HUNTSVILLE – Lane Fabby with the University of Alabama in Huntsville traveled to Uganda in a United Nations initiative to assist African officials in building executive leadership skills.

Lane works as Director of Professional Development Solutions in the College of Professional and Continuing Studies at UAH.

Her destination was the United Nations Regional Service Center in Entebbe, Uganda. The goal of the work was to enhance the professionalism of service members in the United States’ partner nations. The U.S. benefits from the enhanced military professionalism as it strengthens democratic values and stability, along with increasing partnership capacity, Fabby said.

The United Nations Signal Academy conducts learning engagements for operational and tactical signal operators that does not include leadership, problem solving, communication and cognitive skills. “UAH Professional Development Solutions is focusing on this capability gap and stretching the limits of the African signal officer to develop a cadre of alumni who will solve Africa’s problems from within,” Fabby said.

The visit’s purpose was to confirm that U.S. African partners receive critical thinking and decision-making skills that help empower them in their own countries. “We encouraged them to take ownership of being a larger part of ‘Africans solving African problems,’ including the advancement of women in those countries and cultures,” Fabby said.

“Our work is cut out for us in enabling African partners to provide effective interoperability in support of their own security and stability, humanitarian assistance, disaster response and peace operations,” Fabby said. “However, the visit proved to be both enlightening and successful.”

“Through professional interaction with representatives from various African countries and by participating in social events, I gained a better understanding of African cultures, standards and values that will help us change African thinking and behaviors in the future,” Fabby said.

FFor more information about UAH Professional Development Solutions, email Lane.Fabby@uah.edu or visit pcs.uah.edu/PDSolutions.