Alumni Directory Display

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.

JingKai, a native of Malaysia, graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Economics. He speaks professional Bahasa and Mandarin Chinese. At UC Berkeley, he had several student leadership positions as the External Vice President of Delta Phi Epsilon (UC Berkeley Professional International Relations Fraternity) and the External Events Chair of the International Student Association. JingKai has earned the Outstanding Delegate at the World Youth Economic Forum. He also has extensive research experience including as a research assistant for the Center for African Studies at UC Berkeley, analyzing the rotation in the ministerial cabinet in 36 African countries. In addition, he was a research assistant on an Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) study regarding social incentives for prenatal care and safe delivery in Sierra Leone and for Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS). He was an international development intern with the Uganda Village Project (UVP) in rural Uganda. JingKai is really excited for the opportunity to return to the continent as a Princeton in Africa fellow and looks forward to working with Imani Development in Malawi as a junior consultant.

Anthony was born in raised in Chandler, Arizona. He graduated Magna cum Laude from The University of Arizona with a double-major Bachelor’s Degree in East Asian Studies and Economics. His studies took him to China, where he lived in both giant metropolises and rural villages and grew fluent in Mandarin Chinese. One of his trips was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship. Anthony interned with the Congressional Office of Gabrielle Giffords and Arizona Students’ Association in Tucson and International Rescue Committee in Phoenix. He managed to pay the rent and have a lot of fun by working all across the U of A and serving as an Arizona Ambassador campus tour guide. After graduating he spent a year studying in Nanjing, China and completed an internship with the DoS’s Greening Diplomacy Initiative. Anthony then moved to Washington, DC to work with the DoS’s Office of Intellectual Property Enforcement and later USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. Anthony is excited to dive head on into learning about private sector development practices while working as a Junior Consultant with Imani Development in Malawi. He is especially interested to learn how responsible trade contributes to economic development.

Alumni Update:

Kim splits her time between Kigali, Rwanda and Bujumbura, Burundi as the Grants Manager for the IRC Rwanda-Burundi. She began this post in November 2013. Kim has also been elected as one of two ambassadors representing the IRC Rwanda-Burundi office as part of the IRC’s global Strategy Assembly. Prior to resuming work with the IRC, Kim began part-time work immediately following her fellowship in the billing department of a dental office in New Jersey, while she simultaneously looked for full-time jobs in international development/humanitarian aid.

Fellow Bio:

Kim (Princeton ‘10) is a proud native of Blackwood, NJ. At Princeton, she studied at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, while simultaneously pursuing a certificate in African Studies. During her time on campus, she was involved with Princeton-UNICEF, the International Relations Council, Chapel Deacons, and Princeton Faith and Action. She was also a member of Charter Club. Through funding from Princeton, Kim was able to take a language course in Egypt, study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, and volunteer in Kigali, Rwanda. She also spent a summer interning with the United Nations Information Center in Washington, D.C. Since graduating, Kim has been pursuing her MA in Dispute and Conflict Resolution at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. While in Liberia next year, Kim is looking forward to learning about Liberian culture and history and getting a chance to work with IRC’s field projects.

Gilles is from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; he studied and worked in Minnesota for the past eight years. He majored in International Development at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs for his Master’s Degree and in International Management and Peace Studies for his undergraduate degree at Gustavus Adolphus College. Gilles completed two monitoring and evaluation consultancies in Niger and Uganda, as part of his capstone project and field experience for his Master’s degree. He interned at the American Refugee Committee headquarters in Minneapolis and as an Intern Research Analyst for the Improve Group, an international research, evaluation and planning firm. Gilles enjoys travelling, film, and working with people to find sustainable solutions to world issues. Gilles is thrilled to begin a new adventure in Burundi with Lutheran World Federation.

Fellow Bio:

Carl Owens ’08 is a sociology major from Huntsville, AL. At Princeton, he served as treasurer of the Princeton University Gospel Ensemble, head moderator of Sustained Dialogue, and co-founded the National Black Law Students Association at Princeton. Carl spent his summers working for the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, Princeton University Preparatory Program, and Wits University in Johannesburg. Carl looks forward to returning to Johannesburg for an extended and more substantive stay through his fellowship year.

Alumni Update:

Ibilola is working as a Senior Associate in the West & Central Africa and Haiti region at Chemonics International. Her work focuses on project management of activities across West Africa & the Caribbean. She works primarily in DC, with travel to Nigeria, Mauritania, and Haiti.

Fellow Bio:

A Nigerian raised in California, Ibilola graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, with a BSFS in Culture and Politics and a minor in African Studies. Passionate about the continent, Ibilola has integrated her love for African affairs into her personal and professional life. During her junior year, she spent a semester abroad in Lomé, Togo, where she interned for the Political-Economic bureau at the US Embassy and led English conversation classes at the local university. On return, she interned for the US Chamber of Commerce’s Africa Business Center, as well as the State Department’s Africa Regional Media Hub. At Georgetown, she served as President of the African Society of Georgetown, and helped plan and conduct Georgetown’s second annual Africa Business Conference. She also wrote articles on business, democracy, and diplomacy in West Africa as a reporter for The Caravel, Georgetown’s only international affairs newspaper. Ibilola is excited about the opportunity to work with ASE in Benin, and looks forward to improving her French and learning more about Beninese life!

Edwina was born and raised in Ghana. She graduated from Stanford University in 2020 with a degree in Energy Resources Engineering and a minor in African Studies. She worked with energy companies in New York City developing community-generated clean energy solutions for the Long Island community, and with oil companies in Southern California where she developed solutions to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions from an oilfield. She explored her interest in service by working on self-designed projects with two Ghanaian NGOs – the West African AIDS Foundation (WAAF) where she designed and implemented a community intervention program to train Ghanaian high-school-aged youth as HIV/AIDS peer and Smartix Education where she developed a comprehensive sexual health education curriculum and teaching module for Ghanaian schools, through a fellowship from Stanford University. She is passionate about female empowerment and worked with Stanford’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research where she conducted research, analyzed data, and helped plan events. Through these academic and professional experiences, she explored the intersection of energy, health, and education. She speaks English, Asante Twi, Fante, French, Yoruba, Mandarin, and Igbo and enjoys cooking, building-watching, learning new languages, and reading African Science fiction books. As a young African, she is excited by the upsurge in youth-led innovation, service, and social activism across the continent and is eager to work with fellow African youth to contribute to the continent’s well-being and development, while cultivating meaningful relationships. Post fellowship, she hopes to pursue an MBA focusing on social impact on the African continent.

she/her/hers

Kanyinsola Oye is a recent graduate of Howard University, where she studied Political Science and History. Ms. Oye is also a freelance writer; she has written for Teen Vogue and Vogue. She uses her writing to explore the connection of politics to everyday life. Through her work, she implements her cultural background and how that plays a role in her future career goals. She is also the Founder & Executive Director of She Can Make A Difference, which teaches young girls the power of education and embracing their beauty. Recently, she visited her hometown Lagos, Nigeria, to hold a retreat regarding self-love to help young girls build their confidence. Secondly, Ms. Oye is a founder of an organization called CPDoutofCCS, calling for removing police surveillance in Columbus, Ohio, city schools. With her efforts, the district and the city were able to break a 1.5-million-dollar contract with the police and invest in counselors for students. Kanyinsola is a Cultural Sensitivity Reader and Trainer for primary and secondary education. She navigates creative and unique worldviews of young learners to engage them in lessons on history and politics effectively. Ms. Oye also works as a Youth Learning Associate at Columbus Library, providing academic support for students by assisting in the operation of after-school homework care. Lastly, Kanyinsola hopes that through her writing and dedication to the community she can influence students around her to pursue their dreams.