Sydney Lobato – Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity

March 30, 2022

Susan Alvarez, Hunt Institute Fellow

Susan Alvarez joins the Hunt Institute as a Fellow, bringing her expertise in civil engineering and environmental planning to solve sustainability issues within the Dallas area.

Ms. Alvarez is serving as the Assistant Director of the City of Dallas Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability. She has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, with a minor in geology from Rice University, and postgraduate work in water resources. She is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas and 5 other western states, and is a Certified Floodplain Manager, and Master Naturalist in Texas. Ms. Alvarez brings over 40 years’ experience in broad practical experience in civil and environmental planning, engineering, and management for municipal, tribal, state and federal governments. She is currently focused on implementing the Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan, the Food & Urban Agriculture Plan, the City’s participation in the City Business Climate Alliance and other related efforts.

When asked what her motivation is for doing impact work she replied, “I would say that I absolutely want to make a positive impact on my community. Additionally, as I look at the science of climate change, I have come to understand two things: one, is that those communities that are the least able to deal with climate impacts will be the folks that are most impacted, and two, that the clock is ticking on our ability to forestall those predicted impacts; we collectively need to be doing as much as we can, as soon as we can”

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the Institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu

March 23, 2022

Olga Martinez Hickman, Hunt Institute Fellow

Dr. Olga Martinez Hickman, Ph.D. joins the Hunt Institute as a Fellow, bringing with her a passion for providing equal access to early childhood education in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Dr. Martinez Hickman is the Executive Director at Bachman Lake Together, where she supports cross-sector partnerships aimed at redesigning systems and strategies to enhance access to high-quality early childhood education for all children, regardless of zip code. Previously, Olga served as the Director of Programs and Partnerships for Read Fort Worth. Her work there promoted a collective impact, with the goal of increasing 3rd grade literacy for all students in the Fort Worth Independent School District. She has over a decade of relevant education experience that includes supporting statewide leadership, literacy, and system-change initiatives across Texas. Her areas of expertise include equity and excellence, parent leadership, and cultivating community connections to drive engaging instruction. Dr. Martinez Hickman is a product of public education, and earned her Ph.D. in K-16 Research, Policy, and Leadership from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Dr. Martinez Hickman is a 2019 Tarrant County Alumni of Leadership ISD’s Civic Voices and an alumni of inaugural Stagen Leadership Academy’s Social Change Leadership Program, designed to elevate the voices of powerful women leaders.

When asked what her motivation is for doing impact work she replied, “I want to help create systems that address barriers that have historically existed. It’s about experiencing the incremental progress toward our goal, small wins that may take a while, but will ultimately lead to change.”

March 23, 2022

Haddijatou Lamin Njie, Hunt Institute Fellow

Haddijatou Lamin Njie joins the Hunt Institute as a Fellow, bringing with her years of experience in sustainable international development.

Ms. Lamin Njie is an International Development Expert with over 25 years of working with Government, Multilateral Organizations and International Non-Governmental Organizations. She has a proven track record of formulating and implementing development projects and programs, evaluating projects, and leading program teams in a challenging environment.

Ms. Lamin Njie currently works as a Development Consultant. She is a member and Vice-Chairperson of the Internal Audit Committee of The Government of The Gambia. She served as Head of Program of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in The Gambia from March 2018 to March 2020, and Country Director of the Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) in The Gambia from 2007 to 2015. She has held various managerial positions at the United Nations Development Program in The Gambia from 1997 to 2007. She has been the Team leader of the Governance, Human Rights and Gender Unit. In her earlier years, Ms. Lamin Njie served as an Economist and Financial Analyst at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs in The Gambia.

Ms. Lamin Njie holds a Master’s degree in Finance, a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, and a certificate in Development. She has undergone short-term training in monitoring and evaluation, micro-finance, information communication & technology, and gender.

When asked what her motivation is for doing impact work she replied, “Over the years, delivering valuable solutions that change the lives of vulnerable populations gave me the opportunity to contribute selflessly to human development. Doing impact work serves this purpose.”

March 23, 2022March 23, 2022

Clara Ford, Hunt Institute Fellow

Clara Ford joins the Hunt Institute as a Fellow, bringing with her a passion of finding sustainable solutions to alleviate poverty.

Clara Ford was born and raised in Tanzania to a politician father and a mother who was a public school teacher, hence public service and the importance of giving back was instilled in her from a very young age. She migrated to the United States in the year 2000, and now lives in Dallas, TX with her husband and 3 children.

Clara graduated with a BBA in Accounting from the University of Houston-Downtown in 2010 and she currently holds 2 MA degrees for Applied Economics as well as Sustainability & Development from Southern Methodist University.

Her professional experience is within the financial service industry, where she worked as a Commercial lending officer, first for JP Morgan Chase Bank, and later in 2017 for Bank of America. She currently works for the Federal Reserve System as a Senior Associate Bank Examiner.

In 2019, Clara who is a Native Swahili speaker, together with her former Economics Professor from SMU, founded Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions (KISS): a Non-Profit Organization as a tool for finding practical, but sustainable solutions for alleviating extreme poverty in rural Tanzania, starting with her late father’s birth Village of Kasisa. Her project was part of the 2020 cohort with the Clinton Global Initiatives University (CGI-U) through SMU MASD program.

As a way to give back to the country of her birth, she hopes to provide a venue for those willing in any capacity, to make a difference in the lives of Kasisa Villagers. She believes in the notion that, “It takes a Village” and only through cooperation and interdependence in helping folks help themselves, by giving them the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty, can we end, in the long term, the perpetual cycle of poverty in rural parts of Tanzania.
KISS is also part of SMU’s Hunt Institute Global Development Lab Social enterprise program.

When asked what her motivation is for doing impact work she replied, “I believe when we customize solutions to address unique situations at a local level, it will allow us to be most effective in making a lasting impact towards poverty reduction in rural areas, one Village at a time, starting with Kasisa Village, Mwanza, Tanzania. That is the main aim of our Kijiji Project.”

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the Institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu

March 4, 2022March 8, 2022

Kathy Hubbard, Hunt Institute Fellow

Kathy Hubbard is the Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Lyle School of Engineering. Kathy leads the school’s effort to develop the 21st Century Engineer, this engineer is representative of global diversity. She leads the school’s effort to increase the number of students representing traditionally minoritized groups pursuing engineering and computer science degrees. These efforts include recruiting and retention strategies of under-represented students and improving diversity within the school’s faculty ranks. She is also responsible for internal equitable and inclusive policies and practices.

Kathy sits on several university-wide committees, and she is the Advisor for the Lyle school’s National Society of Black of Engineers, Society of Hispanic Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers student organizations. She is a certified executive coach and has worked with executives and managers from DART, Texas Instruments, and other organizations. Kathy has also worked with the Center for Creative Leadership to develop youth and early career leadership development programs.

When asked about her motivation for doing impact work she answered, “I believe we are all here to leave the spaces and places that we are privileged to occupy better than we found them. If I do that, then I have made an impact.”

Kathy is passionate about closing the education achievement gap. In addition to her duties at SMU, she is an Alumni Fellow with LeadershipISD, an education equity advocacy group. She also serves on the Building Solutions Advisory Board supporting initiatives in DFW school districts and the Maclin Family Foundation Boards that provided access for Black and Hispanic students to institutions like the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Kathy is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees for St. Philip’s School & Community Center in South Dallas. In this role, she leads strategic initiatives and helps build the organization’s endowment and annual fund.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Masters in Education Leadership & Policy from the Simmons School of Education at SMU. Kathy is married to Michael Hubbard and is mother of two wonderful sons, Michael and Elijah.