Alumni Spotlight: Danielle De La Fuente on The Amal Alliance
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After graduating from the Pardee School, Danielle De La Fuente (Pardee ’06) held several jobs in the world of diplomacy including as an intern with the British Embassy and then as part of the Press and Political Affairs Department at the Embassy of Argentina in Washington D.C.
“While both experiences offered an inside glimpse of diplomacy and international politics, I knew I needed to work within our own government to produce any significant change,” De La Fuente said.
This notion drove her to start working at the United States Department of Defense’s Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies where she held various roles in the organization, predominantly managing the Regional Network of Strategic Studies Centers. The objective of the network was to provide a forum for strategic dialogue between representatives of various agencies of the United States government and high-ranking foreign dignitaries, diplomats, academics, and military participants from across 32 different countries.
“The outreach fueled policy-relevant research and change on a larger peace-building platform, and ignited dialogue and rapport among key global policy-makers and leaders spanning international governments, academia, and business sectors,” De La Fuente said. Seeing first-hand so many areas of contention between nations, and the inability to address issues at their root cause, I grew an overwhelming desire to learn more about the origins of conflict.”
At this point, De La Fuente went back to school to obtain my Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of St Andrews in Scotland where she wrote her dissertation on Intergenerational Trauma and the Role Memory has on the Next Generation of Conflict, specifically looking at post-conflict situations and how critical it is to address trauma in an effort to evade the cycle of violence from recurring.
A few years later, she found herself sitting in a conference at the United Nations horrified by the staggering 50 million children displaced worldwide that have limited to no access to an education. De La Fuente knew the consequences of inaction were immeasurable and would be devastating for subsequent generations.
This motivated De La Fuente to found the Amal Alliance, for which she now serves as Director. The Amal Alliance is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization dedicated to empowering displaced children through social development programs at refugee camps and informal settlements around the globe. The organization is based on the premise that we are all global citizens sharing the social and moral responsibility to ensure all children have access to the learning fundamentals acquired during early childhood development, as well as the basic life skills and tools necessary to reach their full potential.
“The Amal Alliance was born in an effort to compliment the work of the larger NGOs, but insure these invisible children did not fall through the cracks of humanitarian aid bureaucracy,” De La Fuente said. “I’ve worked tirelessly to gather experts in various fields to address psycho-social remnants of trauma by introducing social emotional learning that meets displaced children at their confidence and capability level.”
De La Fuente said that her Pardee School education has served as a jumping off point for her work with the Amal Alliance as well as all of her other professional endeavors.
“Like any building, its foundation must be solid for it to withstand the test of time. The education I received at the Pardee School was itself the very foundation for all my professional endeavors,” De La Fuente said. “The historical and cultural context of international relations, regional dynamics, religious implications, and the ability to discern expansive topics learnt during my time at Pardee have played a key role in understanding fully the countries Amal Alliance has been working in.”
According to De La Fuente, the Pardee School also helped her bridge the gap between theory and practice which helps her to develop and implement quality programs in distinct areas — a task that requires immense amounts of research and cultural understanding.
“The Pardee School notably advanced my research capabilities, giving me the knowledge to identify the right questions and do comprehensive studies before taking action,” De La Fuente said.
Her Pardee School education helps address issues facing the Amal Alliance including who are their end users, what is the relationship between the refugees and the host community, what are the political policies in play in the host community,what languages are predominantly spoken amongst the displaced population and many more, De La Fuente said.
“These are only some of the questions Amal Alliance must tackle before beginning its work. Understanding all these facets and respecting the cultural identity of the end user are pivotal in creating quality programs that meet the needs of the children,” De La Fuente said. “If you lack an understanding of what the regional dynamics are, as well as the local politics, cultural, or religious factors, incorrect programming can be deemed offensive and do more harm.”
In addition to the longstanding friendships and members of her network that she acquired during her time at the Pardee School (including some alumni who sit on the Advisory Board and have contributed to the growth of the Amal Alliance), De La Fuente says Amb. Husain Haqqani’s course on diplomacy and statecraft was instrumental in helping her define how she wanted to pursue a career in international relations.
“Courses that dealt with political economies and the history of regional dynamics have helped me understand what drives societies and leaders to implement certain policies or procedures,” De La Fuente said. “I also completed a minor in religion; delving deep into how religion is so often intertwined with various aspects of war and peace building has been essential in my current work.”
De La Fuente said some of her most important advice to current Pardee School students who are currently thinking about life after school, or who may be unsure of what kind of career path they want to pursue would be to remain curious, persistent and unafraid of rejection.
“Life is full of opportunities, but you need to put yourself in places where they can present themselves. Go to conferences, sign up for networking events, meet and talk to the experts in your field, and learn, learn, learn,” De La Fuente said. “The more you learn, the easier it will be for you to identify what lights your soul on fire. Perhaps its research, advocacy, the fundraising and marketing aspect, or executing a program from start to finish.”
In terms of networking advice, De La Fuente urged current Pardee School students to never be afraid of starting a conversation. She says she met most of her organizational partners through something as simple reaching out by email, phone, or walking up to them at a conference and letting them know she was interested in their work and wanted to collaborate.
“Once the conversation started, it was incredibly easy to lay out the reasons as to why collaboration would be mutually beneficial and could generate much more impact than stand-alone work. That’s not to say that every individual I approached accepted.” De La Fuente said. “Quite the contrary, I received numerous rejections, but never let that derail my mission. I knew my worth, the value added from what we were doing, and was determined to find those whose values aligned most closely to ours. Just remember that if one door closes, another one is right around the corner, but you have to knock for someone to open the door.”