Alumni Directory

Sandra Tsikor graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with honors in International Relations and minors in African Studies and International Development. Upon graduation, she was a recipient of the Arthur Fauset Award for intellectual pursuit and community service. Originally from Ghana but born in Russia, she has been committed to exploring the world around her. She studied intensive French in Tours, France and International Relations from an African perspective at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She is wholly committed to furthering the political, social and economic conditions in Ghana and Africa. She interned at the IMANI Center for Policy and Education, a think tank in Ghana, conducted research and produced a report on recommendations in improving Ghana’s doing business environment. This research fed into her senior thesis project where she received grants to conduct field research on entrepreneurial Ghanaian return migrants from the US and the UK, the challenges they face and policies for alleviating them. Interested in strategy and consulting, she has worked at the ShawbellConsulting Limited in Ghana and Deloitte Consulting with government agencies to transform their model, garner efficiency and improve their public service delivery. At UPenn, she managed the processes of 9 teams in delivering web content for the Wharton Africa Business Forum, a gathering of executives and leading professionals interested in furthering business in Africa. Sandra Tsikor is interested in exploring entrepreneurship, specifically social entrepreneurship, and youth leadership as a means for furthering Africa’s development. As such, she looks forward to her fellowship with the African Leadership Academy in South Africa!

Susan holds a Bachelor of Fine Art with a minor in Human Rights and Conflict Studies as well as a teaching certificate in Art Education from Birmingham-Southern College. During her undergraduate career, she discovered an interest in promoting cross-cultural empathy through creative storytelling. Susan explored her passion for cultural exchange by traveling to Avedo, Ghana, where she taught art and English at a rural primary school. She also spent a semester studying art in Florence, Italy. While in Birmingham, Susan participated in long-term service-learning initiatives. She partnered with NorthStar Youth Ministries, an outreach program where she taught weekly art classes and mentored elementary students. Susan also participated in service throughout her internship at Glide Foundation, an internationally recognized social services organization in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. While at Glide, she contributed to the Communications department’s efforts to share powerful stories of hope and healing and also assisted with creative arts programming for Glide youth. After graduating, Susan taught in an inclusive classroom for both children with special needs and typically-developing children. She is thrilled to begin this adventure and looks forward to learning from the Maru-a-Pula community, discovering the arts in Botswana, and exploring the country’s breathtaking landscape.

Fellow Bio:

Stephen is a Civil and Environmental Engineering major from Sayville, NY. At Princeton, Stephen was an Outdoor Action leader, a first aid instructor, and a member of the Princeton Band. In Kenya, he looks forward to learning Swahili, developing a taste for ugali, and adapting to a rural lifestyle.

Satya, a Los Angeles native, graduated from Yale University earning  a B.A in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Energy Studies. Her academic work focused on resource use and sustainability, and during her time at Yale, she traveled extensively to explore her interests. Sachi spent one summer in Costa Rica studying sustainable development and another in Istanbul, Turkey interning with an energy investment firm where she conducted research to inform the development of their first biomass plant. She also spent a semester in Copenhagen, Denmark studying sustainable design and renewable energy systems. After graduating, she joined the Market Intelligence and Strategy team at Vestas, a global wind power company. There, motivated by her passion for climate change mitigation, she has worked to understand the drivers of renewable energy demand, analyze challenges the industry faces, and help customers and utilities identify opportunities to increase wind power deployment. In her free time, Sachi loves hiking and camping, seeing live music, and spending time near the ocean. She’s excited to spend the year in Nairobi pursuing her interests in the intersection of business and social/environmental impact, and to explore the outdoors in East Africa!

Frances graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Economy. While an undergraduate, Frances studied abroad in Argentina and taught English in Ecuador. Her senior thesis evaluated conditional credit’s ability to improve environmental and labor practices on Ecuadorian banana farms. After graduation, Frances spent four years working for Hall Capital Partners, a global, multi-asset class investment firm. There she led the firms macroeconomic and thematic investment team, was an initial member of the firm’s blockchain and cryptocurrency team and spent three months in Hong Kong working as an analyst for a long-only Asian public equity firm. She is an active member of Full Circle Fund, a Bay Area non-profit consulting firm, and was nominated to be part of the organization’s 2018 Rising Leaders cohort. As a PiAf fellow she is excited to join Global Partnership’s Impact and Research team to invest in social enterprises across Africa.

Jennifer graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. Her defining experience at Berkeley was the Global Poverty and Practice Minor. Through a fellowship generously provided through the minor, Jennifer spent a summer in an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Kenya where she taught children in a two room “prop-up” school; helped establish a micro-loan project for women; and raised money from friends and family in the US to start an agricultural initiative for planting and irrigation projects on nearby land. Jennifer studied abroad in Paris and spent time in New York as a peer counselor for the International Rescue Committee’s “Youth Summer Academy.” During the school year she interned with IRC’s Oakland branch to provide recently arrived refugees access to government and charitable organization resources for support. After graduation, Jennifer spent her time at Human Rights Watch in San Francisco and the Environmental Defense Fund. Jennifer, who was on the Cal Dance Team at Berkeley, looks forward to exploring Johannesburg’s menu of dance classes and encountering new friends and cultures along the way.

Mary graduated from The University of Maryland, College Park with a degree in Food Science and Global Poverty. Her experiences are mainly focused in nutrition, agriculture and education. Mary’s enthusiasm for nutrition led her to work with the US Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Food Care Program during her Junior year of college. As she progressed through college, she completed research in International Food Safety with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Mary is a Nigerian native and believes that education and culture are vital to personal development and growth. During the late months of 2006, the United Nations predicted that some minor languages of the world would become extinct by 2025. In response to the prediction, she pioneered an undergraduate class with the University of Maryland’s African American Studies department on the native Nigerian language; Igbo. Her international work spans throughout the countries of Nigeria, Uganda, Haiti, and Taiwan. In her free time she goes on personal missions trips and volunteers with non-profit organizations like Oxfam and The World Bank.

Colin, a Miami native, graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies. While an undergraduate, Colin studied abroad in South Asia, where he analyzed sustainable development interventions in Southern India and examined post-conflict challenges in Sri Lanka. His internship experiences included positions with Human Rights Watch, the Hudson Institute, and a boutique immigration legal team. After graduation, Colin was a program associate with the Population Reference Bureau working to support USAID-funded projects that addressed family planning, the environment, and reproductive health. Colin aspires to be an advocate for integrated development approaches, especially as it pertains to women’s empowerment and resilience. As a PiAf Fellow Colin is excited to serve with International Rescue Committee in Tanzania and build his capacity for grants management and proposal development.

Conor graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Political Science and a certificate in African Studies. Academically and professionally, he specializes in issues of institutional design and government accountability. Conor has examined these topics closely in his research, including a comparative investigation into East African tax administrations and a senior thesis that tested links between urban protests in South Africa and the responsiveness of municipal officials. In the summer of 2019, he interned at the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, where he supported efforts to develop and expand regional partnerships and transparency initiatives. He is especially passionate about protecting the human rights and dignity of the most vulnerable, having taken part in State Department initiatives to combat human trafficking. Conor is excited to work as a Princeton in Africa fellow with Kaz’O’zah Keza, an organization that provides artisan training and organizational support to communities in Burundi and Uganda.