New GFDD Advisory Committee

Various personalities from the world of academia, medicine, communication, entertainment, sports, and design, among other sectors, are now part of the new Advisory Committee of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), which took shape yesterday at a meeting in New York that was presided over by GFDD President, Dr. Leonel Fernández and its Executive Director, Natasha Despotovic.

The main functions of the Advisory Committee are to
contribute to the successful performance of the organization and to promote connections with important and key strategic players. The Committee will work with GFDD president and directors to ensure proper planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the institutional action plan. It will also serve as a liaison between the GFDD president and directors and public and private institutions of interest.

The new members of the Advisory Committee are Mario Báez,
Policy Coordination Service and Supervision of the Office of the Under Secretary General of the United Nations; Juan Tapia, New York-based Dominican Pediatrician; Ramona Hernández, Director of the Dominican Studies Institute at the City University of New York (CUNY); Thomas Crowell, attorney specialized in legislation related to the entertainment industry and a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; Raúl Alarcón, president of Mega TV; Juan Marichal,
Dominican baseball player; Jared and Erica Weiner, vice presidents of Future Hunters; and Amalia Gómez, accessories designer and member of the advisory committee of the Maestro Cares Foundation.

GFDD President Dr. Leonel Fernández told the group about the organization’s short and medium-term plans that will contribute to social, political, and economic development of the Dominican Republic, the region, and the world through a variety of programs and initiatives
along with the collaboration of dozens of national and international institutions.

The new Advisory Committee members thanked the GFDD leadership for the opportunity to support the organization’s work and stressed the role of GFDD and the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) as promoters of collaboration and global exchange in areas that are relevant for Dominican professionals, national and international institutions as well as the general
public.

Meanwhile, Natasha Despotovic expressed great satisfaction that the institution will be working with individuals of such stature and influence who, no doubt, will “strengthen our role not only as policy makers but as providers of knowledge and practical tools to empower and educate citizens worldwide.”