An Interview with Maureen Magee ('07)
by Laura Newman
When CommDev alumna Maureen Magee first came to Ohio University, she was enrolled in the African Studies program but became interested in health communication after taking Dr. Mandi Chikombero’s “HIV/AIDS Communication” course. Says Maureen, “I got very excited about the role of communication in addressing public health. Mandi wrote her dissertation on HIV in Zimbabwe, had practical experience as well as academic experience and really knew what she was talking about.” Shortly after the class ended, Maureen enrolled in the CommDev program in order to pursue her new interests. She ended up participating in Dr. Chikombero’s HIV/AIDS summer program in Botswana where she obtained firsthand experience on how a local NGO competes for funding without an international backer.
Maureen’s experiences in Botswana are indicative of a longstanding passion for issues concerning the African continent. “Why Africa?” Maureen pauses for a moment. “Africa is a place that gets under your skin.” Maureen has been extensively involved in African affairs since she received her BA from UNC–Chapel Hill. Some of her first experiences with the continent took place while working for Freedom House, a DC–based NGO that functions as a catalyst for freedom, democracy and the rule of law through its analysis, advocacy and action. At Freedom House, Magee managed a visiting fellows program in which she worked with managers, journalists and officials from African and the former Soviet Union. In democracy and governance work, she was able to work with societal leaders to attempt to make top–down changes, but became interested in exploring the reality on the ground.
To this end, she joined the Peace Corps in 2002 and worked at a school in Saruja, Gambia with a “dedicated headmaster” and a group of teachers who were “really excited about changing the village.” Maureen’s two years in the Gambia taught her that grassroots efforts can have immediate effects on a village, but often find it more difficult to create sustainable change. Whereas, in contrast, “making policy–level changes can have positive long-term effects,” says Maureen, “but can’t help you or me right now.” It was at the end of her two–year stint in the Gambia when Maureen decided to return to school to obtain her MA degree. “I felt like I had a lot of practical experience,” she says, “but didn’t have enough of a theoretical background. I wanted to get a bigger picture!”
Looking back at her experiences in the CommDev program, Maureen feels that she learned to look at development issues with a more critical eye. One of the most important concepts that the program teaches is the role that theory plays in development initiatives, and how academics and practitioners can work together to improve the work that is done both in the field and at a policy–level. She is now applying what she has learned as an International Development Fellow with Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The CRS International Development Fellows Program is intended to give people who are interested in a career in international relief and development an opportunity to increase their overseas experience and gain broad exposure to CRS programs. As the official relief and development agency of the US Catholic community, CRS operates programs in 98 countries across the world.
Maureen is currently based in Benin, where she has been given the opportunity to learn about all aspects of CRS’ work, including project management, proposal writing, budgeting, and partnership building. Says Maureen, “I am working with extremely knowledgeable and experienced staff who have warmly welcomed me to the country program!” Over the course of this year, she hopes to learn more about the realities of international development in the field, while making a strong contribution to CRS’ projects in Benin and to the organization as a whole.
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