Lance (Asa) Cooper was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied philosophy at the University of Georgia before moving to France to pursue a Master’s degree in International Affairs. It was his experience working with refugees in Paris that directed his interests toward humanitarian response and international development. Asa subsequently pursued a degree at the Fletcher School at Tuft’s University focused on human security and conflict resolution in East Africa. During his time at Fletcher, he worked for peacebuilding organizations in Central and East Africa, as well as UNICEF’s Tanzania Country Office.  In his spare time, he enjoys running and reading. 

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Olivia Charendoff holds a Bachelor of Arts in Francophone Studies from Muhlenberg College, with minors in Political Science and Cultural Anthropology. Since graduating in 2020, Olivia has used her background in translation and project coordination to work with leading peacebuilding INGOs, including Search for Common Ground and the Center for Civilians in Conflict. As an Institutional Learning intern with Search for Common Ground, Olivia assisted in the development of youth-oriented programming across the Sahel region of Africa and translated reports on conflict-sensitive aid between French and English. As an intern with the Center for Civilians in Conflict, Olivia conducted research on the active UN Peacekeeping missions in Mali, CAR, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her project on Community Alert Networks in Eastern DRC contributed to the Center’s 2021 report to the UN Security Council, advocating for stronger early warning and rapid response systems in the Ituri and North/South Kivu provinces. In addition to peacebuilding work, Olivia has also volunteered in the food pantry at the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia, providing everyday essentials to refugee families in the region. Prior to her fellowship, Olivia worked as a temporary program associate for Borealis Philanthropy’s Spark Justice Fund, supporting grassroots organizations in their mission to abolish the cash bail system and establish community safety mechanisms outside of traditional policing. Olivia is most passionate about conflict transformation, civic renewal and sustainable economic development.

Nasya Blackwell is a cum laude graduate of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Spanish. She served as a Gilman scholar in Costa Rica, completed an exchange program in South Korea, and studied abroad at the University of Ghana. After graduation, Nasya worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as a full-time staffer and at Emerging Public Leaders in Accra, Ghana, as North Carolina A&T’s first Princeton in Africa Fellow. After her PiAf fellowship, Nasya moved to Taiwan to complete a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grant, where she taught English to elementary school students and started learning Mandarin Chinese. 

Nasya attends Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, pursuing a master’s degree in International Relations as a Charles B. Rangel and Public Service fellow. In graduate school, she is exploring gender policy and intercultural communications with a regional focus in Africa and Asia. After graduating, Nasya plans to join the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer promoting cross-cultural connection, strengthening the possibility of making the world we live in a more understanding, empathetic, and equitable place, where the voices of marginalized communities are heard and respected on the global stage. 

Elebetel Assefa is a recent graduate of Tufts University where she studied African History and Philosophy. Raised in Debresina, Ethiopia, Elebetel committed her undergraduate career to investigative research confronting global injustice and inequality, specifically around Africa. As a Gill Fellow, she conducted research on piracy in Somalia, exploring environmental justice, globalization, and exploitation in the Horn. She also examined the role of African universities in sustainable development, focusing on the experiences of female students. As a coordinator for the Tufts with Rwanda Fellowship, Elebetel developed and taught a class about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi that emphasized issues of indigeneity and citizenship in Africa. She will continue this work as an Experimental College Peer-Teacher by creating and teaching a course on the global 1960s, decolonization, and imperialism. Elebetel nurtures learning spaces that encourage curiosity, self-knowledge, and compassion. She wants to use research and teaching to challenge eurocentric narratives by producing knowledge that centers on the histories of marginalized voices. While at Tufts, Elebetel also worked at a community development agency to actualize programs fighting poverty by examining public policy and working closely with stakeholders to influence economic legislation. She is a founding member of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Student Association and uses her free time to volunteer at local community centers teaching Amharic and mentoring students. Elebetel also volunteers at her former high school, where she tutors and mentors’ English language learners. She enjoys attending book clubs, learning languages, and being the youngest child in her family.

Esther Alaran is a first-generation Nigerian American born and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Esther graduated from St. John’s University, Peter J. Tobin College of Business, with a degree in marketing and a double minor in finance and international studies. During her time at St. John’s University, she studied abroad in Italy, Spain, and France. In France, she took a “poverty and economic inequalities” course that educated her about the complexity of the global poverty issue which ignited a spark and desire for international development. Inspired by her experience abroad, she participated in St. John’s GLOBE program, a student-led global microfinance loan program, aimed to eliminate property one borrower at a time. She worked on the finance team where her team analyzed the borrower’s needs, ability to repay, and advocated for the approval of the loans. In 2019, she was selected as a GLOBE Fellow where she traveled to Guatemala with three other scholars to learn from local NGOs, volunteer, and meet potential borrowers. Upon graduation, she began her career working in the financial industry working with PNC Financial Bank in the Asset Management Developmental Program, a three year rotational program providing exposure to credit and cash management, estate planning and investments. During her last year of the program she worked in the PNC Private Bank COO office where she learned more about the strategies and initiatives driving the success of the business. Esther plans on utilizing her love of business and finance to work with African leaders to develop innovative solutions to transform the continent and its future leaders. 

Maria was born and raised in Mexico City where she attended a French Lycée. She recently graduated from New York University Abu Dhabi with a major in Economics and a minor in Business. As an undergraduate, Maria was deeply interested in social entrepreneurship. She participated in Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship’s Bootcamp where she created her own startup with a social focus. She also worked at Endeavor Mexico where she studied the challenges and opportunities of Tech companies in developing countries. In parallel, Maria participated in numerous research projects in development economics. From analyzing the gender profit gap in North Africa with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to conducting research on the global trends of education, and leading her own research project on the female labor participation in North Africa, she developed strong quantitative and qualitative research skills. Maria hopes to combine a passion for social entrepreneurship with her research skills to empower women. As a PiAf Fellow, she is extremely excited and humbled to direct said interest toward the Togolese health sector, and work on issues such as infant mortality and women’s death from preventable causes. Maria speaks English, French, Spanish and Portuguese and enjoys long runs, cooking, and playing the piano.

Heran Abiy is an Ethiopian/Kenyan young passionate professional driven by her curiosity in decolonizing development, community planning, and storytelling for meaningful change. In 2021, Heran graduated from Clark University with a B.A. in Sociology, Global Environmental Studies, & Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies. She also holds an M.A. in Community Development and Planning in Education Development + Forced Migration. Her academic interests intersect at socio-cultural anthropology, community organizing, education, and public affairs. She seeks to understand how communications can leverage indigenous funds of knowledge and recenter peoples’ stories to bolster the success of nonprofits. She is particularly interested in community organizing in the context of Africa and the African Diaspora. Heran’s passion for storytelling has been embodied in her work with the United Nations Foundation as a Communications Intern. At Abt Associates Heran works as a Global Equity Intern. She has collaborated with Yale University, as a Young African Schools Mentor, providing academic guidance to African scholars. Heran’s work includes serving as a Legal Intern at the U.S. Department of Justice supporting assistant attorneys with legislative research. Recently, she has served as a Communications Manager for Inclusive America and Mansa Colabs where she developed communications plans and wrote articles. Furthermore, at the African Community Education Center Heran wrote a grant to Address & Destigmatize Mental Health of African Refugee Youth in Worcester, Massachusetts. Heran hopes to pursue a career in leveraging African narratives and decolonizing development in the non-profit sector on issues pertaining to youth and forced migrant rights by applying her knowledge of communications and placed-based community organizing in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is thrilled to be joining Kucetekela Foundation (KF) as a PiAf Fellow for this upcoming year!

Edom Tadesse is an Ethiopian American with a passion for helping youth in Ethiopia. Edom graduated from American University with a degree in international relations with a focus on development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Throughout her studies, her concentration was young girls empowerment through understanding gender inequalities and promoting education in rural areas of Ethiopia. As promoting education for young girls in Ethiopia is an interest of Edom’s, she designed and led a group of students on a service-learning trip to Ethiopia in 2014. The objective of the trip was to advocate for education and provide resources needed for young girls to pursue their education. This included fundraising over $20,000 for school supplies and equipment to renovate classrooms. Edom is the Program Outreach Coordinator for EthioBridge for Education, a nonprofit that aims to improve the learning experience for children in Ethiopia. In her role, she establishes partnerships with organizations in Washington, D.C. and contributes to fundraising initiatives. Over the years, Edom has had internships at PartnersGlobal and Management Systems International in Washington, D.C. where she was on the Sub-Saharan Africa teams. She was supporting project development in Nigeria and Congo while using her French to translate one-pagers of active projects. Her experiences have only solidified her passion for the African continent and played part in her interest in becoming a project manager. Edom currently works as Project Coordinator at Education Development Center, an organization that improves education, promotes health and expands on economic opportunity globally.

Rowan Sharkey is a recent graduate from Denison University with a degree in Data Analytics and Environmental Studies. She is interested in sustainable agriculture-based research in order to further the effort against global climate change. Rowan has carried out research projects in countries such as Germany and Tanzania to help understand topics revolving around urban air quality as well as rural food systems. She loved being able to engage with local communities and develop plans that meet their desires while also promoting environmental awareness. Rowan is deeply excited to be working with Princeton in Africa to learn from others and use her skills to benefit those with similar goals!

Kamila is originally from Uzbekistan and at the age of 6, her family immigrated to Queens, New York City. Kamila graduated from Princeton University in May 2021 with a degree in medical anthropology and a minor in global health and health policy. While at Princeton, she focused on studying infectious diseases in low-resource settings. This interest first developed during her study abroad program in India, after her first year. Her experience in Sonipat, India was formative and pushed her to explore the understanding of care in low-resource environments. Kamila has interned at Zithulele Hospital on the Eastern Cape of South Africa in a tuberculosis research study. There, she conducted quantitative research on the diagnoses and outcomes of tuberculosis patients and witnessed the burdens of infectious disease on the well-being of the Xhosa population. Additionally, she worked with researchers at the University of Malaya to conduct qualitative research trying to understand consistent condom usage in intimate partners of HIV-positive men who inject drugs, one of the country’s most vulnerable groups. Kamila wrote her senior thesis on the syndemic relationship between Covid-19 and tuberculosis on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. On campus, Kamila was a leader trainer and Wilderness First Aid instructor and coordinator for one of the largest outdoor action orientation programs in the country and works closely alongside the directors to update curriculum and developmental leadership goals. She is excited to continue working in public health and low-resource care as a Princeton in Africa Fellow Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative.