WASHINGTON, D.C. /CitizenWire/ — The U.S. Department of State selected Sevinj Mammadova of Azerbaijan as February’s International Exchange Alumni Member of the Month. Throughout February, Mammadova’s leadership in shaping the future of Azerbaijan’s education system will be recognized on the International Exchange Alumni website, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ official website for the more than one million Department-sponsored exchange alumni worldwide. Each month, the Bureau’s Alumni Affairs Division, which supports alumni as they build on their exchange experiences, confers this award on an outstanding alumnus or alumna.
Mammadova first came to the United States as part of the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (Global UGRAD) in 2004 when she studied education policy at Chatham College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Returning to Azerbaijan, she promptly put her new skills to work, accepting a training position with a local NGO. Additionally, her passion to foster local reform led her to initiate local projects that gathered and motivated young professionals to train 80 teachers throughout Azerbaijan on how to manage a classroom, create a lesson plan, and work with students with disabilities.
Later, Mammadova sought to expand her knowledge of educational policy. She won a fellowship through the Edward S. Muskie Fellowship Program, allowing her to pursue a master’s degree in education at the University of Texas-Arlington. Upon her return to Baku she served as the executive director of US-Educated Azerbaijani Alumni Association, where she managed a series of projects connecting alumni to underserved communities throughout Azerbaijan. In 2012 she was appointed head of the Education Division at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, where she now leads a team of experts planning and implementing large-scale educational reforms throughout Azerbaijan.
To learn more about Mammadova, visit the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ International Exchange Alumni website at https://alumni.state.gov/featured-alumni/member-month.