Alumni Directory

Steven Andrews 2005-2006 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Sudan Princeton University Class of 2004

Alumni Update:

Steven is currently based in Beijing and works as a Foreign Counsel with a Chinese law firm. After completing his PiAf fellowship, Steven received a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law. His current practice is focused on intellectual property and environmental law matters.

Andridge_Caroline_WebsiteCaroline Andridge 2016-2017 Fellow with Clinton Health Access Initiative, South Africa University of Michigan Class of 2014

Alumni Update:

She supports USAID’s Office of Food for Peace, working on the U.S. Policy Team to promote humanitarian assistance in times of conflict and disaster. her work focuses on engaging U.S. policy makers to understand Food for Peace’s impact, and insuring the work can continue.

Fellow Bio:

Caroline graduated from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 2014 with concentrations in International Development and Human Rights. She most recently worked as the Research Associate for Global Health, Economics, and Development at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, she conducted extensive research and analyzed international global health priorities and the changing burden of disease, focusing specifically on the rise of noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Prior to this position, Caroline was an economic analysis intern in the Department of Policy and Evaluation at the Millennium Challenge Corporation. In this role, she researched country-specific constraints to growth and analyzed institutional reforms accepted by compact countries. Her work has been published in Health Affairs, Cancer Control 2015, CFR’s The Internationalist, and Columbia University’s Helvidius Journal of Politics and Society. She is excited to continue expanding her passion for development and global health in South Africa, where she’ll be working as an analyst with the Clinton Health Access Initiative.

Megan Angulo 2018-2019 Fellow with The BOMA Project, Kenya University of Southern California Class of 2017

Megan, a New Jersey native graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in Psychology and a minor in International Relations. As an undergraduate, she was awarded funding to participate in a summer research trip in Iceland, Norway and Finland where she studied the impact of climate change in the Arctic region. In her junior year, Megan spent a semester studying at the University of Cape Town, where she developed a deep interest in economic development and public policy. Following her semester abroad, she interned at Ubuntu Pathways, a South Africa based non-profit that provides comprehensive health, household, and educational services to people in Port Elizabeth’s townships. After graduating, Megan worked as the director of a research lab that studies non-democratic politics. In this role, she used computational social science methods to explore propaganda in Gabon and Congo, as well as to analyze patterns of corruption in autocracies.  Megan is thrilled to be joining The BOMA Project in Nanyuki, Kenya. She looks forward to gaining a more nuanced understanding of international development and income generation, learning Swahili, and exploring Kenya’s natural beauty!

Ankoma-Bempong_Regine_WebsiteRegine Ankoma-Bempong 2016-2017 Fellow with Imani Development, Malawi Mount Holyoke College Class of 2016

Regine recently graduated from Mount Holyoke College, majoring in Economics and minoring in Politics. To satisfy her deep interest in Africa, its politics, and its economic systems, she took a plethora of classes in African Studies, in economic development, and in international and nonprofit work. Her connection with the continent and her passion for it is deeply rooted in her social and academic experiences gained from living in an African city. She was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, and she speaks Twi and English fluently. In the past year, she has used her analytic and problem-solving skills by working in Ghana as an equity trading intern with Stanbic Bank. While in college, she also served as the Associate Entrepreneurship Coordinator at Mount Holyoke College and the Public Relations Coordinator for the Debate Society. Regine is excited about the opportunity to work with Imani Development in Malawi, to learn more about international development, and to explore Malawian culture.

Jessica Annis 2011-2012 Fellow with Ubuntu Africa, South Africa Emory University Class of 2009

Alumni Update:

She is continuing to work as a lawyer at Gibson Dunn. Her work focuses on supporting companies with their transactional needs but hopes to travel back to the continent in the next year or two.

Fellow Bio:

Jessica (Emory ‘09) graduated with degrees in International Studies and Global Health. While at Emory, Jessica studied abroad at the University of Cape Town and completed a maternal health project in Udaipur, India. For the past two years, Jessica has been working in HIV research in Seattle. In Cape Town, Jessica will be working for a nonprofit, Ubuntu Africa, that provides healthcare and social services for HIV positive children in Khayelitsha. Jessica is thrilled to be returning to beautiful Cape Town and is looking forward to exploring the city.

Janhavi Apte 2021-2022 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Kenya The George Washington University Class of 2018

Janhavi was born and raised in India and graduated from The George Washington University (GWU) with a master’s in international affairs in 2018. During her graduate study, she worked with Search for Common Ground (SFCG) in Yangon, Myanmar for a summer, supporting research and advocacy efforts for peacebuilding programs in the country. Janhavi credits this experience with propelling her into the world of international relief and development and has since conducted research on youth civic engagement in Myanmar in partnership with the US Agency for International Development (USAID). She has also consolidated refugee resettlement casework from Uganda for submission to the US and Canada with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and analysed US and UN policy frameworks for humanitarian access and assistance in Yemen, Syria and South Sudan at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Additionally, through an internship at the International Peace Institute (IPI), she supported research efforts focused on Protection of Civilians (POC) mandates in UN peacekeeping missions and the effects of sanctions regimes on humanitarian action. Janhavi drew from these experiences in informing her approach to her most recent role as well, as she wrote weekly editorials on foreign policy, international security and development, and humanitarian affairs for a digital publication (Statecraft) in India. As crises evolve to become more multifaceted and complex, she believes it is more necessary than ever to continue strengthening her understanding of international development and humanitarian response efforts in hopes of supporting impactful, innovative, and sustainable solutions.

Nicole Archibald 2018-2019 Fellow with Clinton Health Access Initiative, Swaziland Seton Hall University Class of 2016

Nicole, a native of New Jersey graduated from Seton Hall University cum laude with a degree in Finance and studied at the pre-legal institute at Seton Hall Law School. Nicole started her career in health industry consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, based in New York City, where she strengthened her professional skills, researched developments in patient access, and worked with global pharmaceutical organizations on business strategy development. At Seton Hall, she led service projects in New Jersey, Colorado, and El Salvador, primarily serving the homeless population, prisoners, and young adults. Following graduation, Nicole served as a Board of Regents member, mentor for college students, and financial literacy instructor. Nicole visited South Africa for the first time in 2017 and she is grateful to return to the region to work for the Clinton Health Access Initiative on the Sustainable Health Financing team in Mbabane!

Samantha Archie 2019-2020 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Sierra Leone University of Southern California Class of 2018

Alumni Update:

Samantha is currently a Research Associate with FHI 360, where she does global public health research, primarily qualitative and quantitative research on family planning in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Fellow Bio:

Samantha Archie is a young professional in international development, specifically interested in monitoring, evaluation, and research with a gender focus. Samantha developed her passion for international development during her study abroad experiences in Guatemala, Tanzania, and Uganda while pursuing a degree in International Relations and Global Health at the University of Southern California. In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious Boren Scholarship to study Swahili and intern at an agricultural microfinance organization in Arusha, Tanzania. In her senior year, she returned to East Africa to conduct her own independent mixed methods research project for her honors thesis, which aimed at understanding what contributes to gender differences in entrepreneurship program outcomes in Northern Uganda. Since graduating from USC, she has worked at Women for Women International, where she performed data analysis to test the effectiveness of WfWI’s programs in conflict regions and Innovations for Poverty Action in Monrovia, Liberia, where she oversaw the implementation of a market access intervention connecting farmers with agricultural goods dealers. Samantha is very excited to embark on her next endeavor as a Women and Girl’s Protection and Empowerment Research Fellow at International Rescue Committee-Sierra Leone.

Matthew Arends 2018-2019 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Tanzania Princeton University Class of 2016

Matt, a native of Colorado and Minnesota, (Princeton ’16) graduated from Princeton University with a degree from the Woodrow Wilson School in Public and Foreign Affairs. During the summers, Matt did a French immersion program in Chicoutimi, Quebec. He also interned for the US State Department in Paris, France and the US Global Leadership Coalition in Washington D.C. Following graduation, he worked at Deloitte Consulting. While there, Matt worked on several proposals aimed at bringing increased energy generation to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, among several other federal projects. In his free time, Matt enjoys hiking, snowboarding, and photography. Matt is excited to travel to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as the International Rescue Committee’s Supply Chain Operations Fellow.

John Arndt 2009-2010 Fellow with Invisible Children, Uganda Princeton University Class of 2008

Alumni Update:

John is currently living in Lancaster, PA. He sells raw milk at a farmer’s market and works on a small organic produce farm.

Fellow Bio:

John studied political science at Princeton with a concentration in international relations. He is from Brooklyn, NY, where he returned after graduation to work for Raymond James as an assistant financial advisor. At Princeton, John played rugby, studied abroad in Cape Town, and held a summer internship at the International Action Network on Small Arms in London. John also taught English in Taipei, Taiwan, and Tianjin, China. John wrote his thesis on counterinsurgency strategy and looks forward to surveying victims of armed conflict in Northern Uganda.

Our History

In 1999, a group of Princeton alumni, faculty, and staff launched Princeton in Africa as an independent affiliate of Princeton University inspired by the University’s informal motto, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations.” In 2010, the program opened up to include graduates of any US accredited university in order to meet the growing demand from host organizations and allow more young professionals access to the unique opportunities afforded by PiAf. During the past 20 years, we have placed over 600 Fellows with more than 100 organizations in 36 countries, while developing more strategic partnerships across Africa and creating more opportunities for our alumni community to engage with the continent and with one another.

Testimonials

My fellowship has been the most impactful personal and professional development opportunity of my life. I wanted a post-college experience that would push my limits, expand my comfort zone, and help me discern the next steps in my career journey. And this has been the case.

Ryan Elliott
2014-15 Fellow
Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Lesotho

I can honestly say that this year has changed my life and my view of what’s possible for the future. Princeton in Africa isn’t just a one-year fellowship, it’s an introduction to a particular way of life and a new way of thinking about the world. I feel like so many doors are open now that I never would have considered before.

Katie Fackler
2010-11 Fellow
UN World Food Programme

My Princeton in Africa fellowship was everything I could have hoped for and much more. The myriad of experiences makes my head swim, and it has strengthened my desire to help underserved populations worldwide.

David Bartels
2006-2007 Fellow
Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative

Princeton in Africa was an invaluable experience for me. I learned an infinite amount through my work and through living in Uganda. I also realized that I want to continue working on African issues as long as I can.

Alexis Okeowo
2006-2007 Fellow
The New Vision

The International Rescue Committee’s experience with Princeton in Africa has been exceptional. Each Fellow brings excellent writing and analytical skills as well as unique interests and passions that enrich the program and the field office environment. We were so pleased we expanded the program to more field offices.

Susan Riehl
Human Resources, IRC

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has been working in Africa for over 11 years through its Secure the Future program.  One common theme in all aspects of program implementation is having passionate, energetic individuals on the ground who can think outside the box and then transfer the skills for sustainability.  The Princeton In Africa Fellows have been a huge asset in this regard and our programs and patients have been better for it.

John Damonti
President, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation