In 2014, Sylvester had the opportunity to serve as an Academic / Professional Expert for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), and 2014 was its inaugural year. President Obama launched YALI in 2010 to support young African leaders as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa. In the summer of 2015, the Mandela Washington Fellowship will once again bring 500 young leaders to the United States for academic coursework and leadership training and will create unique opportunities in Africa for Fellows to put new skills to practical use in leading organizations, communities, and countries.
Ideal readers are academics and/or professionals with expertise in one of the program’s three thematic areas (business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, or public management) or those who have a background or experience in Africa. As a Reader, Sylvester was responsible for evaluating program applicants based on set guidelines for the Mandela Washington Fellowship.