Metasebiya is a global health trainee who is passionate about public health research, community service, and cross-cultural engagement. Metasebiya holds a dual degree from Duke University and Duke Kunshan University in Global Health and Biology. In her home country, Ethiopia, Metasebiya regularly volunteers at the Southern Branch of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and was part of the emergency response team, assisting their disaster aid relief for internally displaced people and their COVID-19 outreach program. She also led the Ethiopian wing of a Columbia University global study on the globalizability of temporal discounting and the association between financial decision making and economic inequality. For her capstone thesis, she is conducting mixed-method research on the coping strategies of and the mental distress among people displaced by conflict in the Konso zone of Ethiopia, for which she received two institutional grants. In her home university, Duke Kunshan, Metasebiya serves as a resident assistant, building a multinational community of students and providing mentorship and support. She works as a lead teacher for the Medical English Program, a student-led initiative in China that helps medical doctors practice English. She also worked as an intern in her home university’s Global Health Research Center where she researched non-communicable diseases and aging in China. As a research assistant at her university’s Health Values Lab, she researches metrics used to quantify health, their empirical shortcomings and the ethical issues associated with using them to guide health policies.

Sarah Louis is from Orlando, Florida and the proud child of Haitian immigrants. She has a B.A. in African American Studies and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida (UF). At UF, Sarah was President of her school’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She helped make an impact through political, economic, social, and educational changes. Additionally, Sarah served as a Teaching Fellow for the Political Science Department at UF. She loved learning about global issues and cultures and even studied abroad in Brazil, Palestine, Israel, and France. In fact,  her love for learning about global issues assisted her as a Junior Summer Institute (JSI)  Fellow with Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) in the summer of 2021. She took graduate-level courses about public policy and data analysis, and co-authored a published research paper on immigrant remittance flows before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing her passion for service, Sarah served as a Community Development Fellow with the City of Gainesville during her senior year. She worked on multiple projects collecting quantitative and qualitative data to help local government officials develop a food waste ordinance that redistributed excess food to feed those in need. Having had experiences in education advocacy and creating equity, Sarah is excited for her fellowship with Kakenya’s Dream as an Education Program Officer. In her free time, Sarah enjoys learning natural hairstyles, engaging in photography, and spending time with friends and family.

Malika Kounkourou graduated from Boston University (BU) with a degree in International Relations concentrating on Environment and Development in Africa and the Middle East. She completed her senior honors thesis on rethinking sustainable environmental peacebuilding through a case study of uranium mining governance in Niger. Her research highlights necessary contextual factors to consider for the sustainability of a prospective environmental peacebuilding process with the aim of targeting root causes of development and security issues facing indigenous populations and fostering sustainable livelihoods. As a proud daughter of Nigerien immigrants, Malika is passionate about preserving her heritage through her cultural revival brand, Tchidite. Beyond a business, her brand is geared towards reclaiming Tuareg culture through an educational platform as well as combating unemployment by collaborating with Tuareg artisans. Working with Ihsan Foundation and FIPSO Niger, she fundraises, budgets, and manages projects providing humanitarian relief to vulnerable populations facing public health crises. She strives to work with NGOs, IGOs, and governments to find long-term research-based solutions targeting development issues on an institutional level. Driven by her aspiration to advance sustainable development on the African continent, Malika is honored to join Population Services International as a Regional Health Fellow and contribute to the data-driven work they do to shape markets and shift policy to better support consumer empowered healthcare.

Mikaila Harper graduated from The George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in international affairs concentrating in International Development. During her undergrad years, Mikaila created a mentorship for young women of color at the middle school level. Her GWU Chapter of Women Everywhere Believe served local DC communities teaching lessons of cultural competency, professional skills, and body positivity. During the Fall of 2020, Mikaila interned at Safe Project, a nonprofit fighting the addiction epidemic in the United States and at the Society for International Development, a network of professionals dedicated to sustainable economic, social and political development. In the Spring she began her internship at Women for Women International, a nonprofit helping women survivors of war and conflict learn the skills they need to rebuild their families and communities. Additionally, during the 2020-2021 year Mikaila completed a yearlong research project with the United States Agency of International Development. The project was a comprehensive analysis of seven different social movements from around the world. At the culmination of the report, Mikaila was able to provide multiple recommendations to USAID officials on how to help advance the seven social movements. Since graduating Mikaila serves as an Americorp Vista researching racial disparities in Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability studies.

Matthew Fuller is a 2020 graduate of Princeton University, having concentrated in History with certificates in African Studies and History and the Practice of Diplomacy (HPD). For his senior thesis, he researched Namibia’s independence movement during the 1980s and focused on the movement’s place in the Cold War, the developments of the South African Border War, and a variety of grassroots liberation efforts. Most recently, Matthew was a project assistant for the National Democratic Institute’s Southern and East Africa team, where he supported programs in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Uganda as well as the Political Party Leadership Institute and the Illiberal Influences regional programs. Before that, he worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office for Southern African Affairs, researching long-term water solutions for drought in southern Madagascar. In 2019, Matthew interned with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, working with EducationUSA programming. In 2017, he worked in Cape Town, South Africa, researching financial literacy and inclusion projects and consulting on carbon-reducing efforts. He also spent the summer of 2018 studying Indian democracy in Haryana, India as part of a Princeton Global Seminar. Matthew is originally from southeastern Michigan. In his free time, he explores his interests in music, cooking, and sports.

Mary Davis grew up in rural Pennsylvania with her family and an assortment of pets. She is a recent graduate of Princeton University and is driven to improve healthcare access in rural settings, both domestically and internationally. She majored in Molecular Biology, with minors in Global Health and Health Policy as well as Applications of Computing. Her skillset centers around her technological proficiency, experience in scientific research, and work in youth leadership. She has interned at Levolosi Health Center in Arusha, Tanzania, fundraising to purchase a fetal heart monitor and other clinical supplies. Mary also worked as a data science intern on the political campaign of epidemiologist Natalia Linos, managing data describing eligible district voters, directing social media data collection, and leading phone canvassing. For her senior thesis at Princeton, she conducted research in the Donia and Wingreen molecular biology labs at Princeton, employing computer science tools to quantify bacteria’s antiviral defense mechanisms. Following Princeton in Africa, Mary plans to attend Sidney Kimmel Medical School to pursue her medical degree. She enjoys singing, exploring nature with her dogs, and hosting board game nights.

Elena is an Eritrean American and a graduate of Occidental College in Kinesiology & Public Health. She is passionate about fostering sustainable public health development, dedicating herself to both service and research. At Occidental, her primary research endeavor was a longitudinal study examining the impact of schoolyard greening renovations on physical activity and social behaviors among schoolchildren in Los Angeles. Using SPSS & ArcGIS, she organized and analyzed large-scale data sets to provide quantifiable evidence supporting environmental equity. Elena’s efforts made her the first Kinesiology student to receive Occidental’s Science Scholar Fellowship grant to develop and implement several innovative research protocols for the study. Additionally, she helped conduct research studies examining the accessibility of oral health coverage through Medicaid and the potential health burden of consumer products targeted towards women of color. Elena also served as a Community Health Worker for Every Woman Counts, which provides free mammograms and pap tests to uninsured and undocumented individuals across LA County. Upon graduation, she worked as a COVID-19 Case Investigator & Contact Tracer for the LA Department of Public Health. She most recently served as a Clinical Research Coordinator for a study addressing post-traumatic stress symptoms among assault-injured youth at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Elena’s experiences have nurtured her lifelong commitment to community-driven development and evidence-based health intervention, which she is eager to continue exploring with BIPAI Eswatini!

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.