Alumni Directory

Martha is originally from Sleepy Hollow, New York and graduated from Scripps College in Claremont, California with a degree in Organismal Biology in 2015. Martha also studied Wildlife Management for a semester with The School for Field Studies in Rhotia, Tanzania and Kimana, Kenya. At Scripps, she completed her senior thesis on inorganic pollutants in Costa Rican watersheds, and she completed an additional directed research thesis on the implications of human encroachment on the Kimana-Kikarankot River during her time studying abroad in Kenya. She also has spent the past two summers interning with the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo, which has been an invaluable experience. Martha’s future career interests include wildlife conservation and field research, but a Master’s degree inevitably must come first! Outside of academia, Martha enjoys Zumba fitness and alternative comedy. Martha is very excited to return to East Africa as well as to travel throughout the region, keep up with her Swahili, and learn Rutooro at her fellowship post in Kibaale. Her experience teaching English while abroad in Tanzania as well as her passion for wildlife conservation make her a happy and ready Fellow for The Kasiisi Project.

Fellow Bio:

Mark graduated with degrees in African Studies and Social Policy. While at Northwestern, he held leadership positions on the African Students Association, the Global Engagement Summit, and the Undergraduate Africa Seminar. Off campus, he studied Public Health and Forced Migration at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and interned with the Refugee Law Project, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, and the Center for Forced Migration Studies. Raised in suburban Illinois, Mark is excited to experience life in the country of his father’s birth. He especially looks forward to improving his Amharic, interacting with hyenas at Harar, visiting other fellows in their respective countries, eating injera every day, and exploring the Addis music scene.

Alumni Update:

Shameika started a joint MDiv/MBA program at Eastern University’s Palmer Theological Seminary this Spring. Elected to the Student Assembly as Chaplain Ambassador, she supports the spiritual needs of the community. As a self-taught photographer, Shameika continues to spend time in nature and hone her skills. 

Fellow Bio:

Shameika is originally from Seattle, WA. At Swarthmore College, she majored in Africana Studies and spent a year abroad in Accra, Ghana. Since graduation, Shameika has worked at Philadelphia VIP, a nonprofit legal services agency, through the Philly Fellows program. In her free time Shameika enjoys learning languages, reading about the most recent developments in astro-physics, and kickboxing. While in Gabon next year, Shameika looks forward to learning French and Fang in addition to learning about Gabonaise culture.

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.

Originally from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, Hannah graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in International and Global Studies and minor in Global Health. While at Middlebury, Hannah served in board positions with clubs like GlobeMed and danced with Midd Masti, a South Asian dance group. Throughout her academic career, Hannah held internships at Gardens for Health International, Global Brigades in Ghana, and the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador; she also spent a wonderfully warm winter term teaching English in Costa Rica. Hannah assisted in a long-term research project with a Middlebury professor and spent one summer in Amhara, Ethiopia collecting field-notes on the Women’s Development Army, a government program seeking to empower women and improve health outcomes from a grass-roots level. Her passions for health equity and access were strengthened during her junior year abroad in Argentina and Tanzania. While in Buenos Aires, she interned at a maternal hospital and conducted independent research on comparative health policy. In Tanzania, Hannah studied political ecology, Kiswahili, and spent a month living and studying with a Maasai healer. Hannah is excited to relocate to Gaborone, Botswana to join the Young 1ove team, learn Setswana, and finally escape harsh winters of Vermont.

Catherine Blizzard was born and raised in Dallas and graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in international and global studies, german concentration, with coursework focusing on global health and refugee studies. A dynamic writer and effective communicator, she endeavors to help bolster the success and funding of global health and development organizations by telling their stories. Professionally, Catherine has worked with nonprofits, foundations and small healthcare startups. During college, she gained marketing and fundraising experience with Communities Foundation of Texas and spent a year living and working in Germany where she interned with the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. Since graduating she has explored the public health startup sector and spent her summer after graduation conducting qualitative research and conducting a needs-based assessment for Health Together. Currently, Catherine is the Business Development Consultant at Empathetics, Inc. and works directly with client outreach and development. Following a global health experience in the Volta region of Ghana, Catherine developed an interest in reproductive health education and access in the region. A US colleague and she have partnered with a Ghanaian friend and colleague to create ENE Empower, a nonprofit that promotes the development of women leaders by increasing their access to education, furnishing menstrual products, and reducing the violence and stigma around female reproductive health. She is very excited to join the Princeton in Africa community and to develop her fundraising and grant writing skillset with the Mt. Elgon Ecosystem Trust in Kitale, Kenya.

Fellow Bio:

Kevin Block ’08 is an English major from Philadelphia, PA. At Princeton, Kevin participated in club sports and was a member of the Student Advisory Committee for the Program in American Studies, in which he earned a certificate. Kevin studied abroad in Spain and has worked for nikesoccer.com as a consultant for the past two years. He is interested in criminal justice and plans to attend law school after his PiAf fellowship ends.

Fellow Bio:

Nana Boakye ’08 is a history major with a certificate in American studies. Hailing from Clearwater, FL, she enjoyed her time here at Princeton doing Orange Key, WPRB DJing, tutoring ESL and being a member of Terrace F. Club. While she had developed an interest in Latin America and Spanish, her heart belonged to Africa. Being the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, she knew that she would one day return to work on the continent. During the summer of 2006, she did. For two months she worked at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative justice in Accra, Ghana. .Now, two years later, she will embark on a new challenge – East Africa. Even though she has no idea what to expect she feels that this is best. Now, she will face and embrace whatever challenges, surprises, and triumphs come her way

The formation of Maame’s concentration, “Sankofa: (Re) Defining the Indigenous Modern City”, is owed to the inspiration her birth city, Accra, provided during her formative years. While at New York University, Maame secured several research grants to conduct two research projects: one on youth employability in Ghana and the other on civic participation in environmental conservation efforts in Nairobi and Dakar. With the findings from her first research project on youth employability, Maame developed a robust curriculum for a Youth Fellowship Program at the UNFPA in Accra, aimed at mentoring national service personnel and equipping them with employable skills such as team building, research, and creative thinking. The Fellowship Program has since been implemented and will be a part of the UNFPA Accra agenda permanently. Maame is currently working toward launching an Africa-based tourism platform, Ibhazi, which is aimed at promoting intra-continental travel and creating conversations surrounding cultural sustainability on the continent. As a Princeton in Africa Fellow at Yalelo in Lusaka, Zambia, Maame is excited to explore the aquaculture industry on the continent and to live on the side of Africa.