Alumni Directory Display

Alumni Update:

After earning an Ed.M. degree in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Sarah returned to her fellowship organization to work remotely as a Program Manager. She is delighted to be back on the team at ASE!

Fellow Bio:

Raised in Seattle, Sarah Pollnow graduated as the Middlebury College class of 2014 Salutatorian with Highest Honors in History and an award-winning thesis. A lover of languages, she minored in French and spent a semester studying in Bordeaux. She also earned a minor in Secondary Education en route to becoming a state-certified Social Studies teacher in 2015. During the summers, she pursued teaching opportunities in Kentucky and Massachusetts. After graduation, Sarah continued exploring U.S. education while touring nationwide as a National History Bee intern. She then moved to Germany to serve as a 2015-2016 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. In her free time there, she assisted with a youth theater project based on local history, volunteered with refugees, and studied at the Technische Universität Berlin. Her passion for teaching next led her to Japan for a year as a JET Program Assistant Language Teacher, during which she developed curricular resources with the support of a grant from USJETAA and U.S. Embassy Tokyo. She is excited to immerse herself in Beninese culture and grow as a professional this year at the African School of Economics.

Alumni Update:

Kara is pursuing her master’s degree at Marquette University through the Trinity Fellows Program. She works at Next Door Foundation on advancing emergent literacy and language development through overseeing service-learning students and an AmeriCorps program.

Fellow Bio:

Kara graduated with an Honors B.A. in Environmental Geography, a minor in French Studies, and certificates in Sustainability and Global Health. While at UNI, Kara worked as an Office of Sustainability program assistant spreading awareness on environmental issues, a STEM ambassador promoting STEM careers to K-12 students, and a World Geography teaching assistant mentoring first-year students in academic skills. Her Midwestern agricultural roots led her to guide a team to create an on-campus student vegetable garden and to complete a 100-day real food challenge. Kara sees the world as her classroom and enjoys building meaningful relationships in each place that her travels bring her. Her international experiences are diverse and include teaching English in China, facilitating a design team in Kenya, researching hand washing in South Africa, and studying business culture in Nicaragua. Through these experiences, Kara has developed a passion for combining the environment, education, people, and technology in international development practices. Kara enjoys giving back to communities, spending time with her friends and family, and doing many outdoor activities, such as backpacking, canoeing, and skiing. At Nyumbani Village, she looks forward to sharing cultural experiences with her new colleagues and learning more about global health and sustainability.

Alumni Update:

Ida serves as VP, Strategic Planning for Railroad Development Corp., a family-owned railroad investment and management firm based in Pittsburgh, PA. She will be completing an Executive MBA at Columbia Business School this fall which has allowed her to split time between Pittsburgh and New York. Earlier this year, Ida joined the board of American Jewish World Service.

Fellow Bio:

Ida is a Civil and Environmental Engineering major from Pittsburgh, PA. At Princeton, she served on the board of the Center for Jewish Life, played club field hockey, and was member of the Tiger Inn. Ida earned a certificate in African Studies and spent the spring semester of her junior year studying abroad at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She is excited to travel around Kenya and East Africa, climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and learn some Swahili.

Carolyn grew up in New York and double majored in Neuroscience & Behavior and Italian Studies at Columbia University. While in school, Carolyn developed a keen interest for healthcare advocacy through her research and volunteering. At Columbia’s Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, she studied how health disparities and sociocultural factors affect the aging of diverse individuals living in New York City’s Washington Heights. Over the years, Carolyn has committed herself to maintaining a community-oriented focus by participating in various outreach opportunities; she has worked as a support counselor, first aid instructor, and Emergency Medical Technician, developing her skills in active listening and crisis management. She served as president of Columbia University’s chapter of Global Brigades, fundraising for and organizing a brigade to Honduras that provided medical resources, health education, and sanitation facilities to underserved communities. Carolyn currently works with the Cancer Outcomes Research and Education Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she implements supportive care interventions focused on improving quality of life, coping strategies, and patient empowerment via informed decision-making. While working with Young 1ove next year, Carolyn hopes to help similarly empower young people in Botswana regarding their health and education. She feels grateful for the opportunity to learn more about responsible engagement and sustainable development in a global health context, and is excited to engage with Botswanan culture, meet new people, and learn Setswana.

Ellie graduated from Occidental College in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in Diplomacy and World Affairs. In her freshman year at Oxy, Ellie helped found the campus’ UNICEF initiative and later served as its president. After her sophomore year, Ellie spent nine weeks working in Kigali, Rwanda, conducting community research and interviews and teaching English. Following her time in Rwanda, Ellie studied abroad in Paris, France where she volunteered with community-based engagement and development programs. During her final year at Oxy, Ellie participated in the Oxy at the UN Program, where she interned at the Rwandan Mission to the United Nations. In her free time, Ellie loves hiking, running at the beach, aimlessly driving around her native San Francisco, and catching up on local music. She is looking forward to engaging her dynamic background in her work at the International Rescue Committee as well as to exploring the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Nairobi.

Courtney is a graduate of the American University of Paris and the University of Chicago. As an undergraduate student, she conducted economic research for the US Embassy and the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France. Her interest in international development grew after studying abroad in South Africa at the University of Cape Town. Prior to completing her MS degree, she lived in Kenya and Tanzania as a David L. Boren Fellow and a Fulbright-Hays GPA Fellow. She is proficient in French and Swahili. While in Benin, Courtney looks forward to discovering the Voodoo culture, visiting Ganvie, and experiencing the Harmattan.

Alumni Update:

Rachel just started a two-year fellowship with the Global Development and Population Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in Menlo Park, CA. She will be coordinating the foundation’s post-2015 work, as well as doing some grant-making in the foundation’s strategic areas. Before Rachel moved back to the Bay Area, she was in Addis Ababa working for the UN World Food Programme’s Africa Office on an African Union project called the Cost of Hunger in Africa (costofhungerafrica.com).

Fellow Bio:

Rachel (Stanford ‘10) graduated with a BA in International Relations and in 2011 earned an MA in African Studies. Rachel has worked for the Flora Family Foundation and for Fair Trade USA.  She also spent six months in Tanzania in 2008. While in Addis Ababa, Rachel looks forward to eating tons of Ethiopian food and traveling around the region.

she/her/hers

Laura Rabago graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a dual Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies and Political Science with a concentration in International Affairs. As an undergraduate, Laura interned with the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID) and an India-based non-profit, Ladli Foundation Trust. After volunteering in Southeast Asia in 2019, she co-founded a student association focused on promoting sustainable development, global awareness, and ethical volunteering. In recognition of her academic and extracurricular achievements, Laura was named the recipient of UCLA’s 2021 International Development Studies Activist Scholar Award. After undergrad, Laura joined Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-profit that invests in women leaders taking on the world’s greatest challenges. She simultaneously supported the Los Angeles chapter of UN Women USA’s campaign focused on promoting the safety of women in public spaces. Prior to joining the Princeton in Africa 2024-25 Fellowship cohort, Laura provided communications and knowledge management support for USAID’s Act to End Neglected Tropical Diseases | East program, led by RTI International. Most notably in this role, she produced and disseminated key communications materials to highlight USAID’s investment and impact on NTD control and elimination, promoted the expansion of Act | East’s scientific stature as the program’s conference coordinator, and developed a training curriculum based on the World Health Organization’s “Microplanning manual to guide implementation of preventive chemotherapy to control and eliminate NTDs”. Laura is excited to join the CGIAR Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Impact Platform team and to be hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi! Following the fellowship, she plans to pursue her Master’s and build a career in international development and nonprofit communications. Born and raised in California, Laura enjoys traveling, volunteering, and baking.