Empowering African Nations Since 1981
Dr. Julie Helen Sullivan Bio
Julie Helen Sullivan, Ph.D. is President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH) and is responsible for the expansion of IFESH self-help programs in sub-Saharan Africa. She employs the self-help model of her father and IFESH founder, the late Reverend Dr. Leon H. Sullivan, by focusing on the delivery of results-based sustainable projects that utilize expertise from local Ministries of Education and communities in helping to articulate national reform efforts.
Dr. Sullivan leads IFESH in the development and implementation of holistic integrated development projects that focus on poverty reduction. These projects engage local governments, communities and organizations in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations, particularly women and youth, by creating greater access to quality education tied to health and job creation.
During her 22 years with the organization, she has led sustainable development efforts at the grassroots level in Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo and Zimbabwe. Dr. Sullivan has expanded IFESH's efforts while working to strengthen public-private sector support of projects in the field, through the development of multi-tiered alliances with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Bank, UNICEF, the World Cocoa Foundation, The Hershey Company, Mars, Inc., and other companies and organizations.
Dr. Sullivan holds a Bachelor's Degree in English from Arcadia University, a Master's Degree in Journalism from Temple University, and a Doctoral Degree in International Development from Tulane University. Prior to her career with IFESH, she was a journalist for the New York Times.
Access to education for vulnerable populations is very important to Dr. Sullivan. She is credited with developing the concept and philosophy behind a community-based functional literacy project based out of Ibadan, Nigeria, that later won an award by UNESCO. In 2007, Dr. Sullivan was recognized by Congresswoman Diane Watson for her work in sustainable African development at an event sponsored by the American Red Cross and the TPC Foundation.
She continues to participate in education and health seminars and symposiums hosted by academic institutions and international organizations in the U.S., Europe and Africa. She was a Panelist at the 2008 Harvard Kennedy School Black Policy Conference: Humanitarian Efforts - Case Study in Africa. In 2008, Dr. Sullivan received the Yunus Humanitarian Award, an award for humanitarian efforts contributing to world stabilization. Dr. Sullivan is a member of the Charter 100 Club of Phoenix, Arizona, a women's organization dedicated to strengthening leadership opportunities for women, and she is also a member of the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations.
