Jessica began her service on the HIAC in October of 2007. She was elected as Chair in February of 2008. Jess holds a Masters Degree from the Netherlands Institute of Social Studies in International Development with a focus on population, poverty and social development and a minor focus on macroeconomic global trade policy. She’s honored to serve the city of Helena, the place where she intends to spend the majority of the rest of her days.

Jess is an independent consultant and offers organizational consulting services in sustainable strategies to non-profits. Jess’s other interests include free lance writing, generally on the arts and policy, and an active involvement on local sustainable energy and food initiatives throughout the state of Montana. She served in Madagascar and then South Africa in the United States Peace Corps.

Having lived 22 of his 60 years in Montana, Will calls Helena home. In addition to living much of the remaining 38 years in other states, Will has resided for brief periods in Japan, France and Rwanda. His family includes citizens, or former citizens, of the Phillipines, Brazil, Viet Nam and England.

Will was awarded engineering degrees at Clemson University in 1970 and Montana State University in 1977. He used these in an engineering career that included work in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Hawaii and Texas. Some of his Hawaii work was international in nature while he was an employee of Kajima Engineering and Construction, a Japanese company. A further international engineering experience occurred in Rwanda where

Will renovated a rural drinking water system that had been wrecked by the 1994 genocide.

Will lives with his wife Felomina in an historic Helena house that is older than the state of Montana. They have no children.

Shahid operates the Border Crossing Law Firm and Immigration West, a non-profit immigrant rights clinic. Shahid dedicates his legal practice to helping immigrants obtain lawful status in the United States, and defends immigrants who are in removal proceedings.

In his pro bono practice, Shahid has won asylum for seven refugees who fled from their home countries to escape torture, persecution, and death on account of their political beliefs. These refugees came to the United States from Eritrea, Togo, Zimbabwe, and the Ivory Coast. Mr. Haque-Hausrath also works with the Poverello Center and other non-profits and charitable organizations to assist disadvantaged immigrants.

Shahid and his wife, Katherine, moved to Helena in 2007. Shahid began serving on the Helena International Affairs Council in October of 2008, and is proud to be a part of facilitating dialogue, diplomacy and understanding between Helena, the international community in Helena, and the world.

Doreen graduated from the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) in Accra Ghana with a Bachelors Degree in TV Production. She worked as a teaching assistant at her alma mater after she graduated. In 1997 she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study for a Master’s degree in Radio, Film and Television at Syracuse University. As a graduate student in Syracuse, she interned at the local FOX affiliate as a production assistant.

After graduating from Syracuse, she went back to Ghana where she was employed as a lecturer at her alma mater—National Film and Television Institute. She was also an adjunct professor at the University of Ghana’s School of Performing Arts and at the Central University College all in Accra, Ghana.

Aside from teaching, she has also worked in the TV production industry in Ghana. She worked as an Assistant Director and Production Manager on a number of advertising and documentary productions. She also worked as the Writer/Director for Frytol Women’s Digest, a women’s magazine show on the national television station -- Ghana TV.

She returned to Syracuse in 2003 to pursue a PhD in Mass Communications. She is currently teaching in Carroll College where she started a new TV Production program within the Communications Department. In addition to teaching TV production courses, her research also focuses on women in the media, as well as the use of TV as a tool for health education, with special emphasis on Africa.