Alumni Directory Display

Alumni Update:

Jill is currently working at Hanover Research in their education research department. Though she has only been here for a short time, Jill is already excited by the exposure she is getting to the most pressing challenges facing higher and K12 educators. She won’t lie and say that she never thinks about returning to Africa-focused development work, but right now Jill is having a great time exploring education from a slightly different vantage point.

Fellow Bio:

Jill graduated with a degree in History, concentrating on Empires and Colonialism. She is originally from Chappaqua, NY but for the past five years has traded suburbia in for life in the big city. During college she helped found the Pre-Veterinary Society and was an avid member of Columbia’s Equestrian Club. Her interest in Africa was ignited when she studied abroad in Uganda and Rwanda, and developed during the spring of her junior year spent in Cape Town. Since graduating, Jill has devoted herself to tutoring, finishing up her Pre-Vet requirements, and exploring the New York City she never got to see while sequestered up in Morningside Heights. She can’t wait to begin working with the Kucetekela Foundation and delving into Lusaka’s hip-hop and Sunday brunch scenes.

Fellow Bio:

Jennifer is from Victoria, BC, Canada, and will always be an ocean girl. She was an ecology and evolutionary biology major at Princeton but—illogically—spent the year after graduation teaching art (and music, and computers, and ESL) at an international school on a misty mountaintop in South India, through Princeton in Asia. She is wildly excited to be returning to Africa, having done her senior thesis research on hybrid zebras in Kenya. A “Jill of all trades,” Jennifer looks forward to doing anything and everything for the Komku Trust, while pursuing her interests in art, writing, music and exploring.

Emma graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in May 2018 from Barnard College with a B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Emma’s interest in community activism began in high school when she was inspired to do something about littering in the empty lot next to the site of her fellowship at the Children’s Aid Society. She founded Project Flower Street, an environmental education and visual arts initiative designed to build self-esteem and foster neighborhood pride in children. By her sophomore year of college, Emma worked with over 500 children to create seven public outdoor art installations, made entirely of recycled materials. In college, Emma developed the initiative to focus on teaching hygiene through the visual arts. She implemented workshops in New York and Nicaragua using microscopes, growing bacteria, and fostering cross cultural communication between children from both countries. Some of the grants that have supported Emma’s initiatives include: ABC Summer of Service Awards, Davis Projects for Peace, Laura Bush Traveling Fellowship, and Tamer Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Emma is on the premed track and is thrilled to combine her interest in public health with environmental sustainability through her work with Princeton in Africa as a Fellow at The Kasiisi Project in Uganda.

Alumni Update:

Stuart is pursuing a PhD in political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on the bureaucracy of public services in Senegal. Though he is currently based in Boston, Stuart returns to Dakar and Senegal often.

Fellow Bio:

Originally from Ellicott City, Maryland, Stuart graduated from Swarthmore College in June 2014 with high honors in economics and political science. He also studied for a semester at the Institut d’études politiques de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France through a Middlebury College program. While at Swarthmore, Stuart worked as a research assistant in the political science department and a teaching assistant in the economics department. He also ran on Swarthmore’s varsity cross country and track teams. Prior to his PiAf fellowship, Stuart worked for two years at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. He has also worked with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. State Department in Paris, France.

Alumni Update:

Sarah currently works as a Senior Project Manager at Dimagi, focusing on digital health engagement and strategy throughout West Africa. After three wonderful years working for Dimagi in Senegal, she has spent the past three+ years working at their HQ in Cambridge, MA.

Fellow Bio:

Sarah graduated with a double major in History and Political Science and a minor in French. Originally from Newton, Massachusetts, Sarah has spent the year since graduation working in Washington, DC at Americans for Peace Now. While at Vanderbilt, she studied abroad in Dakar, Senegal, and served as Secretary-General for the 2011 Vanderbilt University Model United Nations Conference. Sarah has completed internships with Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, and the Institute of International Education. During her year in Cotonou, Sarah looks forward to riding zémidjans, sharing stories with friends at home and abroad, and learning more about food security in Benin through the World Food Programme.

Emma is originally from Princeton, NJ, but she has called Washington, DC home for the last few years. In 2013, Emma graduated from the George Washington University with a BA in international affairs and concentrations in Africa and international development studies. During her time at GW, Emma spent a semester abroad in Kampala, Uganda, where she studied international development and interned for Uganda National Action on Physical Disability (UNAPD), an NGO focused on improving the lives of people with physical disabilities. Upon graduation, Emma began working for the ONE Campaign, a global advocacy organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty and preventable disease. Emma loves to travel, and has been lucky enough to spend time in Rwanda, China, Laos, and Myanmar. She also loves her alma mater (Raise High!), movie trivia, and snacks. Emma is incredibly excited to move to Dar es Salaam, where she hopes to meet new people and learn many new things, including Swahili.

Melissa previously worked as a Partnership Analyst at the United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS) Brussels Liaison Office. She was born in San José, Costa Rica and in 2009 she moved to Northampton, Massachusetts to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Government at Smith College. In 2014 she completed a Master’s Degree in International Security at the Institut d’études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po Paris). She is fluent in English and Spanish, and proficient in French. Throughout her career Ms. Salazar has worked at a variety of international and governmental institutions such as: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Presidential House of Costa Rica, and the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations Office in Geneva. Her international experience has given Ms. Salazar an insight to the world of international diplomacy, and has made her passionate about development and security issues. Previously, Ms. Salazar was a member of the Smith College Club of France, where she acted as Point of contact for the Smith College Junior Year Abroad (JYA) students in Paris. She is also an active member of the Pi Sigma Alpha National Honor Society in Political Science. She is a huge fan of travel, and her desire to discover the world has taken her to places like Israel, Malaysia and Chile. Melissa is looking forward to her work with Olam next year.

Fellow Bio:

Aliya Sanders ‘07 is an ecology and evolutionary biology major, with certificates in African studies and Portuguese language and culture, from New York City. Aliya will be working for Mothers2Mothers, a non-profit organization based in Cape Town, South Africa. This will be her third time in Cape Town; she studied for a semester at the University of Cape Town and returned for a month to conduct thesis research on invasive acacias in the Western Cape. At Princeton, Aliya was involved with tutoring and was one of the head coordinators of an SAT and college preparation course for underprivileged high school students in the area. She was also a member of the Terrace Eating Club. Aliya is excited to return to Cape Town to connect with her old friends and to meet new ones; to experience working with an international non-profit organization; and to learn as much as she can next year.

Nicole graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a double major in Public Policy and Global Health and a minor in French Language. Prior to joining PSI, Nicole worked at the United Nations Foundation in Washington, DC, where she developed policy and advocacy tactics to advance the mission of UN health agencies. While at UNF, Nicole spent six months on detail to the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, supporting WHO’s resource mobilization and partner engagement efforts. She has previously held positions at Global Health Strategies in New York and at the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Health Diplomacy. Nicole’s passion for global health was sparked by a trip to Haiti, where she learned Creole and conducted research on mental health following the 2010 earthquake. A native of Los Angeles, California, Nicole enjoys going to the beach, hiking, listening to live music, and supporting LA and Duke sports teams. She is thrilled to be joining PSI’s West and Central Africa team and looks forward to improving her French, exploring the region and culture, and learning about the intersection of technology, data, and health care delivery in Senegal.