en educación socioemocional (2020), Asistente para el Fortalecimiento de la Calidad Académica de la Universidad Iberoamericana, México.

• Josefina Senese, becaria del programa EUA Canada 2024 (Argentina), estudiante de doctorado en estudios de política educativa, Universidad de Boston, Universidad de Educación y Desarrollo Humano Wheelock (Wheelock College of Education and Human Development). 

Socioemotional Education for Neurodivergent Students

Creating More Equitable Classrooms by Supporting a Neurodiverse Student Body

By embracing different ways of learning, and providing students with socioemotional strategies, educators can foster environments where all students thrive. This MMEG Talks (in Spanish) will focus on how inclusive practices can help build truly equitable learning spaces, enriching the entire community by cultivating empathy, connection, and a deeper sense of belonging.

Panelists

• Josefina Díaz Páez, MMEG grantee 2016 (Mexico), master’s in education research and development (2016), specialty in socioemotional education (2020), Assistant for Academic Quality Strengthening Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico.

• Josefina Senese, MMEG grantee 2024 (Argentina), PhD student in educational policy studies, Boston University, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development.

📅 Date & Time

Tuesday, March 24, 2026 – 12:00 noon

📍 Format

Webinar – Haz clic aquí para asistir/ Click here to attend

Meet & Greet with a BankFund MMEG Grantee

For decades, BankFund has championed MMEG’s mission to transform women’s lives by providing generous support for education grants. Join us for an in‑person coffee chat with MMEG grant recipient, Evelyn Sands, whose grant - along with many others - was made possible through BankFund’s long-standing partnership.

📅 When: Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 1:00–2:00 PM EDT

📍 Where: BankFund Main Complex, MC‑C2 Suite 300

1818 H St NW, Washington, DC

About the BankFund–MMEG partnership

MMEG and the BankFund Credit Union have been trusted partners for many years. BankFund has generously supported one grant each year in both the US‑Canada and Trinity Washington University programs. Throughout MMEG’s history, our funds have been deposited with BankFund, which continues to support us not only through donations and professional financial services for our grantees, but also in a personal way through dedicated staff volunteers and by collecting and exchanging foreign currency donations on behalf of MMEG.

Heartfelt thanks to MMEG’S South Africa Program Selection Committee!

MMEG’S South Africa Selection Committee successfully completed another selection cycle in 2026, recommending to the Board 12 exceptional candidates after reviewing 187 eligible applications. Among the approved grantees’ fields of study are public health, medicine, anthropology, economics, engineering, sociology, and science.

Truly noteworthy is the Selection Committee’s strong commitment to advancing the success of women attending South African universities. The considerable time and diligence shown by the Selection Committee are greatly valued, complemented by its members’ diverse skills, experiences, and expertise. Their capacity to identify outstanding women from developing countries who strive to improve the lives of women and children is strengthened by their personal contributions, having lived and worked around the world in varied professions.

MMEG’s Board of Directors expresses its utmost gratitude to these dedicated volunteers, who greatly contribute to MMEG’s mission to improve the lives of women and children through our exceptional grantees.

MMEG Talks: Hungry for Food Security? How do we end global hunger, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture?

Panelists

• Goodness Chioma Aye (Nigeria), 2011 MMEG grantee, Professor of agricultural economics, University of Pretoria.

• Isabel Madzorera (Zimbabwe), 2005 MMEG grantee, Assistant professor, Food systems and nutrition, University of California, Berkeley.

• Maria S. Nnyepi (Botswana), 2001 MMEG grantee, Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor, Teaching and Learning, and Professor of human nutrition, University of Botswana.

• Rose Ogutu (Kenya), 2003 MMEG grantee, Horticulture specialist, Delaware State University, and NESARE Delaware State coordinator.

Date & Time

Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 12:00 noon (EST)

📍 Format

Webinar – Click here to attend

Meet & Greet at Trinity Washington University

Trinity Washington University hosted a MMEG information session and grantee “meet and greet” at its campus in Washington DC on October 16, 2025. 

MMEG grantees De'Mia Harrington Artis and Rachel McCutcheon spoke movingly about how the grant, which they both received in 2025, has already improved their ability to juggle jobs, family life, and school.  

The information session, moderated by MMEG Vice President Vivian Familiar, included an explanation of the application process and Q&A from students. Afterwards, students met with the grantees and MMEG Board members and volunteers. 

Applications for grants under MMEG's Trinity program are open until January 15, 2026. Trinity is the only MMEG program for which citizens of any country are eligible. MMEG has partnered with Trinity Washington University, since 2016, in the spirit of supporting underserved women in the local community where MMEG is based. To date, 22 Trinity women have received grants from MMEG. 

The Power of One Woman: Afia Nathaniel

“Thanks to MMEG, I not only found my voice as a storyteller, I found a way to spark dialogue and conversations that can lead to change.”

Raised and educated in Pakistan by two grandmothers and a great-grandmother, Afia Nathaniel grew up with stories of women hiding in plain sight. Their everyday sacrifices were seared in her mind as she left Pakistan for an internship with the World YWCA in Switzerland. Working with an international women’s non-profit further opened her eyes to the power of women’s stories, inspiring her to think about filmmaking as a career. She became a student of light and life, training herself as a photographer and a screenwriter. In 2001, she was accepted in Columbia University’s MFA Directing program as a Dean’s Fellow and has since then focused on telling women’s stories for the big and small screen.

 MMEG awarded Afia a $15,000 grant in 2003 to support the pursuit of her studies at Columbia University. Afia says: “being able to complete my MFA in film directing was a life-changing experience. I not only found my voice as a storyteller, I found a way to spark dialogue and conversations that can lead to change.” 

 Afia explores pressing social justice issues of our time, often difficult ones like child marriage, fundamentalism, and gender-based violence in the context of patriarchal cultures and how it affects identity of the self and humanity. 

 Afia’s debut feature film, Dukhtar (Daughter) – a road trip thriller about a child bride –  premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014 and was Pakistan’s Official Submission for Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards®. It played to critical acclaim in over 20 countries and became the Critics’ Pick (Village Voice) and the People Magazine’s Pick of the Week. 

 Her latest film, “Don’t Be Late, Myra,” has won several awards and is now Oscar® qualified. The film takes an unflinching look at the issue of sexual assault of children. The protagonist’s journey makes us aware of the stigmas surrounding gendered sexual violence in patriarchal societies and poses larger questions about how women and girls can break this cycle of violence.

MMEG TALKS: Who Opens the Door? Creating Youth Employment Opportunities in a Challenging World

By Lindsey Chang

The final MMEG Talks of 2025 offered insights on how to open pathways for youth employment through holistic, inclusive solutions. In a webinar on December 9, 2025, MMEG grantees Obaa Akua Konadu-Osei (2021, Ghana) and Elizabeth Shawa-Manganii (2018, Malawi) reflected on the challenges young people face today and the systems that continue to shape their futures.

Youth unemployment remains one of the most pressing global issues. This conversation brought together two MMEG grantees whose work and experience reveal just how complex and urgent this challenge truly is.

The discussion underscored that solving youth unemployment requires a holistic approach, integrating gender equity, supportive ecosystems, and systemic reform. This theme emerged repeatedly as the speakers unpacked the realities facing young people, particularly young women, across the African continent.

Elizabeth Shawa-Mangani, a lecturer and researcher whose work spans youth unemployment, land reform, and agriculture, spoke to the structural issues young people encounter when seeking meaningful work. Drawing on her research in Malawi and beyond, she noted that entrepreneurship is often presented as the primary solution to unemployment. Yet this approach falters when the foundations needed for success—reliable infrastructure, access to patient capital, and attention to local markets—remain out of reach. Even the most motivated young people cannot build a livelihood upon systems that do not support them.

Obaa Akua Konadu-Osei, an academic and practitioner focusing on youth development, women’s empowerment, and human capital development in Africa, highlighted the persistent gender barriers that shape young women’s access to employment. She emphasized that discussions about youth employment cannot be separated from gender equity. Unpaid care work, stereotypical expectations, and pressures placed on women in professional spaces continue to limit their participation in the workforce. For many, entering and staying in dignified work requires compromises that often go unrecognized in policy and practice.

Together, the panelists pointed to additional systemic issues that reinforce inequality: fragmented policies, credential inflation, and education systems that are not aligned with the realities of contemporary labor markets. These gaps leave young people simultaneously overqualified and under-supported, navigating pathways that were never designed with them in mind.

Yet the conversation also illuminated the strength, resilience, and commitment young women bring to transforming their communities. Both speakers have dedicated their careers to rethinking how systems can better serve youth, and their contributions underscored why MMEG’s support for women in development fields matters so deeply.

This final session reaffirmed how much MMEG TALKS contribute to our mission by bringing forward the expertise and experience of our remarkable grantees. We applaud them for continuing to lead and inspire, and we hope others will join us in 2026 as we expand this space for learning, connection, and impact.

Donations made with a BankFund Credit Union (BankFund) credit or debit card matched by BankFund Dec 1–31, 2025!

The BankFund Credit Union (BankFund) recently informed us of a generous offer: they will match donations made to MMEG using a BankFund credit or debit card between December 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025. One more incentive to donate NOW!

To make a donation, please click here

You are invited - December 9, at 12 noon

Join Us for MMEG Talks: Who Opens the Door?

Creating Youth Employment Opportunities in a Challenging World

Youth employment remains one of the most pressing global challenges. How can we create pathways for young people to thrive in today’s complex job market? In this engaging webinar, two inspiring MMEG grantees share their insights and experiences:

• Obaa Akua Konadu-Osei (Ghana), Teaching Fellow at Maastricht University and 2021 grantee.

• Elizabeth Shawa-Mangani (Malawi), Lecturer at the Center for Public Policy and African Studies, University of Johannesburg, and 2018 grantee.

Discover innovative strategies, real-world perspectives, and actionable ideas to empower youth and open doors to opportunity.

📅 Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2025

🕛 Time: 12:00 noon (EST)

📍 Format: Webinar