Cynthia graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Political Science and French. She was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and immigrated to the United States at the age of seven. She was raised in Bradenton, Florida. During her undergraduate career, she worked for numerous international non-profit organizations. As the Assistant Executive Director of Rural Empowerment Development Innovations (REDI), she assisted in organizing workshops and forums to help Kenyan female business owners improve their business methods. She also interned for the Development Outlook Consultancy (DOC), where she researched devolution in Kenya as well as education policies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, she served as the Vice-President of Love, Period Inc, which provides girls in Kampala, Uganda with sanitary products so they can attend school. Cynthia then worked as a full-time intern at the Florida House of Representatives, where she analyzed various education policy bills. Her passion for education and research inspired her to start Boulevard to Victory Inc, which is a non-profit organization geared towards empowering high school seniors by providing them with scholarships for college. Upon graduation, Cynthia received a Fulbright grant to teach English in Taiwan for a year. She is fluent in French and Haitian Creole and can speak Swahili and Mandarin. Cynthia is interested in the intersection of education and poverty. She hopes to increase her knowledge of international development, while enhancing her leadership and language skills.

Coryna Ogunseitan graduated from Yale in 2017 with a BA in Literature. She speaks Spanish and French and is most interested in literature of the black diaspora written in these languages. Her junior fall, she spent a semester abroad in Santiago, Chile, becoming fluent in Spanish and studying modern Ibero-American literature. The fact that many of these texts were not available in English led her to develop an interest in literary translation. She was an intern at Glossolalia, PEN America’s new translation journal, where she worked primarily on the issue “Women Writing Brazil,” a compilation of writing by all female Brazilian authors. She is passionate about making marginalized narratives, like those presented in Glossolalia, exposed to global audiences, and in keeping with this goal also worked to facilitate interviews with formerly incarcerated people for StoryCorps through the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project. With this organization, she also tutored inmates in the New Haven Jail for the GED. She is also involved in the writing community at Yale, and has served as Artistic Director of TEETH Slam Poets and an editor of Weekend, the arts and culture section of the Yale Daily News.

Colleen graduated from Kenyon College with degrees in Film and English. She was awarded Honors by the college’s Film and Theater Department for electing to complete a thesis project of an original screenplay and television series. She also studied International Film in Wellington, New Zealand. Colleen served on KGD Film’s production staff, working with local small business owners and nonprofits to boost their community presence. She is dedicated to advocating for social justice causes by crafting narratives that position marginalized groups at the forefront of their own stories. She worked for the nonprofit Identifying Dyslexia, documenting dyslexic students’ personal experiences as a tool to raise awareness for education reform. She held an internship in digital media advocacy, where she developed a social media campaign and an oral history project to educate audiences about challenges faced by foster-care children in her home state, New Jersey. A four-year member of Kenyon’s varsity cross country and track team, she enjoys *casual* twelve mile runs, in her free time. As a communications fellow for the Nyaka Aids Orphans Project, Colleen looks forward to blending her creative and humanitarian passions to share the stories of those in the Nyakagyezi village.

Corine graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Social Theory and Practice, focusing on arts activism, racial and economic justice, education, and the criminal justice system, and minored in Intergroup Relations Education and Community Action and Social Change. As a facilitator for intergroup dialogue, the Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP), bystander intervention programs, and a low-and-high ropes team building and leadership course, Corine worked extensively with groups to cultivate dialogue, empower youth, and engage in justice work. At UofM, Corine was a Ginsberg Community Engagement Fellow, working to connect programs across campus in the work towards positive allyhood practices. They also participated in Semester in Detroit, interning with Alternatives for Girls in Southwest Detroit, spent 5 weeks working in Liberia in Agriculture and Engineering, interned in Izmir, Turkey teaching ESL, and were a student leader for the Center for Educational Outreach. After graduation, Corine worked for the Michigan College Advising Corps for a year as a College Adviser at Ypsilanti Community High School in Ypsilanti Michigan. Their passion for educational access and justice work took them to Porto-Novo Benin for 2017-18 as a Fulbright Scholar/ English Teaching Assistant, working in education, arts activism, and culture in the capital of Benin. Their work with the African School of Economics is both a continuation in the work for creative, welcoming, inclusive and just educational environments and a love of their community in Benin.

Clara graduated from Bates College in 2016 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in U.S. History. While attending Bates, Clara had the opportunity to study abroad for a semester in Rwanda and Uganda through the School for International Training’s program Post-Genocide Restoration and Peacebuilding. Upon returning to the States, Clara continued to cultivate her interest in East and Sub-Saharan Africa. During the summer of 2015, she received funding through Bates to work in South Africa, as well as to return to Rwanda to conduct independent research. While in South Africa, Clara gained hands on wildlife rehabilitation experience at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. She then traveled to Rwanda to research how the coffee industry has been utilized as a reconciliation tool. During her final year of college, she completed a senior thesis analyzing Rwanda’s gorilla tourism industry through a positive peace paradigm. With a strong interest in East Africa and having previously worked on farms, Clara is excited to return to Uganda to work as a Farm fellow at The Kasiisi Project. She looks forward to expanding her understanding of conservation work, learning Rutooro, and becoming a part of the Kasiisi community.

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.

Clare graduated from Colorado College with a major in English and minor in Russian, Nonviolence, and Music. The child of anthropologists, Clare spent extended periods of her life living with livestock herders in East Africa, where she learned, firsthand, of the daily challenges impoverished rural families face in developing countries. She also spent some time in Japan, where she learned about Kyoto’s education system. Through these varied experiences, she developed a commitment to eliminating barriers to high quality education and an interest in the policies that shape people’s everyday economic and educational realities. During college, Clare worked on political campaigns, served as a legislative intern for two United States Senators, and founded a college organization to address socioeconomic challenges. In her study abroad to Russia, she conducted research about Russians’ understandings of their identities from a contemporary global perspective. Upon graduating, Clare served as a Youth Specialist for the non-profit, Joint Initiatives, where she developed new strategies for strengthening youth voices at all levels of child and family systems and services. Clare’s fellowship with the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania has a mission she loves – providing high quality education supported by the indigenous community the organization serves.

Alumni Update:

Claire is a third-year law student at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, where she has been able to further explore the intersections of health, law, and human rights that she saw during her fellowship year in Tanzania.

Fellow Bio:

Claire is from Richmond, VA and graduated from the University of Virginia (UVA) in 2015 with a degree in Foreign Affairs and French. While at UVA, she worked to facilitate dialogue around social, economic, and political issues as a Sustained Dialogue leader and group moderator and to promote interdisciplinary engagement in global public health issues as a student advisor at the UVA Center for Global Health. After graduating, Claire partnered with local agricultural cooperatives in rural, southwestern Rwanda to conduct research on gender equity as a UVA Center for Global Health Scholar. Following her return from Rwanda, she gained program management experience through her position on the Central and West Africa team at the National Democratic Institute, where she enjoyed supporting democracy development programs in Guinea, Niger, the DRC, Nigeria, and Ghana and having the opportunity to collaborate in French and English with her West African colleagues to solve programmatic challenges. Claire is excited to pursue her interest in the intersections of health equity, governance, and development through her position with CCBRT. She loves running, hiking, skiing, and cooking, and can’t wait to further explore East Africa and to work on her Swahili!

Ciara graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She heralds from South Africa. Her upbringing sparked an aptitude towards service, starting with an all-embracing portfolio of volunteer work in schools and hospitals within disadvantaged communities. Studying abroad has brought her important opportunities to learn at the cutting edge of research science. Recently, she performed extensive fieldwork in Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique, encompassing a continental-scale study on plant and animal species interactions. This project extended both her abilities to handle challenges as well as an undying respect and desire for field research. She also passionately cares about the environment, especially as it pertains to sustainability and continuously seeks out programs, worldwide, that look to achieve a positive impact in that field. Ciara’s time at Princeton has not only been about academic learning. Her inclusion in the rowing team has taught her how to push beyond her perceived limits, to continue on ignoring pain and exhaustion. The camaraderie of being part of the crew has forever molded Ciara’s loyalty and commitment to the team. Even with a naturally shy demeanor, Ciara has willingly taken on the task of telephone calling to raise funds from undergraduates, alumni, and parents in support of Princeton’s AG Campaign and now has taken on the role of co-chairing her own class’ AG Campaign. Ciara is, and always will be, a Princeton tiger. She is looking forward to exploring Kenya and pursuing her passions for service and research during her fellowship with Mpala Research Center. 

Alumni Update:

Chris finished his fellowship in Malawi last year.

Fellow Bio:

Christopher, a New York native, graduated from Williams College with a degree in Political Science and Economics. While at Williams, he developed a strong interest in African culture and economic development, which he pursued through both his academic studies and internships. He spent one summer working for OPIC, a government institution that helps US private enterprises invest in developing economies. The next summer he worked at Jeremy Academy in Limuru, Kenya teaching a range of subjects including Music, Math, and English to middle school students. He thoroughly enjoyed his time at Jeremy, which further piqued his interest in returning to Africa after college.  After graduation, he worked for two years at Fidelity Investments as an internal consultant, performing strategy work for Fidelity’s business units while learning more about financial services. In his down time, he enjoys playing his French horn and outdoor activities like mountain biking and skiing. Christopher is extremely excited to continue pursuing his interest in economic development while leveraging his financial services knowledge at Foster Lewis in Lilongwe, Malawi this year.