Description

Participants will learn how to enhance their approach to poverty alleviation and collaborate more effectively across cultural and socio-economic lines.  Through self-assessment and interactive discussions, participants will explore their drive, knowledge, and strategies to effectively navigate diverse cultures and disrupt unconscious bias. This training prepares participants to learn how to assess and build their cultural intelligence, focusing on socio-economic differences in the US and globally.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate your own level of cultural intelligence and identify areas for growth in working with diverse socio-economic classes both in the US and globally.
• Analyze and understand cultural differences in socio-economic classes, focusing on their impact on poverty alleviation strategies.
• Develop actionable strategies to disrupt unconscious bias and engage effectively across cultural and socio-economic differences.

Cost: $264 Members, $468 Non-Members

Price of this workshop includes the registration fee and a required assessment. The assessment link will be sent out after August 7, 2025, and will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. All assessments must be submitted by August 14, 2025.

*If you are part of either the in-person or virtual 2025 Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership cohort, this workshop may be used to fulfill your Mission Delivery elective requirement. To receive elective credit for attending a workshop, participants must be present for at least 80% of each workshop meeting date with time spent in attendance measured consecutively.

Instructor: Mariam Mengistie

Mariam Mengistie is the founder of Culturally Aligned Leadership, a training and consulting firm that equips nonprofits to carry out sustainable poverty alleviation work. She integrates cognitive, emotional, and cultural intelligence frameworks to explore the root causes of poverty and design strategies that are both effective and contextually grounded. Through customized workshops, Mariam prepares nonprofit practitioners, leaders, and funders to engage cross-culturally with greater sensitivity and impact.

Mariam brings extensive experience in international poverty alleviation and advocacy. She has served as a Program and Communications Manager for various regional and international organizations in Ethiopia, where she played a key role in building networks among local NGOs, UN agencies, and government institutions involved in relief, rehabilitation, and development initiatives. Her passion lies in bridging the gap between policy, community action, and long-term sustainable outcomes.

With over 30 years of hands-on experience, Mariam has dedicated her career to advancing sustainable development policies, amplifying the voices of marginalized communities, and fostering strategic partnerships for systems-level change. Her work spans grassroots efforts in Ethiopia to high-level advocacy in venues such as the European Parliament in Brussels and Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Across all her endeavors, she remains focused on creating meaningful, community-led solutions.

Mariam holds a Master of Arts in Politics of Alternative Development Strategies from the Erasmus Institute of Social Studies in The Netherlands. She has worked as a Development Aid Policy Adviser and Advocate to members of the European Parliament. Today, she continues to shape local and national policy through her service on various committees and boards, including the Orlando Mayor’s Committee for Food Security and Bread for the World—a Christian voice urging elected officials to end hunger both locally and globally.