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!

Originally from London, Ryan graduated with a Masters in Public Health and Bachelors in Economics from the Case Western Reserve University, concentrating in Humanitarian Aid and Global Health.  At Case Western Reserve, Ryan worked as an Emergency Medical Technician for the Case Western Reserve Emergency Medical Service, an organization for which he also served on the executive board as the treasurer and assistant chief.  Ryan also took part in a variety of research projects in chemistry, organizational behavior, and epidemiology and interned with the University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in the Child Health and Policy Division, where his interest in public health originated.  Ryan then went on to work as an intern with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur where he researched HIV spread in refugee populations and the impact of testing and treatment as preventative measures.  Ryan also worked at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine as a Teaching Assistant for the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.  Ryan will be the Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Fellow with Population Services International in Johannesburg and hopes to learn more about HIV epidemiology in the region.

Alumni Update:

Ruby is currently the Internship Coordinator at Generations Ahead, an organization that empowers young parents, in Traverse City, Michigan.

Fellow Bio:

Ruby graduated from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan in 2017, focusing in African Development and Policy. At the University of Michigan, Ruby was the co-president of the Roosevelt Institute, a student-run policy think tank. Through Roosevelt, she led an initiative to increase the university’s procurement from local women- and minority-owned businesses and published a policy on reforming regulations for Michigan charter schools in the national 10 Ideas Journal. She was also president of the Advisory Council for the Global Scholars Program (GSP), a living community focused on global social justice. Ruby has interned with the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative in Washington, D.C., the Department of State at the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, and local political campaigns in her hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. While working at the Embassy, Ruby loved traveling to speak with students about higher education and testing out her Swahili on her very patient co-workers. She is extremely excited to return to Tanzania and work with IEFT. Ruby loves reading by the lake (any lake), her dog, Rosie, and hosting game nights with friends.

As a daughter of Eritrean immigrants, Rawan was motivated to alleviate some of the harsh realities facing African communities.  To exercise this passion of serving Africa, she started The Ubuntu Project (www.theubuntuproj.com), a mission driven organization dedicated to bridging the gap between creativity and compassion. The Ubuntu Project utilizes the One-for-One model: for every purchase made, a social cause in Africa is supported. All products are African themed, thus allowing Africans to represent their roots locally while empowering African communities globally. Through The Ubuntu Project, Rawan aims to foster hope and encouragement from within by supporting effective causes in Africa and inspiring young Africans to take an active role towards the betterment of their communities. Rawan is a management consultant by day and a social entrepreneur by night. Aside from The Ubuntu Project, her management consulting career has allowed her to work in a variety of enterprise-wide initiatives, for Fortune 500 clients – including Toyota, Cisco, DirecTV, ATT, and BP – in a variety of industries and roles. Rawan graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles as Magna Cum Lade. In addition, Rawan participated in business programs at UCLA Anderson, UC Berkeley Haas Business School, and Yale School of Management.

Rebecca, a Philadelphia native, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Environmental Science and Biology. She began conservation work early on, in high school, through volunteering and trail maintenance for the Student Conservation Association. While at the University of Pennsylvania, she spent her summers teaching 7th grade life science, cutting trees in Nevada, and conducting field research on owl monkeys in Argentina. She has also worked for the Sustainability office and started the Penn Beekeeping Club, bringing three beehives to campus. Rebecca is interested in utilizing mapping software, such as ArcGIS, and incorporating these tools into different projects. She enjoys learning about and exploring national parks and thinking about how different countries preserve their lands.

Paley, a native of Maine, graduated from Connecticut College with a degree in Human Development and International Relations. At Connecticut College, she was a scholar of the Honors Program in Community Action and Public Policy. Throughout her college career she volunteered in local schools creating curriculum around youth development and leadership. Paley was an intern at International Planned Parenthood, where she worked on the Direct Marketing team writing reports for donors about the organizations women’s reproductive rights programs in indigenous communities in Latin America. She was also an intern at Human Rights Watch, where she helped coordinate their annual dinners in 24 countries. After graduation, Paley worked at Oxfam America, an international organization fighting to create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social justice. While at Oxfam, in addition to her job in fundraising, she was the Gender Advisor for her team, where she worked with staff to implement gender goals and ultimately contributed to the creation of a gender strategic plan for the next four years. Prior to the fellowship year, Paley had never been to Africa. She is excited about exploring Dar es Salaam next year and learning Swahili. She is grateful for the opportunity to pursue her passion of international development in the public health sector during her fellowship at CCBRT. 

Nora Hammond is a graduate of the University of California – Berkeley where she studied political science and minored in human rights and Middle Eastern studies.  While there, she studied abroad at the American University in Cairo and took graduate-level classes from the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies. Outside of class, she observed the after effects of the Egyptian revolution and taught English to refugees. Since graduation she has lived in Washington, D.C. where she has most recently worked as a proposal manager for an international development and research institution.  She earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award at the Gold Level, the highest level available, for her extracurricular community service as an AmeriCorps volunteer. In addition, she has had program management and research internships, including with a member of the US Congress.

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.

Nicole, a native of New Jersey graduated from Seton Hall University cum laude with a degree in Finance and studied at the pre-legal institute at Seton Hall Law School. Nicole started her career in health industry consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, based in New York City, where she strengthened her professional skills, researched developments in patient access, and worked with global pharmaceutical organizations on business strategy development. At Seton Hall, she led service projects in New Jersey, Colorado, and El Salvador, primarily serving the homeless population, prisoners, and young adults. Following graduation, Nicole served as a Board of Regents member, mentor for college students, and financial literacy instructor. Nicole visited South Africa for the first time in 2017 and she is grateful to return to the region to work for the Clinton Health Access Initiative on the Sustainable Health Financing team in Mbabane!

Alumni Update:

Nicole has been working with her host organization, CHAI, since her fellowship year. She is currently an epidemiologist based in Eswatini, supporting national malaria programmes in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique to manage malaria surveillance systems and measure progress towards elimination.

Fellow Bio:

Nicole Dagata graduated with honors from the University of Florida with a BA in Economics. Her journey into her career in international development began when she sought funding to implement a project aimed toward improving community health. Her vision, Food for Thought, garnered support to develop and facilitate nutrition workshops for local youth. The success of the project inspired Nicole to travel to Guatemala where she had the opportunity to conduct program impact research. Her time there brought to her attention numerous health disparities which regularly effect marginalized groups. Nicole left Guatemala with the desire to devote herself to providing aid to these communities. After graduation, Nicole began working in the malaria control program for an NGO called PATH. She coordinates field activities, report writing and utilizes data management tools to provide summaries of data captured throughout health facilities in Africa. Outside the office, Nicole serves as Prevention team lead on DC’s HIV Working Group, a coalition aiming to spread awareness about HIV prevention and treatment by organizing free HIV testing. Additionally, Nicole supports Children’s National Health System as a Patient Care Volunteer, working directly with the hospital’s globally diverse group of patients to provide companionship before medical procedures.