YVONNE E. MBATTI

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL OFFICER CPDM USA

YVONNE E. MBATTI

Devoted. Resourceful. Dependable

Yvonne is known for her fierce stance on accountability. She is all about “the people”. She learned early the importance of service to others and to community. She adds a unique perspective, strong faith, and inspirational work ethic to her community. With a commitment to community and passion for service, Yvonne became co-founder and organizer of the Elite Trends World NGO. In this role, Yvonne leads the organization towards the realization of a strong benevolent alliance between the US and Africa. This has become a personal mission, driving her to collaborate with notable institutions.

As the Social and Cultural Affairs Officer, Yvonne works tirelessly for her Section. To manage and enhance relationships, and cultivate new ones, with targeted, high-level external audiences, including the media, celebrities, policy makers, and other key influencers with a range of backgrounds, experiences, and identities in supporting and advancing the Section’s mission. With an aptitude for managing diversity and inclusion, she takes great pride in serving the members of the Section. She is a servant leader who is as comfortable in the presence of great political figures and celebrities as she is with everyday community members.

Yvonne previously served as Chair of the Youth Committee and Co-Chair of the Health Committee in CPDM USA Section, under President Patience Tamfu’s first term. Currently, she is the General Administrative and Oversight Coordinator for the Oversight Committee. She is also the Chair of the CPDM USA (2022) Section Conference.

Vision

To drive organizational change in CPDM USA Section by efficiently leading various programs with commitment to deliver the highest quality of communal involvement and services.

Yvonne believes in a “Peaceful, Innovative and Prosperous Cameroon.” She organized community outreach events, such as:

The “YOUTH, EDUCATION, AND PEACE MARCH” in 2018 to galvanize efforts to mobilize the youths and launch an effective international campaign for culture of peace in Cameroon, for all.
The “ANNUAL AFRICAN DIASPORA WOMEN AND COLLABORATORS DISCUSSION IN THE U.S” in 2018 to create a platform for Diaspora women of African Descent to connect on pressing matters and issues about the state of their communities – in the US and Country of Origin.
Co-hosted a dinner reception for the American Chamber (AmCham) of Commerce delegation from Cameroon, during the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Conference in 2016.
Championed the 49TH CAMEROON YOUTH DAY CELEBRATION in 2015, H.E. Joseph Bienvenue Charles FOE ATANGANA with some American Born Cameroonians.

Fun Facts

Yvonne has been known to say:

“Peace, Work, Fatherland - Our motto says it all.

“I pledge for peace above all. I pledge to be the change I wish to see in Cameroon, my homeland. By calling out HATEFUL and EVIL acts. I pledge to stand for the oppressed and refuse to be bullied by those that claim to fight for change but are worse than the Pharisees and Sadducees. To make donations towards the purchase of Arms while promoting or refusing to denounce the killing of our own brothers and sisters is tantamount to insanity. We can try to rationalize it all we want, at the end of the day, Rev. Dr, Martin Luther King, and President Nelson Mandela are a select few of the most celebrated leaders in world for a reason. They brought about change under extreme circumstances without any blood on their hands.”

“Let's continue to be the voice of reason. To speak the truth with respect and love when it favors us and even when it does not. Not because we support a particular political party but because it is our responsibility to do so as a civic responsibility no matter the party or leader in place. To be a “game changer”, in the words of the 35thPresident of the United States, John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” We recognize that all people share a common humanity, and that all are responsible to themselves and to society as a whole. This is a call to serve that we must take to heart, to ensure that each of us is doing our fair share to help make the lives of the present and future generations of Cameroonians better. Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try - let’s work together to change the changeable. If we should spend today complaining about yesterday it would not make tomorrow any better.”

The State Department acknowledges diaspora groups and individuals as the first to respond to natural disasters, economic stagnation, poverty or civil unrest.

“You have the potential to be the most powerful people-to-people asset we can bring to the world’s table. Because of your familiarity with cultural norms, your own motivations, your own special skills and leadership, you are, frankly, our Peace Corps, our USAID, our OPIC, our State Department rolled into one…”

Some extracts from the 49th Cameroon Youth Day Celebration in the Diaspora, USA Speech presented to Former Cameroon Ambassador to the US, H.E. Joseph Bienvenu Charles FOE ATANGANA by Jason Nkwain:

We being the future have to be rooted in PEACE meaning that we have to find a subtle resolve in any situation. We must be willing to have uncomfortable conversations about our future and our growth without compromising the joy that peace offers. The future rests on those who can agree to disagree, seeking solutions at every discourse. Confronting silence when necessary but also knowing to what level reactions can be taken. The one way we can be rooted in PEACE is to hate the idea and the mindset of HATE. Martin Luther King once said, “I choose to love because hate to too much of a burden to carry” and today to use that same statement, “Lets chose love because hate is just too much of a burden to carry.”

to know where you are going, you have to know where you came from” and as Cameroonians, FATHERLAND embodies this idea. Cameroon is the tree and we are merely its branches and leaves. There should always be a ringing reminder at the back of our minds that Cameroon birthed us, and that’s where our true identity lies.”

“My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out.”

Biography

Professionally, Yvonne is a Biopharmaceutical Executive, Business Consultant, and Philanthropist. Her signature skill is analyzing the root causes of business problems and executing solutions in the areas of health, hospitality, public administration, and non-profits. She is known as a fair and pragmatic leader who is an exceptionally innovative strategist.

She was born in Cameroon where she attended a missionary boarding school for her secondary education. She migrated to the US in her teens. At age 17, prior to joining University, she started her professional career in finance as a part-time Accounting Assistant at Delphi International in Washington, DC, an international relations exchange NGO. She worked there until she completed her college education and obtained a BS in Biology (Hons) from the University of the District of Colombia (UDC). This earned her a scholarship to pursue her graduate education in Public Health from George Washington University. Yvonne has done research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Georgetown University Medical Center Dept. of Pharmacology, and UDC.

Yvonne’s passion for Biotechnology led her to acquire an MS in Bioscience Regulatory Affairs from Johns Hopkins University. Her biopharmaceutical journey began with her interest in public health and a desire to impact health care at a global stage. After graduating, Yvonne held various positions in the biopharmaceutical industry with increasing responsibilities ranging from a Research Analyst to senior management positions within Quality and Compliance Operations.

In her current role as a Bio-Pharmaceutical Quality Executive, she plays a key role in ensuring the availability of the multinational company’s portfolio of products across therapeutics areas of its vast Biologics clinical pipeline to patients, accelerating innovative science and delivering on targets for growth.

Yvonne also worked as a Sr. Laboratory Technician Contractor for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as a Microbiologist at Chesapeake Biological Laboratories (CBL), Inc., and as a Research Associate at Anmed Biosafe, Inc.

Yvonne’s hard work and dedication to service earned her the Volunteer Award at the George Washington University Hospital. She also received the 49th Cameroon Youth Day Celebration Award; for Outstanding Contribution to the Cameroonian Community in the U.S., This passion for service and wanting to impact change in Cameroon and Africa was the beginning of her involvement with Elite Trends.

She has championed activities to foster a strong benevolent alliance between the US and Africa. This has become a personal mission, driving her to collaborate with notable institutions such as; the US African Development Foundation, US Department of State, US Agency of International Development, State of Maryland, the District of Columbia, the African Union Representational Mission to the US, African Embassies in Washington DC, Representatives at the United Nations, and more.

Yvonne has sponsored several events organized for public outreach; Hosting Artists preparing for the Ebola Charity Concert at Filmore, Silver Spring, to leading platforms acknowledging ideological game changers and revolutionary leaders. A highlighted few, include Queen Mother, DR. Delois Blakely Community Mayor of Harlem, Ambassador of Goodwill to Africa at the UN, H.E., DR. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, African Union Ambassador to the United States, and Laurie Adams, the CEO of Women for Women International.

In 2017, she was invited by the President of the Republic of Cameroon; as a panelist, and the US

Diaspora representative to the Forum for Diaspora (FODIAS) conference hosted in Yaoundé. This initiative was launched to further enhance Diaspora relationships and contributions to their Homeland. In her continuous effort to give back, she accepted the call to moderate the 58th Cameroon National Day celebration in Washington, DC on May 20, 2018.

Yvonne is engaged in a variety of community and industry organizations and supports colleagues both as an informal and formal mentor. She believes it is her duty to grow and develop the underserved societies while cultivating a positive motivational and inspirational culture to empower generational leaders and scholars.