Aimable Twagilimana

Aimable Twagilimana received his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and joined the English Department at SUNY Buffalo State in September 1995. Dr. Twagilimana also has degrees from the National University of Rwanda (BA and MA, 1984; 1986), the University of Reading (United Kingdom) (MA Applied Linguistics, 1989), and the School of Management at the University of Buffalo (MBA, 2014). He was the 2008-2009 Chair of the Association of African Studies Programs (AASP), an association that brings together African studies programs at U.S. colleges and universities. He directed the African and African American Studies Interdisciplinary Unit at SUNY Buffalo State from May 2006 to December 2012. He has received awards and scholarships from the Fulbright program (3 times), the British Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among others. He has published several books and numerous encyclopedia entries and chapters in book. He was a board member of the International Institute of Buffalo (January 2016-December 2017) and the Educators’ Institute for Human Rights (2010-2016). He is the current president of the U.S. Rwandan Community Abroad (USRCA) (i.e. Rwandan Diaspora in the USA), a 501c3 organization that focuses on community building among more than 18 Rwandan Communities abroad in various cities around the U.S. He is on the steering community of the Buffalo (NY)-Muhanga (Rwanda) Sister-City relationship. He has traveled to, studied in, or worked in Rwanda, Senegal, Madagascar, Tanzania, the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and China.

Statement of Interest

When I came to the United States in July 1992, I met the late Senator William Fulbright and his wife and had two pictures taken with them. I dearly treasure these two pictures: without Senator Fulbright’s vision in the 1940s I may not have left Rwanda in 1992 (just two years before the 1994 genocide). To me, he is a constant inspiration and a reminder that one man or woman can make a difference in promoting intercultural understanding and world peace in whatever small and/or big ways that circumstances may allow, as many leaders in the history of humanity have shown. In my professional career over the last twenty three years I have led initiatives that contributed to cultural exchanges, mutual respect and understanding among the people of the United States and other countries. This is the spirit that will continue to guide me if I am elected to the Board of Directors of Sister-Cities International. Also, I will use my tenure to increase the number of sister-city relationships between American cities and African cities, starting with the enhancement of the Buffalo (NY)-Muhanga (Rwanda) Sister-City relationship.

Skills and Assets

Leadership of academic programs and not-for-profit organizations (including the Rwandan Diaspora in the USA, the International Institute of Buffalo, and the Educators’ Institute for Human Rights).
Experience working with institutions in other countries
Experience in Finance and Accounting as a college instructor and a practitioner
Proficient with Microsoft Office, Word, advanced data modeling in Excel (e.g. sensitivity analysis, VLOOKUP, pivot tables, charts)
Proficiency in English, French, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, Latin, Classical Greek, and some German.