MPP Plays Unique Role in Rebuilding Liberia
Kimberly Schneider
Issue date: 10/4/06 Section: KSG News
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Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's visit to the Kennedy School in September had particular meaning for one KSGer.
Desiree Allen (MPP2) spent the summer working for Johnson-Sirleaf as a Nancy Germeshausen Klavans Bridge fellow, a fellowship for students working with women peace builders. Without knowing her role or living arrangements, she arrived in Monrovia as a "guest of the President" and was greeted at the airport by secret service agents.
Working with the National Investment Commission, Allen helped develop a new strategy for attracting foreign investment. Although she was lucky enough to get an office with air conditioning, Allen had to go to a nearby restaurant to do her research, since her office building had no internet connection. Nonetheless, she was inspired by her experience.
"Working for President Sirleaf was so meaningful. I admire her and her persistence. She has every reason to be off somewhere comfortable, so to be doing this now, at her age, gives me a sense of what true commitment is," Allen said.
Allen met Johnson-Sirleaf on her first night in Monrovia. She was housed with a government official across the street from Johnson-Sirleaf's home and a UN tank. Her first introduction was less than perfect.
"I walked into a kitchen and there she was. I was a blubbering idiot." But this first interaction with Johnson-Sirleaf would not be her last.
Every morning Allen breakfasted at the president's house, along with others visiting on the President's invitation. Throughout the summer, she also met ministers and government members over breakfast - all there to advise or discuss issues with one another and the President. There she came to understand what other people in the government were doing and linked to people from whom she felt she could learn.
One of those people was Allen's boss Richard Tolbert, who had fled Liberia at the onset of the war. Like many in Johnson-Sirleaf's administration, Tolbert had been handpicked. The successful Liberian-born New York investment banker left behind a lucrative career to return to his home country, where civil servants make $20-30/month.
Desiree Allen (MPP2) spent the summer working for Johnson-Sirleaf as a Nancy Germeshausen Klavans Bridge fellow, a fellowship for students working with women peace builders. Without knowing her role or living arrangements, she arrived in Monrovia as a "guest of the President" and was greeted at the airport by secret service agents.
Working with the National Investment Commission, Allen helped develop a new strategy for attracting foreign investment. Although she was lucky enough to get an office with air conditioning, Allen had to go to a nearby restaurant to do her research, since her office building had no internet connection. Nonetheless, she was inspired by her experience.
"Working for President Sirleaf was so meaningful. I admire her and her persistence. She has every reason to be off somewhere comfortable, so to be doing this now, at her age, gives me a sense of what true commitment is," Allen said.
Allen met Johnson-Sirleaf on her first night in Monrovia. She was housed with a government official across the street from Johnson-Sirleaf's home and a UN tank. Her first introduction was less than perfect.
"I walked into a kitchen and there she was. I was a blubbering idiot." But this first interaction with Johnson-Sirleaf would not be her last.
Every morning Allen breakfasted at the president's house, along with others visiting on the President's invitation. Throughout the summer, she also met ministers and government members over breakfast - all there to advise or discuss issues with one another and the President. There she came to understand what other people in the government were doing and linked to people from whom she felt she could learn.
One of those people was Allen's boss Richard Tolbert, who had fled Liberia at the onset of the war. Like many in Johnson-Sirleaf's administration, Tolbert had been handpicked. The successful Liberian-born New York investment banker left behind a lucrative career to return to his home country, where civil servants make $20-30/month.
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