International development leader to speak at College of Wooster Commencement

The College of Wooster will welcome Meskerem “Mesky” Brhane ’89, a leader in international development and poverty alleviation initiatives, to deliver the commencement address at the Commencement Ceremony for the Class of 2025 on Saturday, May 17, 2025. The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in the Gault Recreation Center inside the Scot Center (1267 Beall Avenue).

For more than 25 years, Brhane has worked in the Middle East, East Asia, South Asia, and Africa, shaping sustainable development initiatives in diverse country contexts. She currently is the regional director for the Planet Department in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at World Bank, where she leads the formulation of the Bank’s strategy, engagements, and all lending, technical assistance, partnerships, and policy advisory work for sustainable development across the region.

“We are delighted to welcome Mesky back to her alma mater to address this year’s graduates,” President Anne McCall said. “Mesky’s work, partnering with communities to address complex issues and cultivate resilience and growth, has tremendous impact. She demonstrates the value of an education that emphasizes global connection and collaboration.”

Prior to her current role, Brhane held several key leadership positions in urban development, resilience, disaster risk management, and land administration. She served as practice manager for the World Bank’s urban development, resilience, and land initiatives in West and East Africa and South Asia, as well as program leader for sustainable development in Nairobi, Kenya, where she pioneered the Bank’s engagement in lagging regions left behind from development. Additionally, she was a senior urban development specialist, leading operations and policy dialogues on housing, local economic development, urban upgrading, municipal management and municipal service delivery in East Asia and MENA.

Brhane majored in English and French at Wooster. After graduating from the College, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in Paris and earned her doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago.

In addition to Brhane, the ceremony will feature speakers from the graduating class, Rayan Dos Passos ’25 and Karmellah Buttler ’25, who were selected based on academic performance and peer nominations.

Rayan Dos Passos ’25

Dos Passos, a global & international studies and Spanish major from Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Brazil, has served in numerous leadership roles at Wooster, including as a residential assistant, class representative, orientation leader, and senior intern and tour guide with the Office of Admissions. He participates in Model UN, Club Soccer, Latinas Unidas, and Jenny Investment Club. He has been previously recognized as a Kendall-Rives American Research Fellowship recipient. Through his Independent Study, Dos Passos examined the political economy of U.S. bilateral food aid and its impact on trade and welfare in Mexico. He plans to pursue graduate studies in international economics or global development.

Karmellah Buttler ’25

Buttler, a physics major from Canton, Ohio, supports fellow students as a STEM Zone intern, sings a cappella with Round of Monkeys, and participates in Astronomy Club and Physics Club. Serving as a research assistant in earth sciences and physics, she also coauthored a study investigating the inside-out galaxy disk formation theory with Laura DeGroot, assistant professor of physics. For her senior I.S., Buttler contributed to the next phase of development in a long-running project in physics at the College, researching avalanches in a conical bead pile, a critical system that applies to broader ideas like landslides or earthquakes. Buttler plans to pursue graduate studies in atmospheric science after a gap year.

President McCall will preside over the ceremony. Samuel Peppers ’25, a political science major and religious studies minor from Salem, Virginia, will share the invocation. The benediction will be provided by Rev. Matthew E. Davis, pastor of the Mendocino Presbyterian Church in Mendocino, California, and parent of Wooster graduates in the classes of 2024 and 2025. The ceremony also will feature a musical performance of “Defying Gravity,” from the musical and motion picture Wicked, by psychology major and music minor Brianna Swinford ’25.

Tickets are required to enter the event and may be requested through this link on the commencement webpage. Families who cannot attend the event in person will be able to access a livestream of the ceremony. For more information on commencement and related events visit wooster.edu/commencement.

Featured image: Meskerem “Mesky” Brhane ’89, photo provided by subject.

Posted in Homepage Featured, News on April 21, 2025.