Contact Us
For speaking engagements, scholarly seminars or educational conferences, CONTACT US:
- Michael John Downie is a Global Educational and Policy Consultant specializing in curriculum development and growth performance. He has been an English Professor in the CUNY & SUNY systems since the 1990’s, and most recently at Stevens Institute of Technology. Yet for the past five years, Professor Downie created and implemented high effect research, strategic analysis, and communications solutions, in policy and growth strategy for global educational institutions, businesses, and political leaders at a boutique organization that he founded in 2013. His work extends from The City College of New York to instituting CAL 103 & 105 at Stevens Institute of Technology, and from BNP Paribas Bank to Channel Two Communications in Accra, and from enacting political and cultural policy for the City of New York to African policy for Congressman Donald M. Payne. His policy initiatives in Africa range from health and information technology to modernized infrastructure investment for which he has several regional blueprints in Africa.
- Due to Professor Downie’s teaching and research interests, in 2006, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for “Africa and the Americas”, that led him to study at the Royal Archives in London and Cape Coast University in Ghana. Professor Downie created, implemented and developed Renaissance in Motion, a cultural not-for-profit organization in Harlem, that showcases artists, literati and scholars in Harlem for the City of Greater New York. Professor Downie lectures on the intersection of history and culture, and how that influences the politics within governments when making economic decisions for their respective countries.
- Michael John Downie holds a B.S. in Psychology from Tufts University, a M.A. in English and American Literature, with a Concentration in Creative Writing, from New York University (magna cum laude), a Graduate Certificate in African Studies from Yale University, and a M.A. in International Affairs (GMAP), with a focus on African Affairs, from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He is a frequent moderator, conference speaker and judge.
- DGS also provides international affairs seminars on a diverse range of topics, with a focus on the history, culture and politics of Africa and the Caribbean, in general, SSA in particular. We offer your executive team an accelerated, focused learning experience using graduate school curriculum from the top business, public and international affairs schools in the world. We customize your educational experience to fit the mold of your future corporate, scholastic or institutional endeavors in Africa or the Caribbean. Our consultants include Africanists and Caribbeanists who specialize in history, politics, sociology, economics, cultural and literary studies, who all hold doctorates from top tier global universities, authors who have a wealth of experience and foundational knowledge of Africa and/or the Caribbean, and professors and researchers whose commitment to excellence is unparalleled. Intensive seminars can be extended to three or four day conferences held at 4 Star hotels.
- While we, at DGS, understand the “production, importation and distribution” of the tools in which to control and potentially end COVID-19, we will follow all protocol set forth by the CDC and the NIH & NIAID. If you have any questions about COVID-19, please go to the CDC or NIH websites.