Current Fellows

Heran Abiy

2022-2023 Fellow with Kucetekela Foundation, Zambia

Clark University Class of 2021

Heran Abiy is an Ethiopian/Kenyan young passionate professional driven by her curiosity in decolonizing development, community planning, and storytelling for meaningful change. In 2021, Heran graduated from Clark University with a B.A. in Sociology, Global Environmental Studies, & Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies. She also holds an M.A. in Community Development and Planning in Education Development + Forced Migration. Her academic interests intersect at socio-cultural anthropology, community organizing, education, and public affairs. She seeks to understand how communications can leverage indigenous funds of knowledge and recenter peoples’ stories to bolster the success of nonprofits. She is particularly interested in community organizing in the context of Africa and the African Diaspora. Heran’s passion for storytelling has been embodied in her work with the United Nations Foundation as a Communications Intern. At Abt Associates Heran works as a Global Equity Intern. She has collaborated with Yale University, as a Young African Schools Mentor, providing academic guidance to African scholars. Heran’s work includes serving as a Legal Intern at the U.S. Department of Justice supporting assistant attorneys with legislative research. Recently, she has served as a Communications Manager for Inclusive America and Mansa Colabs where she developed communications plans and wrote articles. Furthermore, at the African Community Education Center Heran wrote a grant to Address & Destigmatize Mental Health of African Refugee Youth in Worcester, Massachusetts. Heran hopes to pursue a career in leveraging African narratives and decolonizing development in the non-profit sector on issues pertaining to youth and forced migrant rights by applying her knowledge of communications and placed-based community organizing in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is thrilled to be joining Kucetekela Foundation (KF) as a PiAf Fellow for this upcoming year!

Maria Jose Aguilar Belmont

2022-2023 Fellow with Integrate Health, Togo

New York University Abu Dhabi Class of 2022

Maria was born and raised in Mexico City where she attended a French Lycée. She recently graduated from New York University Abu Dhabi with a major in Economics and a minor in Business. As an undergraduate, Maria was deeply interested in social entrepreneurship. She participated in Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship’s Bootcamp where she created her own startup with a social focus. She also worked at Endeavor Mexico where she studied the challenges and opportunities of Tech companies in developing countries. In parallel, Maria participated in numerous research projects in development economics. From analyzing the gender profit gap in North Africa with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to conducting research on the global trends of education, and leading her own research project on the female labor participation in North Africa, she developed strong quantitative and qualitative research skills. Maria hopes to combine a passion for social entrepreneurship with her research skills to empower women. As a PiAf Fellow, she is extremely excited and humbled to direct said interest toward the Togolese health sector, and work on issues such as infant mortality and women’s death from preventable causes. Maria speaks English, French, Spanish and Portuguese and enjoys long runs, cooking, and playing the piano.

Esther Alaran

2022-2023 Fellow with African Leadership Academy, South Africa

St. John's University Class of 2019

Esther Alaran is a first-generation Nigerian American born and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Esther graduated from St. John’s University, Peter J. Tobin College of Business, with a degree in marketing and a double minor in finance and international studies. During her time at St. John’s University, she studied abroad in Italy, Spain, and France. In France, she took a “poverty and economic inequalities” course that educated her about the complexity of the global poverty issue which ignited a spark and desire for international development. Inspired by her experience abroad, she participated in St. John’s GLOBE program, a student-led global microfinance loan program, aimed to eliminate property one borrower at a time. She worked on the finance team where her team analyzed the borrower’s needs, ability to repay, and advocated for the approval of the loans. In 2019, she was selected as a GLOBE Fellow where she traveled to Guatemala with three other scholars to learn from local NGOs, volunteer, and meet potential borrowers. Upon graduation, she began her career working in the financial industry working with PNC Financial Bank in the Asset Management Developmental Program, a three year rotational program providing exposure to credit and cash management, estate planning and investments. During her last year of the program she worked in the PNC Private Bank COO office where she learned more about the strategies and initiatives driving the success of the business. Esther plans on utilizing her love of business and finance to work with African leaders to develop innovative solutions to transform the continent and its future leaders. 

Elebetel Assefa

2022-2023 Fellow with Equal Education, South Africa

Tufts University Class of 2022

Elebetel Assefa is a recent graduate of Tufts University where she studied African History and Philosophy. Raised in Debresina, Ethiopia, Elebetel committed her undergraduate career to investigative research confronting global injustice and inequality, specifically around Africa. As a Gill Fellow, she conducted research on piracy in Somalia, exploring environmental justice, globalization, and exploitation in the Horn. She also examined the role of African universities in sustainable development, focusing on the experiences of female students. As a coordinator for the Tufts with Rwanda Fellowship, Elebetel developed and taught a class about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi that emphasized issues of indigeneity and citizenship in Africa. She will continue this work as an Experimental College Peer-Teacher by creating and teaching a course on the global 1960s, decolonization, and imperialism. Elebetel nurtures learning spaces that encourage curiosity, self-knowledge, and compassion. She wants to use research and teaching to challenge eurocentric narratives by producing knowledge that centers on the histories of marginalized voices. While at Tufts, Elebetel also worked at a community development agency to actualize programs fighting poverty by examining public policy and working closely with stakeholders to influence economic legislation. She is a founding member of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Student Association and uses her free time to volunteer at local community centers teaching Amharic and mentoring students. Elebetel also volunteers at her former high school, where she tutors and mentors’ English language learners. She enjoys attending book clubs, learning languages, and being the youngest child in her family.

Nasya Blackwell

2022-2023 Fellow with Emerging Public Leaders, Ghana

North Carolina A&T State University Class of 2020

Nasya Blackwell is a recent graduate of the largest historically black university, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University where she earned a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in English with a minor in Spanish, cum laude. Through her studies of Political Science and African-American Literature, she has had the unique opportunity to cross-examine the many facets of literature, gender, race, and policy. Nasya completed two study abroad programs at Veritas Universidad in San Jose, Costa Rica, partially funded by the Benjamin A. Gilman Program and the University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana. She also completed the 2018 U.S. Congress-Republic of Korea National Assembly Exchange Program in Seoul, South Korea, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Her goal is to help women and girls in Afro-descendant communities worldwide who face gaps in education, opportunities, and access by reducing policy barriers and helping to facilitate better implementation of women’s programs. She is committed to bridging the gap between gender and opportunity worldwide. She is excited to return to Ghana as a Princeton in Africa fellow with Emerging Public Leaders.

Olivia Charendoff

2022-2023 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Sierra Leone

Muhlenberg College Class of 2020

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Olivia Charendoff holds a Bachelor of Arts in Francophone Studies from Muhlenberg College, with minors in Political Science and Cultural Anthropology. Since graduating in 2020, Olivia has used her background in translation and project coordination to work with leading peacebuilding INGOs, including Search for Common Ground and the Center for Civilians in Conflict. As an Institutional Learning intern with Search for Common Ground, Olivia assisted in the development of youth-oriented programming across the Sahel region of Africa and translated reports on conflict-sensitive aid between French and English. As an intern with the Center for Civilians in Conflict, Olivia conducted research on the active UN Peacekeeping missions in Mali, CAR, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her project on Community Alert Networks in Eastern DRC contributed to the Center’s 2021 report to the UN Security Council, advocating for stronger early warning and rapid response systems in the Ituri and North/South Kivu provinces. In addition to peacebuilding work, Olivia has also volunteered in the food pantry at the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia, providing everyday essentials to refugee families in the region. Prior to her fellowship, Olivia worked as a temporary program associate for Borealis Philanthropy’s Spark Justice Fund, supporting grassroots organizations in their mission to abolish the cash bail system and establish community safety mechanisms outside of traditional policing. Olivia is most passionate about conflict transformation, civic renewal and sustainable economic development.

Lance Cooper

2022-2023 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Somalia (based in Kenya)

Tufts University Class of 2017

Lance (Asa) Cooper was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied philosophy at the University of Georgia before moving to France to pursue a Master’s degree in International Affairs. It was his experience working with refugees in Paris that directed his interests toward humanitarian response and international development. Asa subsequently pursued a degree at the Fletcher School at Tuft’s University focused on human security and conflict resolution in East Africa. During his time at Fletcher, he worked for peacebuilding organizations in Central and East Africa, as well as UNICEF’s Tanzania Country Office.  In his spare time, he enjoys running and reading. 

Elena Daniel

2022-2023 Fellow with Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Eswatini

Occidental College Class of 2020

Elena is an Eritrean American and a graduate of Occidental College in Kinesiology & Public Health. She is passionate about fostering sustainable public health development, dedicating herself to both service and research. At Occidental, her primary research endeavor was a longitudinal study examining the impact of schoolyard greening renovations on physical activity and social behaviors among schoolchildren in Los Angeles. Using SPSS & ArcGIS, she organized and analyzed large-scale data sets to provide quantifiable evidence supporting environmental equity. Elena’s efforts made her the first Kinesiology student to receive Occidental’s Science Scholar Fellowship grant to develop and implement several innovative research protocols for the study. Additionally, she helped conduct research studies examining the accessibility of oral health coverage through Medicaid and the potential health burden of consumer products targeted towards women of color. Elena also served as a Community Health Worker for Every Woman Counts, which provides free mammograms and pap tests to uninsured and undocumented individuals across LA County. Upon graduation, she worked as a COVID-19 Case Investigator & Contact Tracer for the LA Department of Public Health. She most recently served as a Clinical Research Coordinator for a study addressing post-traumatic stress symptoms among assault-injured youth at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Elena’s experiences have nurtured her lifelong commitment to community-driven development and evidence-based health intervention, which she is eager to continue exploring with BIPAI Eswatini!

Mary Davis

2022-2023 Fellow with Integrate Health, Togo

Princeton University Class of 2022

Mary Davis grew up in rural Pennsylvania with her family and an assortment of pets. She is a recent graduate of Princeton University and is driven to improve healthcare access in rural settings, both domestically and internationally. She majored in Molecular Biology, with minors in Global Health and Health Policy as well as Applications of Computing. Her skillset centers around her technological proficiency, experience in scientific research, and work in youth leadership. She has interned at Levolosi Health Center in Arusha, Tanzania, fundraising to purchase a fetal heart monitor and other clinical supplies. Mary also worked as a data science intern on the political campaign of epidemiologist Natalia Linos, managing data describing eligible district voters, directing social media data collection, and leading phone canvassing. For her senior thesis at Princeton, she conducted research in the Donia and Wingreen molecular biology labs at Princeton, employing computer science tools to quantify bacteria’s antiviral defense mechanisms. Following Princeton in Africa, Mary plans to attend Sidney Kimmel Medical School to pursue her medical degree. She enjoys singing, exploring nature with her dogs, and hosting board game nights.

Matthew Fuller

2022-2023 Fellow with Foundation for Community Development and Empowerment (FCDE), Uganda

Princeton University Class of 2020

Matthew Fuller is a 2020 graduate of Princeton University, having concentrated in History with certificates in African Studies and History and the Practice of Diplomacy (HPD). For his senior thesis, he researched Namibia’s independence movement during the 1980s and focused on the movement’s place in the Cold War, the developments of the South African Border War, and a variety of grassroots liberation efforts. Most recently, Matthew was a project assistant for the National Democratic Institute’s Southern and East Africa team, where he supported programs in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Uganda as well as the Political Party Leadership Institute and the Illiberal Influences regional programs. Before that, he worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office for Southern African Affairs, researching long-term water solutions for drought in southern Madagascar. In 2019, Matthew interned with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, working with EducationUSA programming. In 2017, he worked in Cape Town, South Africa, researching financial literacy and inclusion projects and consulting on carbon-reducing efforts. He also spent the summer of 2018 studying Indian democracy in Haryana, India as part of a Princeton Global Seminar. Matthew is originally from southeastern Michigan. In his free time, he explores his interests in music, cooking, and sports.

Mikaila Harper

2022-2023 Fellow with Kakenya's Dream, Kenya

The George Washington University Class of 2021

Mikaila Harper graduated from The George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in international affairs concentrating in International Development. During her undergrad years, Mikaila created a mentorship for young women of color at the middle school level. Her GWU Chapter of Women Everywhere Believe served local DC communities teaching lessons of cultural competency, professional skills, and body positivity. During the Fall of 2020, Mikaila interned at Safe Project, a nonprofit fighting the addiction epidemic in the United States and at the Society for International Development, a network of professionals dedicated to sustainable economic, social and political development. In the Spring she began her internship at Women for Women International, a nonprofit helping women survivors of war and conflict learn the skills they need to rebuild their families and communities. Additionally, during the 2020-2021 year Mikaila completed a yearlong research project with the United States Agency of International Development. The project was a comprehensive analysis of seven different social movements from around the world. At the culmination of the report, Mikaila was able to provide multiple recommendations to USAID officials on how to help advance the seven social movements. Since graduating Mikaila serves as an Americorp Vista researching racial disparities in Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability studies.

Malika Kounkourou

2022-2023 Fellow with Population Services International, Côte d’Ivoire

Boston University Class of 2022

Malika Kounkourou graduated from Boston University (BU) with a degree in International Relations concentrating on Environment and Development in Africa and the Middle East. She completed her senior honors thesis on rethinking sustainable environmental peacebuilding through a case study of uranium mining governance in Niger. Her research highlights necessary contextual factors to consider for the sustainability of a prospective environmental peacebuilding process with the aim of targeting root causes of development and security issues facing indigenous populations and fostering sustainable livelihoods. As a proud daughter of Nigerien immigrants, Malika is passionate about preserving her heritage through her cultural revival brand, Tchidite. Beyond a business, her brand is geared towards reclaiming Tuareg culture through an educational platform as well as combating unemployment by collaborating with Tuareg artisans. Working with Ihsan Foundation and FIPSO Niger, she fundraises, budgets, and manages projects providing humanitarian relief to vulnerable populations facing public health crises. She strives to work with NGOs, IGOs, and governments to find long-term research-based solutions targeting development issues on an institutional level. Driven by her aspiration to advance sustainable development on the African continent, Malika is honored to join Population Services International as a Regional Health Fellow and contribute to the data-driven work they do to shape markets and shift policy to better support consumer empowered healthcare.

Sarah Louis

2022-2023 Fellow with Kakenya's Dream, Kenya

University of Florida Class of 2022

Sarah Louis is from Orlando, Florida and the proud child of Haitian immigrants. She has a B.A. in African American Studies and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida (UF). At UF, Sarah was President of her school’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She helped make an impact through political, economic, social, and educational changes. Additionally, Sarah served as a Teaching Fellow for the Political Science Department at UF. She loved learning about global issues and cultures and even studied abroad in Brazil, Palestine, Israel, and France. In fact,  her love for learning about global issues assisted her as a Junior Summer Institute (JSI)  Fellow with Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) in the summer of 2021. She took graduate-level courses about public policy and data analysis, and co-authored a published research paper on immigrant remittance flows before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing her passion for service, Sarah served as a Community Development Fellow with the City of Gainesville during her senior year. She worked on multiple projects collecting quantitative and qualitative data to help local government officials develop a food waste ordinance that redistributed excess food to feed those in need. Having had experiences in education advocacy and creating equity, Sarah is excited for her fellowship with Kakenya’s Dream as an Education Program Officer. In her free time, Sarah enjoys learning natural hairstyles, engaging in photography, and spending time with friends and family.

Metasebiya Ayele Mamo

2022-2023 Fellow with Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Botswana

Duke Kunshan University + Duke University Class of 2022

Metasebiya is a global health trainee who is passionate about public health research, community service, and cross-cultural engagement. Metasebiya holds a dual degree from Duke University and Duke Kunshan University in Global Health and Biology. In her home country, Ethiopia, Metasebiya regularly volunteers at the Southern Branch of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and was part of the emergency response team, assisting their disaster aid relief for internally displaced people and their COVID-19 outreach program. She also led the Ethiopian wing of a Columbia University global study on the globalizability of temporal discounting and the association between financial decision making and economic inequality. For her capstone thesis, she is conducting mixed-method research on the coping strategies of and the mental distress among people displaced by conflict in the Konso zone of Ethiopia, for which she received two institutional grants. In her home university, Duke Kunshan, Metasebiya serves as a resident assistant, building a multinational community of students and providing mentorship and support. She works as a lead teacher for the Medical English Program, a student-led initiative in China that helps medical doctors practice English. She also worked as an intern in her home university’s Global Health Research Center where she researched non-communicable diseases and aging in China. As a research assistant at her university’s Health Values Lab, she researches metrics used to quantify health, their empirical shortcomings and the ethical issues associated with using them to guide health policies.

Dylan McAndrew

2022-2023 Fellow with African School of Economics, Benin

Trinity University Class of 2019

Born in Austin, TX, Dylan graduated from Trinity University in 2019 with a degree in Anthropology with a French minor.  After graduating in 2019, Dylan worked as the Security Unit Intern at the NGO CARE in Atlanta, helping write analytical reports and travel advisories for the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea regions of Africa.  Since January 2020, Dylan has worked at Casa Marianella, a shelter for recently arrived asylum seekers, as a French-speaking case manager as well as the donations/operations coordinator. Through this dynamic role, he is responsible for assisting residents to find work, navigating the healthcare system, and locating stable housing.  As a French-speaking case manager, Dylan has worked with clients from primarily West and Central Africa. Currently, Dylan is also working on a documentary film highlighting the daily life of Casa Marianella residents. After completing the Princeton in Africa fellowship, Dylan strives to help build solidarity between the United States and Africa through promoting African history.

Maya McHugh

2022-2023 Fellow with The Rwanda School Project, Rwanda

Princeton University Class of 2022

Maya is a ‘22 Princeton graduate, studying Civil and Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Latin American Studies. Maya loves learning about other people and places. She was involved with the Princeton Chapter of Engineers Without Borders Kenya team, working with communities in the Kuria West region to implement water projects. Her time in Kuria West inspired her to take an African linguistics course, and she wrote her final paper on mother tongue language education policy in Kenya. Maya conducted an independent research project in 2019, interviewing residents from the Corozal District of Belize about their experiences with changes in their environment. Witnessing the pivotal role mangrove played in coastal communities led Maya to study wave attenuation from mangroves at the Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center and inspired the topic of her senior thesis on mangrove restoration, using the case study of Corozal. Originally from Minnesota, Maya likes to spend her free time hiking and talking with friends.

Biafra Okoronkwo

2022-2023 Fellow with Lwala Community Alliance, Kenya

Amherst College Class of 2020

Biafra is a Nigerian-American, seeking to advocate and serve underserved populations through artistic activism, community engagement, and implementation of evidence-based research. He graduated from Amherst College with a double major in Interdisciplinary Global Public health and Middle Eastern Studies. While at Amherst, Biafra completed a study abroad year in Cairo, Egypt at the American University of Cairo. There he conducted research for his seniors honors thesis “Cardiovascular Disease: Exploring Cultural and Economic Conditions to Inform Intervention”. Which provided him the opportunity to interview a range of health professionals in both Arabic and English for potential reform policies. At The UT School of Public Health, he’s delved into innovative approaches to tackle HIV/AIDS. At The Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) he researched Suicidality in the Intellectual and Developmental disabilities population. He is a CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholar and received a certificate of public health training in Maternity Child Health/Research at KKI. Most recently, he worked at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Genitourinary Oncology department doing clinical research as a program coordinator. Additionally, he served as an ambassador for the Baltimore Health Dept. working in community outreach alongside health clinicians, to increase Covid-19 literacy, conduct needs assessments, and increase vaccination rates in Baltimore. Following the Piaf fellowship, Biafra seeks to further his experience working in global public health while obtaining a Master’s degree. A lover of the arts, he is a co-host for the podcast Shapes of Love, a dance choreographer, and a spoken word artist.

Aishwarya Rai

2022-2023 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Kenya

Seton Hall University Class of 2020

Aishwarya graduated from Seton Hall University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics. In 2022, she graduated from Yale University with a master’s in International & Development Economics. She wrote her master’s capstone on the impact of economic sanctions on political rights and civil liberties of recipient countries. At Seton Hall University, she served as an Editor in Chief of the University’s business newspaper. At Yale University, Aishwarya worked at the Lowenstein Project, a human rights clinic in the Schell Center for Human Rights at Yale Law School. She served on a project regarding water access in Palestine. Most recently, Aishwarya interned at Education Cannot Wait (ECW), a fund hosted by UNICEF that seeks to provide education in emergency and protracted-conflict zones. At ECW, Aishwarya worked in the Risk and Child Safeguarding unit, analyzing ECW’s portfolio risk, and evaluating the risks surrounding the fund’s grants. Furthermore, she assisted with drafting the fund’s policies for child safeguarding and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. Aishwarya has worked at the United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, and helped co-author a paper on the impact of COVID-19 on landlocked developing countries. She has also worked at Ernst & Young, a public accounting firm, as a consultant in Transfer Pricing and International Strategy. She enjoys photography, dancing, playing the guitar, hiking, baking, writing prose, tango, and learning about people’s lives. She plans to dedicate her career to international development and humanitarian assistance.

Michael Rivera

2022-2023 Fellow with African School of Economics, Benin

Florida State University Class of 2017

Having traveled to and volunteered in nearly 25 countries, Michael Rivera seeks to understand how improved intercultural communication can lead to sustainable and ethical change. He holds a B.A. in music, a B.S. in biological science, and a certificate in Spanish medical interpreting from Florida State University. During his undergraduate career, Michael first experienced West Africa when he received a summer research grant to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in Conakry, Guinea. His research— presented at the Society for Ethnomusicology and published in Africa Today (Indiana University Press)— explored the media, politics, and ethnopoetics surrounding NGO-sponsored music campaigns during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic. Since graduating in 2017, Michael entered the nonprofit sector as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Chicago-based organization Harmony, Hope & Healing, where he developed a mixed-methods evaluation system for therapeutic songwriting classes for people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and incarceration. He was also selected to participate in The Global Leaders Program, a 12-month social entrepreneurship training for performing artists, where he culminated his experience by co-creating a month-long, online evaluation workshop for over 10 Latin American music organizations. Additionally, Michael has been teaching ESOL for the last three years and is currently a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Côte d’Ivoire. He is eager to gain a deeper, more holistic understanding of West African culture(s) this year by working with the African School of Economics.

Anna Roberts

2022-2023 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Sierra Leone

Dartmouth College Class of 2014

Anna Roberts is a Fellow with the International Rescue Committee in Sierra Leone. Before this, Anna spent six years navigating public-private partnerships in the United States, focusing her career on improving the lives of the poor. Anna worked as a Budget Director for New York City, serving a high-poverty district with a large population of religious minorities. As Budget Director, she ran the yearly $7mm budget, coordinated Get Out the Vote in four languages, and succeeded in getting childcare vouchers baselined in the NYC budget, benefiting poor families across New York. Anna also spent two years in affordable housing, working with state, federal, for-profit, and non-profit actors across the United States to bid on expiring government contracts in order to keep housing units affordable. Anna is a Dartmouth College alum, and just completed a master’s degree at Sciences Po in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action, with a concentration in African Studies. She is working on a yearlong research project for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights building a Participatory Policy Assessment tool that will better help policymakers evaluate policies related to people in poverty. Anna co-organized the 2021 International Humanitarian Studies Association conference, hosted by Sciences Po, where she moderated panels on conflict and sexual violence. Anna is excited to bring her experience with policy design, research, and stakeholder communication to the development and humanitarian fields.

Madison Spinelli

2022-2023 Fellow with International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya

Princeton University Class of 2022

Madison is from Frenchtown, NJ and graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Public and International Affairs with a minor in Global Health Policy. Growing up in a rural community, she has been interested in the field of development since a young age, specifically in health and agriculture. At Princeton, this interest was expanded to the international sphere when she interned at Mpala Research Centre in Kenya. Although she was working on an ecology project studying the local zebra population, this experience launched her interest in rural development. Following this experience, she worked with Community LIFT to research the impact of grassroots-based, community-member-led development in Memphis, Tennessee through qualitative survey collection. This project solidified her interest in leveraging investments to make positive social change. She also has strong competencies in grant writing, having worked in a government-capacity building with Emerging Public Leaders; research, having helped in drafting Rural Investments to Protect Our Environment’s white paper; and R, having assisted in the first analysis of International Care Ministries’ Uganda program. During her academic career, she mentored middle and high school students through a digital exchange program, worked to promote reproductive health on campus, and was a teaching assistant to a junior seminar that examined democracy and development promotion through USAID. Madison is excited to work with ILRI and continue to deepen her knowledge of agriculture development.

Lauryn Spinetta

2022-2023 Fellow with The Rwanda School Project, Rwanda

Princeton University Class of 2022

Lauryn Spinetta is a recent graduate of Princeton University (’22), majored in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During her time at Princeton, she served as the captain of the Women’s Club Soccer team and as a Peer Health Advisor. Lauryn tells others that she is from Austin, Texas but has roots spread across the world, having moved twelve times growing up in support of her father’s military service. Born overseas, holding 3 citizenships, and earning her FAA private pilot’s license, and having traveled to over 15 countries and counting, Lauryn is irrevocably infected with wanderlust. During the summer of 2019, Lauryn volunteered at Levolosi Health Centre in Arusha, Tanzania, spending 3 months assisting medical professionals in the labor and delivery ward. The following summer, she joined the Rubenstein Research Group and began research into the interaction between wildlife and livestock in Mpala, Kenya. This experience contributed to her junior-year independent work and her senior thesis addressing the social and developmental environments of Plain Zebras in Ol Pejeta, Kenya. Lauryn also served as a clinical research intern at Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons as well as an intern with the Cardiac ICU at Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin, where she co-authored two articles and an abstract from her research to improve the quality of cardiac care and patient outcomes. In her last semester at Princeton, Lauryn was a part of the EEB Field Study Abroad Program at the Mpala Research Centre and the Turkana Basin Institute in Kenya. After a successful Princeton in Africa fellowship, Lauryn plans to attend medical school and pursue a career dedicated to the service of others. In her spare time, Lauryn is a voracious reader and loves to fly planes and go hiking. She is very excited to spend a year working and exploring Rwanda.

Ian Stiehl

2022-2023 Fellow with Tanzania Education Corporation, Tanzania

Dartmouth Class of 2022

Ian graduated from Dartmouth College with a major in astronomy and a minor in mathematics while pursuing the pre-medical track. Outside of school, he has worked as a tutor and mentor for younger students, interned in pediatrics, and researched how the musculoskeletal system responds to spaceflight. Originally from Seattle, he grew up loving the outdoors, an interest he maintained in college. He has led multiple backcountry canoe and hiking trips around the US and eagerly awaits the opportunity to explore northern Tanzania. In his free time, he also loves running and spent four years on his college triathlon team. He is currently deciding whether his future will include graduate studies in astrobiology or medical school.

Daniella Tarigha

2022-2023 Fellow with Warc Africa, Ghana

University of Chicago Class of 2020

Danielle graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Economics in 2020. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she interned with the University of Chicago’s Office of Investments, International House at the University of Chicago, World Business Chicago, Lynk Global, and Goldman Sachs. Before starting her Princeton in Africa fellowship at Warc, she worked as an Innovative Finance fellow at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In August 2020, Danielle published her first book, Uplift and Empower: A Guide to Understanding Extreme Poverty and Poverty Alleviation. Outside of work, she serves as the scholarship coordinator for the Uplift and Empower Scholarship Fund—an initiative she established as an extension of her book. Following her Princeton in Africa fellowship, Danielle plans to attend graduate school and continue her work in international development. She enjoys reading, writing, traveling, photography, knitting, and learning new languages.

Kyilah Terry

2022-2023 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Kenya

University of California, Los Angeles Class of 2019

Kyilah Terry was born and raised in Chicago, IL and graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and German from UCLA in 2019. In May 2021, she graduated from Georgetown University with her Master’s in International Relations with a concentration in migration diplomacy and refugee law. During her graduate studies, Kyilah worked as a research assistant at the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), the U.S. Institute of Peace (Africa Center), the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), and the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM), where she focused on forced displacement and migration management with a regional focus in Europe and Africa. These experiences culminated in her master’s capstone, which was later published in an academic journal, and focused on EU migration externalization policies in North Africa. As a result of her desire to gain more practical experience, she became a policy associate for an immigration consulting firm, where she authored legal and advocacy reports for non-profit immigration organizations in the D.C. area on climate-induced displacement in East Africa. Right before becoming a PiAf Fellow to IRC Kenya, she worked as a Congressional Fellow on Vice President Kamala Harris’s Domestic Policy team and handled VP Harris’s immigration portfolio.

Neil Wary

2022-2023 Fellow with USAP Community School, Zimbabwe

Stanford University Class of 2022

Neil Wary was raised in the Chicago suburbs and deeply cares about health equity, mentorship, and service. He recently graduated from Stanford University (2022) with a bachelor’s in Human Biology, a master’s in Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and a minor in Music. During his time at Stanford, Neil was involved with Stanford Medicine’s free clinics, edited Stanford’s Journal of Science, Technology & Society, and was a peer tutor. Neil has extensive research experience in cardiovascular and cardiometabolic diseases and wrote his master’s thesis on predicting insulin sensitivity using blood-based biomarkers. In his free time, Neil plays the violin. Following the Princeton in Africa fellowship, Neil plans to attend music conservatory and then medical school. He is excited to be joining the faculty at USAP Community School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe.

Madeline Wong

2022-2023 Fellow with International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya

Tufts University Class of 2022

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Madeline Wong is a senior at Tufts University studying biology and archaeology. Through The Kibale Chimpanzee Project (KCP), Madeline explored long-term chimpanzee behavior as a pathway to understanding human leadership. In Tufts’ summer Global Research Assistant Program, Madeline shifted research to evaluating and presenting the academic outcomes of primary school students in rural Uganda with The Kasiisi Project (KFSP). She continues to work for KFSP, analyzing survey data from a joint project between the KCP in Uganda and Grace Sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo and creating an ArcGIS StoryMap on bee conservation data collected by rural farmers. Madeline is also involved in many projects within her local community. She is the undergraduate student contact in collaboration with Tufts Dental, Medical, and Veterinary schools to advocate for multidisciplinary One Health initiatives. At home in Brooklyn, Madeline designed youth conservation education content with the Wildlife Conservation Society. She also manages finances for immigrant small businesses in New York and Massachusetts, helping them acquire COVID-19 relief. Recently, Madeline discussed and taught the importance of ancient cultures at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Currently, she is the lead writing editor for Voices, Tufts Asian American art and literary magazine with Tufts Asian Student Coalition. She has three younger sisters and enjoys being captain of Tufts Women’s Water Polo team. Madeline is grateful for this opportunity as a Princeton in Africa fellow with the International Livestock Research Institute.