Alumni Directory Display

Alumni Update:

Lorna is currently Programme Policy Officer with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her role supports WFP’s emergency response work, programme monitoring, resource mobilization, and inter-agency engagement. She is very keen to connect with alumni working on any aspect of forced migration and displacement and would like to shift her career focus in this direction.

Fellow Bio:

Lorna is from London, United Kingdom, and graduated with a major in Political Science and a minor in African Studies. While at UNC Chapel Hill, Lorna spent a semester at the University of Cape Town and interned at the Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit, where she worked on a project aiming to improve gender-based violence awareness and prevention programming in high schools. Lorna has conducted research for an NGO in Tanzania and worked as an intern with the Africa division of an investment management group in Washington, DC. While in Kigali, Lorna is excited to learn some Kinyarwanda and looks forward to learning more about food security through her work with the UN World Food Programme.

Emily is a recent college graduate interested in human rights and social justice. She previously worked with the Central and West Africa program at the National Democratic Institute, supporting portfolios in Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and with the Humanitarian Agenda program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She also completed an internship with Innovations for Poverty Action in Tanzania and a fellowship with the Open Impact Institute in Uganda. She is excited to learn more about Sierra Leone and migration justice through her fellowship with IRC. Outside of work, Emily volunteers with RAINN to support survivors of sexual violence. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2019 with a degree in International Relations.

Fellow Bio:

Elizabeth is a Sociology major from Princeton, NJ. Before starting college, she took a year abroad devoting her time to several service projects in Southeast Asia and India. While at Princeton, she was on DICAB, Davis International Center Advisory Board, and worked in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of Firestone Library. Her summers were spent working at non-profits committed to helping refugees and immigrants, and alleviating housing instability in the United States. She wrote her thesis on housing insecurities of Hispanic immigrants, investigating the difference between first and subsequent generations. While in Senegal next year, Elizabeth looks forward to learning about food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa, brushing up on her French, and exploring a whole new continent.

Alumni Update:

Mary Reid is a high school English and History teacher and recently moved to Atlanta!

Fellow Bio:

Mary Reid, Princeton ’10, is an English major from Jackson, MS. A big college sports fan, she wrote for the sports section of the Daily Princetonian all four years. She was also a leader and leader trainer for Outdoor Action, and spent one summer at Princeton as a frosh trip coordinator. Interested in cultures of all kinds, she’s written her independent papers about African American literature, studied abroad in Bologna, Italy, and worked with refuges one summer in Durban, South Africa. While in Africa, she’s pumped to work with Zambians and people from all over the world, get involved in the education system, and have some big outdoor adventures around Victoria Falls.

Meghan is originally from outside of Philadelphia, PA and graduated with a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park in May 2015. Meghan minored in Global Studies with a focus on global poverty. In 2013, Meghan participated in a short-term study abroad experience in Uganda, where she studied Global Leadership and Sustainable Development.  Meghan also served as the Development Intern for a Global Health non-profit, where she executed their first social media fundraising campaign and headed the official launch dinner in downtown Washington DC. Additionally, Meghan was deeply involved with the University of Maryland Alternative Breaks (AB) program, where she served and learned about social justice issues domestically and abroad. Also through AB, Meghan traveled to Haiti for two winters, and taught English at a pre-professional school. Through this she fell in love with teaching and saw education as a catalyst for development.  As a result, she spent much of her college career teaching Biology and Organic Chemistry to freshman and sophomore students. Meghan is so grateful to be serving in Botswana next year, and is excited to learn some Setswana, explore Southern Africa, and have a transformative experience teaching with Maru-a-Pula!

she/her/hers

Rachael Mutisya, a native of Kenya, holds an MBA in Marketing as well as a BSc in Hotel and Restaurant Management from United States International University- Africa (USIU- Africa). Throughout her professional journey, Rachael has garnered valuable experience across multiple industries including finance, hospitality, education, and e-commerce. Her area of expertise is in communication, social media management, customer experience, and brand promotion, and she has successfully applied her skills in various locations in Kenya. Rachael’s commitment to her community is evident through her strong passion for giving back. During her free time, she actively volunteers for an NGO called Together for Africa (TOFA) in Kenya. In this role, she forges new partnerships, organizes events, and develops empowering content for Kenyan youth in the fields of entrepreneurship, leadership, and ICT development. Outside of her professional pursuits, Rachael finds joy in various hobbies and activities. She is an avid badminton player and takes pleasure in gardening and exploring new destinations. Rachael is excited to join the PiAF program this year at the Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia, Kenya, further exemplifying her dedication to making a positive impact.

A native of Bukavu, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Wilo Muyoma graduated from Whitworth University in 2016 with a major in computer science. Most recently he worked at Microsoft as Azure cloud engineer. He left Microsoft to help start a poultry and logistics company in Eastern Congo alongside his childhood friend. During his PiAf fellowship, Wilo will serve as Junior Consultant/MEAL Fellow with the West Africa Rice Company (WARC) in Accra, Ghana.

Alumni Update:

Jamie is the Manager of College Access Partnerships at a nonprofit called The Opportunity Network, which prepares high-achieving, underrepresented students for success in college and careers. He is also in a graduate program at Teachers College, Columbia University, studying Higher and Postsecondary Education.

Fellow Bio:

Jamie is a Government and Legal Studies Major and English minor at Bowdoin College. He is from Leominster, MA. At Bowdoin, Jamie was actively involved in the McKeen Center for the Common Good, volunteering at a legal service nonprofit in Portland, attending and leading Alternative Spring Break trips to Guatemala, and acting as President of Bowdoin’s volunteer Corps. He studied abroad in Cape Town. Jamie has also been a tour guide, RA, and drummer for a campus cover band. Next year in Zambia, Jamie looks forward to learning about education and the local culture and is excited about a new adventure!

Shan was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, and graduated from Bowdoin College in 2016 with a B.A. in Biology and a minor in Music. He spent a semester studying abroad in north-central Tanzania as part of the Wildlife Management Program through the School for Field Studies. While there, he conducted research on land protection strategies in the region and conducted interviews with local communities about human-wildlife conflict. Shan has held internships with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service where he monitored prescribed fire effects and invasive species on a National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota, and at the Duke Lemur Center where he conducted a research project on the response to visual and olfactory cues in Cockerel’s sifakas. At Bowdoin, Shan was the music director for his a cappella group and was a whitewater kayak instructor with the Outing Club in addition to working for the Office of Admissions. Shan is so excited to return to East Africa and to experience Kenya for the first time with Nyumbani Village. While there, he hopes to improve his Swahili skills and to explore the region with other PiAf Fellows!

Gabriel graduated with a BA in African studies and an MA in Political Science, for which he wrote his thesis on the strategic responses of trade unions to globalization. Though born and raised in Atlanta, he spent much of his childhood in Sweden and is a dual citizen. In the spring of 2011, Gabriel lived in Rwanda, studying post-genocide reconstruction and peacebuilding as well as performing research on Rwandan perspectives of representative government. Having been hit by a car while there, he became a fully trained, though non-practicing, EMT. Gabriel has worked with several nonprofits in the Atlanta area, including the Southeastern Council of Foundations, the International Rescue Committee, and the Global Growers Network. Gabriel’s passion is political and economic equality, and knows that his fellowship with Equal Education will give him a chance to confront these issues. While his hobbies change frequently, Gabriel currently blues dances and performs improv.