Here we are with our exclusive edition of the month, ‘The 10 Most Inspiring Leaders in Education 2023, to honour all the inspirational business leaders who are redefining the industry. Our editorial team had an interesting and joyful virtual session with a dynamic, results-driven leader and the leading lady behind Amal Alliance – Danielle De La Fuente.
Danielle De La Fuente, The dedicated visionary leader, Danielle has extensive experience in diplomatic and peacebuilding endeavours because of her service with the US Department of Defence and numerous embassies. She founded the Amal Alliance out of her enthusiasm for attaining sustainable development. In academics, she earned a BA in international relations from the Pardee School of Global Affairs at Boston University and an MLitt in peace and conflict studies from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Danielle took an unconventional journey to arrive at the intersection of education and humanitarianism. After graduating from Boston University with a BA in International Relations, she started her career working at embassies in protocol and public diplomacy. Afterwards, she worked for the US Department of Defence, promoting communication and cooperation between nations in South Asia and the Middle East. She returned to school to complete a Master’s in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of St. Andrews after reaching a plateau in that position.
Further, Danielle asserted, “fascinated by the aftermath of conflict, I honed in on intergenerational trauma and its role on the next generation and violence. Torn between returning to the government or pursuing other opportunities after my graduation, I was grief-stricken after my grandmother’s passing. I thus decided to take time to study kids’ yoga and mindfulness, which coincidentally was around the peak of the refugee crisis. Due to my proximity to the Greek islands, I visited camps and spoke with a lot of kids who were trying to escape the conflict. I spent days sitting quietly and paying close attention to the horrifying tales they told about their real-life experiences. And just like that, my trajectory changed.”
Amal Alliance in a Glance
Amal Alliance provides education and social development programmes in refugee camps and public schools all around the world to empower displaced and marginalised children. With education and integration programmes that emphasise social-emotional learning and address trauma at its source, their holistic approach stimulates the mind and body. Through these programmes, children can develop resilience, find their inner strength, and acquire the fundamental life skills they need.
Education enables people to gain essential life skills and a sense of self-efficacy. Toxic stress, on the other hand, makes it difficult for kids to learn and interact with their classmates. If left untreated, stress might subsequently manifest as physical ailments, difficulty learning, self-harm, or violent behavior. During the crisis, this market was mostly ignored, which motivated Danielle to create Amal Alliance.
Empowering Displaced and Disenfranchised Children
The innovative, comprehensive whole-child development strategy used by Amal Alliance helps children cope with trauma and emergency situations while preparing them for returning to school. Built on the following four support pillars: Amal is addressing learning losses for children in official and informal educational settings, such as refugee camps and shelters, by focusing on 1) social and emotional learning, 2) early childhood development, 3) psychosocial assistance, and 4) peace building. Through play-based, trauma-informed programming, such as breath work, kids yoga, art therapy, and dance, children gain emotional control, the building blocks of calm and resilience, and the 21st-century skills needed to succeed. They foster a sense of self-worth that aids in children’s development by providing a secure environment that helps children develop concentration and self-confidence to learn and grow.
Danielle’s Unique Leadership Approach
My leadership approach is based on preparing for the unexpected. The four crucial Ps—planning, preparation, perseverance, and plan B—are things I emphasise when I speak on panels about lessons learned or best practices. Understanding the background and nuances through research, planning, and preparation is essential since the devil is in the details. Yet no amount of preparation can ensure perfect execution. The difficulties that characterise leadership are those times when you can give up or adjust and continue.
Overcoming the Hurdles along the Way
Starting a nonprofit is challenging, as the humanitarian aid structures are not set up for innovation. Moreover, the reliance on grant money encourages competition rather than cooperation. Naively assuming humanitarian actors would work together, Danielle was in for a rude awakening. First, she was intent on steering clear of the competitive frenzy. Danielle was a small player in a field of giants and had no intention of stepping on anyone’s toes. She took the effort to look for people and businesses whose goals were more in line with her collaborative nature. She developed strategic alliances and acquired grant-writing skills. In turn, this ideology helped with the biggest problem of all, money. They were able to capitalise on their core competencies and combine their strengths by selecting the proper partners. This was more affordable and helped to establish a track record, which is crucial when looking for funding.
Accomplishments and Milestones along the Way
At the onset of the pandemic, Danielle led an Emergency Response COVID-19 Consortium that brought colleagues from organisations in 5 countries to contribute their expertise. “We Are In This Together is a podcast series that supports the well-being of carers and their children through useful activities and coping mechanisms. By April 2020, more than 160,000 users were listening in four languages, which helped the UNHCR win the COVID-19 Competition for Humanitarian Education Accelerator and launch their flagship initiative, Colours of Kindness.
“Grand Challenges Canada, the Centre for Higher Ambition Learning, and Porticus featured my leadership in adapting social and emotional learning programmes for refugee children during COVID-19 in the CLEAR Initiative’s brief on COVID-19 Leadership Response in Vulnerable Settings. This recognition and being nominated for one of the Top 3 Crisis Responses in 2020 were achievements I was deeply honoured to receive”, the leading lady proudly shared.
Future Outlook
Amal Alliance is amidst a nationwide rollout in public schools in Greece. Governments will be able to use this as a guide to understanding how to include social and emotional learning that is supported by research in both official and informal learning environments. In doing so, they plan to reach 4 million kids over the course of the following five years and spread their programming across three to four nations.
“I foresee a future filled with opportunity. I’m a perpetual student and serial entrepreneur with many nascent ideas ready to blossom”, shared Danielle when being asked about her future plans.
