Rebecca Birnbaum

Rebecca Birnbaum is graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She completed a double major in Political Science and Anthropology and a minor in Peace and Social Justice. Rebecca’s coursework included policy analysis, negotiation methods, and cultural perspective. As a SISGI Group Program and Research Intern, she focused on sustainable development, nonprofit management, and nonviolent conflict resolution.

Most commented posts

  1. Horn of Africa Crisis Worsens — 2 comments
  2. The Nonprofit Disconnect — 2 comments
  3. What the East Africa Drought Really Means — 2 comments
  4. Spotlight On charity: water — 1 comment
  5. The International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers — 1 comment

Author's posts

Jul 07

Recovering and Rebuilding Sustainably

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti and left its capital city of Port-au-Prince in complete ruins. More than 200,000 people died, and an even greater number were left homeless. A little over a year later on March 11, 2011, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake (and subsequent tsunami) hit Japan, but there was …

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Jul 04

A Closer Look at the MDGs

In September 2000, the United Nations established eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in hopes of improving social and economic conditions in the world’s poorest countries. The MDGs have caused governments around the world to rally together in a global partnership to make significant progress in some of the most challenging areas in the developing world. The …

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Jun 30

What the East Africa Drought Really Means

Currently, the Eastern part of Africa is experiencing one of the worst droughts on record. More than ten million people are affected in countries such as Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda. With increasing food prices, dry land, failing crops and dying livestock, many Africans in these countries simply don’t have access to food. Malnutrition …

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Jun 27

Spotlight On: Bridges to Community

In the past few weeks, I’ve written about how difficult it is for for a nonprofit organization to successfully address more than a single issue in a sustainable way. Complex problems – like poverty, for example – can rarely be solved by fixing just one aspect, which makes it difficult to make sustainable change. One …

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Jun 23

Opportunity in the Developing World

When someone thinks of an “underdeveloped” or “developing” country, it’s all too easy to envision an area that is lagging behind (both technologically and economically) the Western world. It’s common to think of these places as needing our help to catch up to the standards we set and to follow the trends that we start. …

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Jun 20

The Nonprofit Disconnect, Part II

Last week, I wrote about how nonprofits should work together to make sustainable change. Rather than organizations focusing on specific issues individually, I think that establishing a type of “nonprofit team” to address multiple aspects of a complex problem could really make a huge impact. Theoretically, I really think this could work – but there …

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Jun 16

The Nonprofit Disconnect

Earlier this week, Ryan wrote about the difference between providing technical assistance to a one-dimensional problem and making a change that has a more sustainable impact. Digging a well in an area without access to clean water, for example, is a great solution to the simple problem of not having clean water. However, that one …

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Jun 13

People Comprehension Part III

Last week, I talked about some possible exercises that could be administered in elementary schools that would allow children to develop people comprehension skills. While I certainly think it’s extremely important to begin learning and practicing these skills at a young age, I think it’s perhaps even more important to continue developing these skills as …

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Jun 09

Spotlight On charity: water Part II

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post applauding charity: water on their excellent use of social media to benefit the organization and its cause. Today, I want to focus on another unique aspect of the company that deserves equal praise: the way they market their business model. Charity: water uses the 100% model, which …

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Jun 06

People Comprehension Part II

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the importance of teaching children people comprehension skills so people can better understand each other, despite differing opinions. Personally, I think this should be part of the curriculum in elementary and middle schools, since equipping children with these skills can enable them to become more open-minded …

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