Future Generations University proudly celebrates the Class of 2025: a diverse, global cohort of applied practitioners leading transformation from within their communities. From the Appalachian hills of West Virginia to refugee camps in Kenya, the Class of 2025 represents a new generation of community leaders redefining development at a defining time in history.
These graduates didn’t just study community change—they lived it. Over the course of their program they implemented real-time projects tackling urgent issues like food security, climate resilience, gender equity, mental health, and conservation. As master’s students in applied community development, each graduate turned theory into action.
What sets this class apart is not only their academic achievement but their unwavering commitment to local action. Every student applied their learning in real-time, translating theory into practice, and sparking grassroots movements for lasting change. Their work proves that when community knowledge is paired with the right tools, energy is activated and systems shift.
Read more about the newly-graduated Class of 2025:
- Jean de Dieu Habakwizera (Jado) | Rwanda
- Emebet Kebede | Ethiopia
- Gauri Malakar | Nepal
- John Mariak Manyuon | Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya
- Sheillah Mong’ina Mong’ute | Kenya
- Charles William “Bill” Price | West Virginia, USA
- Moqadasullah Rayan | Afghanistan
- Kathran Richardson | West Virginia, USA
- Asamenew Shimeles | Ethiopia
Jean de Dieu “Jado” Habakwizera | Rwanda
Technical Advisor – Social Protection
Jado blends urban planning with equity. His master’s work included:
- A community asset map for Rwanda’s social registry
- Youth innovation training in refugee camps
- Publishing policy briefs with Germany’s BMZ
He now supports Rwanda’s national poverty graduation strategy.
“With microphone in hand and a vision for justice, I now stand as both advocate and advisor.”
Emebet Kebede | Ethiopia
Community Development Practitioner & Cultural Advocate
“Change must be rooted in what already works. Our traditions are our strength.”
Emebet centered her work in indigenous knowledge. Her projects:
- Promoted And-go, the Ethiopian concept of mutual solidarity
- Used participatory planning for local solutions
- Applied all nine SEED-SCALE objectives, from strategic scaling to digital mapping
She continues integrating cultural values into Ethiopia’s development policy.
Gauri Malakar | Nepal
Conservationist, Women’s Leadership Advocate
From Nepal’s lowlands to its highest mountains, Gauri launched a range of projects including:
- A Female Leadership Academy where 40+ women earned trekking licenses
- Conservation education programs in Chitwan and Dolpa
- Climate workshops focused on reforestation and sustainable farming
- Success Mapping of 20 climate resilience sites
Her work empowers women as climate and conservation leaders.
“The landscape teaches you, but the people show you how to walk it with purpose.”
John Mariak Manyuon | South Sudanese in Kenya
Founder, Kakuma Youth Innovation Hub
“SEED-SCALE helped me move from ideas to systems. We now have savings and loan groups run by women who had no access to financial tools before.”
John is transforming the lives of refugee youth and women in Kakuma Refugee Camp, one of the world’s largest refugee settlements. Through the Kakuma Youth Innovation Hub, he delivers digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and financial training programs. His master’s project focused on sports-based social cohesion, uniting a fragmented population of over 280,000 through football tournaments and youth events to discourage drug use, early marriage, and violence.
John plans to scale this model across refugee camps in East Africa.
Sheillah Mong’ina Mong’ute | Kenya
Mental Health Advocate & Co-Founder, Amandla Initiative
As Samburu County’s first mental health professional, Sheillah launched Kenya’s first Mental Health Awareness Week and trained dozens of community volunteers. At Kisii University, she pioneered food security programs, and through the Amandla Initiative, she supports young mothers via public speaking and microenterprise training.
She continues her work with the Kenyan police as a counseling psychologist and systems change leader.
“SEED-SCALE helped me structure mental health programming as community-led, not expert-driven.”
Charles William “Bill” Price | West Virginia, USA
Environmental Organizer Turned Development Leader
“I came as a community organizer. I’ve become a community development professional.”
Bill brought decades of activism into the program, evolving into a systems strategist. His initiatives included:
- Revitalization planning for a historic gristmill
- Bull Run water restoration, including mushroom-based acid mine drainage remediation
- Securing state water trail designation for the Buckhannon River
He continues building environmental coalitions across Appalachia.
Moqadasullah Rayan | Afghanistan
Grants Coordinator & Humanitarian Strategist
From WASH to food security, Rayan transitioned from service delivery to community empowerment. His projects included:
- Water trenching to support reforestation
- A women-led home gardening initiative
- The Education Access Lab, exploring barriers to girls’ education
He now promotes localized development strategies amid shifting policy conditions in Afghanistan.
“SEED-SCALE transformed my role from deliverer of solutions to catalyst for community-led action.”
Kathran Richardson | West Virginia, USA
Substance Use Prevention Leader & Peer Recovery Advocate
“This isn’t just a degree—it’s a new way of being.”
A former peer recovery specialist, Kathran turned coursework into action: drafting MOUs with correctional systems, partnering with restorative justice projects, and leading youth coalitions that bridge faith and recovery.
Now a regional prevention liaison and youth pastor, she raises five children while shaping trauma-informed systems of care.
Asamenew Shimeles | Ethiopia
Agricultural Innovator & Systems Thinker
With 10+ years of experience, Asamenew addressed agricultural inefficiencies by:
- Establishing 350 agri-input centers (70% funded by private sector)
- Launching youth entrepreneurship initiatives in Amhara
- Supporting eco-tourism in the Rift Valley
He designed scalable GIS-driven models and authored winning grant proposals.
“Instead of diagnosing deficits, I now build from success.”
A Global Network, Rooted in Community
The journey through Future Generations’ Master’s in Applied Community Development was deeply practical, highly localized, and boldly collaborative. By activating community assets and practicing shared leadership, graduates offer a blueprint for transformation that works—because it starts from within.
The Class of 2025 is showing the world how regenerative change grows and positive change is sustained: from people, with people, and for people.
Congratulations, graduates. The world needs your energy—and your example.
