U of A Grad Jankovska Honored by UNICEF, Working as Advocate for Children

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Olivera Jankovska, a 2009 U of A Bumpers College graduate, recently earned a fellowship to work full-time with the United Nations Children's Fund.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Olivera Jankovska, a 2009 U of A graduate, has been honored twice by UNICEF USA and is now working with the non-profit, non-government organization supporting the United Nations Children's Fund.

Jankovska, who earned her bachelor's degree in agricultural business from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, received the 2017 President's Volunteer Service Award for efforts and commitment in 2016. She has also received the UNICEF USA Global Citizenship Fellowship, allowing her to work full time as community engagement fellow from Houston, Texas.

She serves as a spokesperson for children and brings together networks of faith-based communities, schools, universities, volunteers, advocates, elected leaders and others to unite on behalf of children. Combining UNICEF USA's education, advocacy and fundraising initiatives, she helps create transformational change in the lives of children around the world and empowering people to act locally.

A long-time supporter and volunteer for UNICEF in the United States and internationally, Jankovska is a native of Macedonia and a nonresident scholar at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. She speaks seven languages, has more than 10 years of nonprofit experience and has held multiple leadership roles. Her volunteering work includes several cultural, educational and business organizations.

With UNICEF, Jankovska speaks on UNICEF 101, global citizenship, UNICEF Kid Power, children's rights and peace-building, trick-or-treat for UNICEF, health and nutrition, gender equity and social inclusion, UNICEF's response to emergencies, human trafficking and child protection, innovation in development, sustainable development goals, Macedonia and South-Eastern Europe, and water, sanitation and hygiene.

UNICEF is the world's largest humanitarian organization for children, working in over 190 different countries to save lives and put children first.

In 2015, she was recognized as being one of the United Macedonian's Diaspora "40 under 40." Jankovska also earned a master's degree in applied economics from Virginia Tech University and an associate degree in marketing from Perrotis College in Thessaloniki, Greece.

As a non-resident scholar at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy's Center for Energy Studies specializing in international electricity and gas markets, she recently co-authored and published her first professional research article, "Electricity Reform and Retail Pricing in Texas."

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.