ALUMNI PROFILE
Nate Fields
Managing director of program operations, Silatech
Doha, Qatar
Bluffton ’71
Major: economics
Connecting young people. Earlier this year, Nate joined Silatech, a new youth employment and enterprise development initiative created by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, the wife of Qatar’s emir. Silatech was launched in January 2008 to offset the lack of economic opportunity and social marginalization of young people throughout 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Its mission is to connect young people ages 18-30 with employment and enterprise opportunities. Nate is serving as managing director of program operations.
Today’s youth = tomorrow’s leaders. In many of Silatech’s targeted countries, the number of individuals between 18 and 30 rests between 30-50 percent. Depending on the country, of that number, anywhere from 35-70 percent is unemployed or under-employed. “This represents a huge amalgam of young people looking for meaning and a way to contribute,” says Nate, “and if they are not properly engaged, they become easy targets for fundamentalists or other more radical groups.” Silatech is drawing support from international and regional companies, foundations, donors and governments committed to bolstering employment and business opportunities for today’s youth.
Building indigenous businesses in Africa. Nate spent 12 years with the African Development Foundation (ADF), a U.S.-government corporation that provides direct capital investment to African-owned small and medium-sized businesses to help them develop new products, expand their production and compete in the global marketplace. “Overall, ADF aims to help the poor and marginalized communities in Africa become self-sufficient and not dependent on foreign aid,” says Nate. He served as president and CEO of ADF for five years before being deployed to Ghana for two years.
Positions of change. Nate has served with ADF, the Africa Bureau of the United States Agency for International Development, the International Youth Foundation, World Vision International and Control Data Corporation, and started his own consulting firm. Of all of his posts, Nate says his time as a senior policy analyst in the White House had the most impact on him. “I was in a position to initiate, advocate and influence change within the government, broader society and the private sector. The ability to mobilize people, information and financial and technical resources was phenomenal.” But, Nate adds, “All of my posts have allowed me to work on issues that I really care about, and taught me that individuals can make significant contributions.
A heart for Africa. Nate knew he wanted to be involved with Africa in some professional manner after visiting six African countries the year after he graduated from Bluffton. He took the trip with past Bluffton president Elmer Neufeld and several professors from Mennonite colleges and universities. “Working with Silatech is an opportunity to pursue new and innovative ideas,” says Nate, “but my heart, my head and my beat are really in Africa. So, after we get Silatech up and running, I will get re-engaged back there.”
— Jill A. Duling
