"I think that there was confidence in my ability. I was able to feel that support, build rapport, and gain respect regarding my vision and decision-making skills with both the U.S. and African nationals. I came to understand that in reality, (IME) had not accomplished these very basic and initial goals of partnership development.

With the information I learned from the fellowship, I then attempted to lead the organization in a direction of restructuring and developing a solid foundation. All the while, negotiating changes across borders and across the ocean.

At each point when I gained new information and knowledge during the fellowship, I would use that in our IME partnership development, particularly with our steering committee and our executive committee. The program changed me personally in terms of my own interactions and I was able to share my insights with committee members such that we ultimately came to an understanding of how we needed to realign our efforts and ourselves. I definitely felt that I very positively impacted the process. Thus, while our group appeared quiescent, we are just reorganizing."