Translating Research into Practice in the Holy Land
Tom Purekal
Tom Purekal is the Program Director for the Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development's (NDIGD) Innovation and Practice Division. Tom will discuss NGIGD's recent projects in the West Bank. He will also offer comparisons to environments such as India, South Sudan, and Myanmar. Through his work with NDIGD, Tom works with faculty and students across disciplines to translate evidence and research into practice, particularly finding ways to extend impact to low/middle-income country contexts. Examples of the work he leads include reviewing justice and peacebuilding programs for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) across Africa, a water/sanitation project in Colombia, and expanding access to sustainable and renewable energy for last-mile communities in Uganda and South Africa.
Tom comes to NDIGD following a long career of working overseas with CRS and other organizations. His places of work include posts such as India, South Sudan, and Myanmar to name a few. Tom has an eclectic background, having worked as an advertising executive in New York City for three years, sub-director of an orphanage in Honduras, and director of operations and business development for a small agriculture manufacturer’s distributor in Florida, followed by nine years with CRS. His extensive programming and project design experience encompass sectors such as peacebuilding and governance, education, disaster risk reduction, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Tom holds a bachelor's in Government from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Georgetown McDonough School of Business.
Transportation will be provided from Shivtei Israel St. to the west of the Notre Dame Center (opposite New Gate of the Old City). The bus will leave at 6:30 p.m and return at 9:00 p.m. The shuttle will only be ordered if at least five people have signed up by March 11, 2019. Shuttle sign-up
Tuesdays at Tantur is a bi-weekly event that seeks to establish a place for conversation and nurture open discussion on theological issues and other topics relevant to life in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. The series is co-hosted by the Tantur Ecumenical Institute and Jerusalem Global Gateway of the University of Notre Dame, both located at the corner of Rosmarin and Derech Hebron.