INTERCULTURAL

LEADERS

Kari Coley Brown

Intercultural Innovation Award (IIA)

At 15, I took my first trip overseas alone for an international fencing tournament in Germany. It was an eye-opening experience for a young brown girl from New York; but just the beginning of many more travels – to Canada, Italy, France, Belgium, and my favorite…Hungary. I remember sitting on the tram in Budapest, and everyone staring at me. Just as I started to get upset at the unwelcome – and what appeared to be unfriendly stares – the little girl sitting in front of me reached in and gently touched one of my braids. It was communication without words; she let me know the stares were not vicious or hostile, rather out of curiosity; and I let her know she was welcome to touch my hair and discover something new about someone that – until that moment – was a foreign concept to her. Though unspoken, it was dialogue – a respectful, inquisitive, intercultural dialogue that has stayed with me to this day. These many travels that I was afforded helped cultivate my sense of cultural appreciation; the seeds of which were planted by nature of being of multicultural origin myself (African-American and Cherokee on my dad’s side and Panamanian of Jamaican descent on my mom’s side). It is of no surprise, then, that I went on to petition for a study abroad in Panama during my junior year in college. I got to experience firsthand my mother’s native country and all its cultural quirks and wonders. After graduating, I made the bold decision to up and move to Panama, and haven’t looked back since! In all of my traveling and living abroad, there have been lessons in patience, adaptation, respectful communication, understanding, appreciation, diplomacy, and cooperation. These experiences have molded my 15+ years in the professional arena, working with the UN, private sector entities, and grassroots NGOs in Program & Project Management, Information & Knowledge Management, and HR, with consistent emphasis on Efficiency, Quality Assurance, Continuous Improvement, and Cross-Cultural Sensitivity. I am also founder and owner of “Kindred” - a traditional-meets-modern multicultural fashion brand that gives me a creative outlet and change-agent platform through the design of unique artwear that celebrates diversity while embracing one humankind. In my spare time, I dance with the Umoja Afro-Panamanian Dance Troupe and volunteer as President of the SAMAAP WSSW Leadership Institute for mentorship of up-and-coming youth leaders, and as Vice-President and Cultural Arts Director for the Arnold Walters Foundation, whose mission is to build bridges of understanding, appreciation, and cooperation among communities. I look forward to collaborating with you in any way you feel my experience can help your project increase its positive impact on your beneficiaries…