Submitted by: Thomas Riley
District 5580 is pleased to announce that Christian Harris of Fargo has been awarded a Peace Fellowship from the Rotary Foundation to study Peace and Conflict Resolution at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, from January through March of 2018.
Mr. Harris is the Executive Director of The New American Consortium for Wellness and Empowerment, a not-for-profit that advocates for Refugees and New American Immigrants in Cass and Clay Counties of North Dakota and Minnesota.
Mr. Harris, originally from Liberia, has lived in Minnesota and North Dakota for 14 years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from AME Zion University in Monrovia, and dual Masters degrees in Non-Profit Management and Business from Hamline University in St. Paul.
Mr. Harris founded the Afriocan Initiative for Progress in Fargo, and has been a consultant with the World Bank and with various Liberian ministries in the past ten years.
The New American Consortium works with the Fargo Public Schools in developing initiatives for New American Students in ELL and other supports for New American Students and their families.
Mr. Harris wrote in his application for the Peace Fellowship, “ I expect to master the process of conflict prevention to increase my professional and personal networks with participants, creating awareness for strong leaders in the field of peace-building. I expect to use it as a vehicle to reach policy makers, community advocates and residents across the communities and cities on limiting threats, chaos, conflicts and weakness, and provide the platform for increased knowledge and support in peace-building initiatives. Because of this professional training in peace and conflict prevention, I also expect to gain more knowledge through the fellowship, which will strengthen my professional service in peace and conflict prevention."
There will be 24 other fellows in Mr. Harris’s cohort in Thailand, with less than 4% of Rotary Districts represented by these Peace Fellows.