Nijhier-Aleem Jules is a native of the Jersey Shore and a graduate of Howard University. Ni (Nh-Eye), as he is known amongst colleagues and friends, has over ten years of experience in higher education, specifically in program management and coordination. He currently serves as the Deputy Director of the USAID Donald M. Payne International Development Program administered by Howard University.

Previously, Nijhier-Aleem worked as the Senior Program Manager for Diplomatic Fellowships at Howard University for two USDA nationally competitive fellowships; F.A.S. Diversity Fellowship Program and the APHIS Foreign Service Fellowship Program; and one Department of State fellowship, the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. In his previous capacity, he focused on launching new nationally competitive diversity fellowship initiatives, building new graduate program partnerships, and managing a multi-year cohort of fellows for several federally sponsored fellowship programs; based on the fundamental principle that diversity is a strength in U.S. engagement with the world.

Prior to joining the Diplomatic Fellowships team, Nijhier-Aleem worked at the Howard University School of Business (HUSB) as the Executive Education Coordinator administering the online-Executive M.B.A. (EMBA) program, top 30 online EMBA in the country, and six executive certificate programs in addition to the premier HUSB Center for Career Excellence including 100+ corporate relationships. Nijhier-Aleem holds his Sherpa Executive Coaching Certification and is a Master of Science candidate in Higher Education Policy, Research, and Administration at Goucher College.

Nijhier-Aleem is an avid lover and supporter of the Arts. In his spare time, he enjoys reading various non-fiction and fiction literature, discussing topics or “thesis,” as he calls them, with friends, and restoring his 110-year-old historic home in Baltimore, Maryland, with his partner and the occasional help of their two-year-old Dalmatian H.R.H. Argos.