Alumni Directory Display

Jennifer Goette 2001-2002 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Ethiopia Princeton University Class of 1996

Alumni Update:

After working in The Gambia for three and a half years for Peace Corps as the Country Director (2014-2017), Jennifer transferred to Indonesia where she is currently the Peace Corps Country Director.

Morgan Goheen 2009-2010 Fellow with mothers2mothers, South Africa Princeton University Class of 2007

Alumni Update:

Having recently completed Infectious Diseases fellowship training as part of Yale’s Physician Scientist Training Program, Morgan now works as junior faculty within the Section of Infectious Diseases at the Yale School of Medicine. She clinically works as an inpatient Infectious Diseases consultant and Internal Medicine attending, and also helped start Yale’s outpatient Travel and Tropical Medicine clinic. She spends 75% of her time in basic science research, focusing on the impact of human antimalarials on Plasmodium falciparum parasite development within the Anopheles mosquito vector. She has received an NIH career development award, internal Yale funding, as well as foundational support to spearhead her independent research, which includes spending significant time on the ground in sub-Saharan Africa, currently with collaborations focused in Burkina Faso.

Fellow Bio:

Morgan majored in molecular biology while at Princeton. Born and raised in the small town of Hamilton, Montana, coming to Princeton was a big change—but a terrific one, at that. At Princeton, Morgan spent time working in a herpes virology lab, being a peer academic advisor and Butler Undergraduate Fellow, playing recreational soccer, and studying abroad at the University of Cape Town. Since graduating, Morgan returned home to Hamilton to work as a post-baccalaureate research fellow at Rocky Mountain Labs, a satellite campus of the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. At RML, Morgan studies the Chlamydia bacteria with a group of researchers working towards a vaccine. Aside from being in the lab, she spends time coaching grade-school soccer players, playing with her dogs, and enjoying the outdoors as much as possible. Morgan is deferring from the MD/PhD program at UNC-Chapel Hill to participate in PiAf, where she looks forward to experiencing the public health side of infectious disease work during her time with mothers2mothers in Cape Town.

Bear Goldstein 2017-2018 Fellow with Nyumbani Village, Kenya Princeton University Class of 2017

Bear (Princeton ’17) is from Dallas, Texas. His full name is Sierra Moon Goldstein, but he goes by Bear. He graduated from Princeton University in 2017 with a degree in Psychology and Highest Honors. At Princeton, Bear was a member of the men’s varsity lacrosse team, where he was a two-time captain, a three-time All-Ivy and Academic All-Ivy selection, and USILA Scholar All-American. During his summers, Bear worked for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Nature Conservancy. He spent one summer in Hawaii conducting independent research on the cognitive underpinnings of mental toughness in triathletes. He also was a research assistant for a lab exploring intergroup relations, prejudice, and stereotyping in an academic setting. For fun, Bear enjoys playing sports, hiking, and music. He has a propensity for visual arts, especially photography. Prior to the fellowship year, Bear had never been to Africa. He is most excited about the new perspectives, skills, and relationships he will develop at Nyumbani Village and beyond.

Gomez_Diego_WebsiteDiego Gomez 2016-2017 Fellow with Clinton Health Access Initiative, Swaziland Brown University Class of 2009

Diego joins Princeton in Africa from Santander Bank, where he worked for seven years after graduating from Brown University with a B.A. in Economics in 2009. While at Santander Bank, he worked on the Corporate Strategy and Project Finance teams in New York City. His responsibilities ranged from analyzing potential bank acquisitions to financing energy and infrastructure projects in the United States. Diego is originally from Brownsville, Texas, and in his spare time he enjoys playing and coaching soccer; he was also a youth soccer coach with the South Bronx United organization. He will be working with the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Mbabane, Swaziland, and is looking forward to understanding how the results of data analysis are presented, debated, and implemented in order to improve the public health sector. He also can’t wait to experience the energy and joy of a braai.

Sofía Antonia Gómez-Doyle 2018-2019 Fellow with More Than Me, Liberia New York University, Abu Dhabi Class of 2018

Alumni Update:

In Fall 2019, Sofia began a Masters in Teaching at the University of Chicago as a part of the Urban Teachers Education Program (UTEP). During her fellowship year, she had the opportunity to focus on school management at the primary level and she is thrilled to have the opportunity to focus on educational equity in the United States over the next five years.

Fellow Bio:

Sofía, a native of Chicago, graduated from New York University, Abu Dhabi with a double major in Theater and Political Science with a concentration in Social Research & Public Policy. Sofia completed her final two years of high school at the United World College of Southern Africa. During her time at NYUAD, Sofia co-founded the Girls’ Education Network (GEN), a leadership development program for middle and high school girls in Abu Dhabi. Throughout her undergraduate career, Sofia held a variety of internships related to education, public service, and human rights. She has interned at the Human Rights Advocacy Centre in Accra, Ghana. At NYUAD, Sofia worked in the Office of Community Outreach and Office of Spiritual Life and Intercultural Education. Sofia has received numerous awards including the Associate Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence, NYU President’s Service Award, NYUAD’s Campus Life Community Service Award, and the Dalai Lama Fellowship. She is firmly committed to her values of empathy, humility, and hard work and believes that the first step when entering a new community is to listen.

Sally Goodman website photoSally Goodman 2014-2015 Fellow with Mpala Research Centre & Wildlife Foundation, Kenya Princeton University Class of 2014

Sally is from Montclair, NJ and majored in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Environmental Studies. During her time at Princeton, she had the opportunity to spend a summer in Cochabamba, Bolivia, working for an organization specializing in clean cooking technologies. Before her senior year, Sally spent the summer in Nanyuki, Kenya doing research on water use and governance and collecting data for her senior thesis on groundwater development. At Princeton, Sally was also a member of the women’s varsity crew team. She is looking forward to learning more about conservation while surrounded by African animals at Mpala and also hopes to climb Mount Kenya and work on her Swahili.

Gould_Meg_WebsiteMargaret Gould 2015-2016 Fellow with Maru-a-Pula, Botswana University of Virginia Class of 2015

Alumni Update:

Meg is in her second year at Columbia Law School, where she is focusing on international human rights and criminal law. Last summer she interned at AdvocAid, a holistic defense organization for incarcerated women in Sierra Leone.

Fellow Bio:

Meg is from Memphis, Tennessee and graduated from the University of Virginia in 2015 with degrees in Global Development Studies and French. She lived and studied one summer in Rabat, Morocco, and spent a semester in France studying the French language and working in an international arbitration law firm. She studied Francophone geopolitics, history, and immigration while in both countries, and her senior thesis joined these interests through an exploration of cultural identity, legal rights, and the intersection of race, religion, and politics within France. She interned in the Special Victims Unit of the US Attorney’s Office in Washington, DC, seeing a localized perspective on the US criminal justice system. While at UVA, Meg was the student member of the University’s Board of Visitors, providing a student voice on issues ranging from financial aid to issues of racial and gender equity. She was also an elected representative to the school’s Honor Committee and served as co-editor of a weekly civic engagement newsletter.

Brittany Grabel 2012-2013 Fellow with UN World Food Programme, Malawi Kenyon College Class of 2012

Fellow Bio:

Brittany is from Lexington, MA and graduated with a degree in International Studies. At Kenyon, she worked in the Writing Center, volunteered in a Head Start preschool classroom, and advocated for diversity on campus as a chair of the Discrimination Advisors. She spent a semester studying abroad in Dakar, Senegal. Brittany has interned at a refugee resettlement agency in Boston and conducted summer research on the challenges facing Mauritanian asylum-seekers in Columbus, Ohio. While in Malawi next year, Brittany is excited about broadening her knowledge of humanitarian aid, picking up some Chichewa, and exploring southern Africa.

Armand Graham 2001-2002 Fellow with University of Cape Town Quantitative Literacy Project, South Africa Princeton University Class of 2000

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

The International Rescue Committee has been so fortunate to have had a longstanding relationship with Princeton in Africa since our very first Fellows landed in Rwanda in 1999.  Whether it was Emily or Renee in 1999 or the 110 Fellows across 14 IRC countries over the years, we have been blessed by the relationship, the quality of the Fellows and the impact on what IRC does on the ground every single day.

Brian Johnson
Chief Human Resources Officer
International Rescue Committee

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