President Cordano (center) and Board of Trustees member, Claudia Gordon (at president's right), pose with participants of the 2017 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders Initiative. The Fellows are taking part in a pre-institute program at Gallaudet (June 9-16), the first of its nature, before they embark on their six-week training at various Academic Leadership Institutes at various universities across the US. The Fellows pictured from right to left are: Sunday David (Nigeria), Debby Kuba (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Kingdom Nwanyanwu (Nigeria), Qibho Qiniso (Swaziland), Sidney Chahonyo (Kenya), Baye Ashebr (Ethiopia), and Simon Eroku (Uganda).