Makeda graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science and American Studies. During her time at Columbia, she served as a Research Fellow in the Laboratory of Intergroup Relations and the Social Mind under Professor Valerie Purdie Greenaway, studying intersectionality, stereotyping, and discrimination. A first-generation Ethiopian-American, Makeda has always been motivated by a passion for civil and human rights advocacy both in the United States and abroad. Prior to joining the International Rescue Committee, she worked at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, where she focused on advancing innovative voting rights and democracy reforms. Before that, Makeda interned for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State, as well as the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia and for the Office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In addition, throughout college she served as an intern with NBC Nightly News and MSNBC, focusing on both domestic and international breaking news and ongoing deep impact coverage.

 

Galeela Michael graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a degree in Global Studies. As an undergraduate, Galeela worked as both a Campaign Lead at the Multicultural Center and as a Student Outreach Coordinator at the Office of Development, where she raised thousands of dollars for student initiatives. She was the President of UC Santa Barbara’s Pan-African Student Union, which served to amplify the voice of African students on campus. Galeela also spent a summer in Washington D.C., where she interned at The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and conducted a research study analyzing the success of the Millennium Development Goals in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. After graduating, Galeela returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she served as Programs & Operations Manager at a non-profit called /dev/color, which strives to maximize the impact of Black software engineers. Galeela was the third full-time hire at /dev/color, and made substantial contributions to the organization’s foundation, leading efforts to expand /dev/color to four cities nationally. Her experience at /dev/color jumpstarted her career at the intersection between tech and social impact, and today Galeela is most passionate about leveraging technology to improve peoples lives.

Alumni Update:

Thomas is finishing his Master of Forestry degree at Yale University. His focus has been on Forest Landscape Restoration–specifically surrounding strategies which can provide long-term benefits for both humans and wildlife. His future post-degree is still uncertain but he would love to get back to high-altitude forests of East Africa.

Fellow Bio:

Thomas is a biology major from Northfield, MN. At Whitman, Thomas enjoyed working as a gardener for the campus, volunteering time with several cultural groups and playing soccer with friends. He has spent two summers working for the Forest Service, first as a wilderness ranger in northern Minnesota, then helping a crew of botanists on rare plant surveys in eastern Oregon. Thomas is prepared for an exciting year in Yetebon making friends, eating plenty of great food, and dancing to beautiful Ethiopian music.

Fellow Bio:

Sarah Hammitt ‘04 received her B.A. in Geosciences, with a Certificate in Environmental Studies. Originally from Madison, NJ, Sarah is passionate about creating healthy, sustainable and happy communities both domestically and abroad. During her PiAf year, she will serve as a Grant Writer for the International Rescue Committee, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As an undergraduate, she studied abroad in Dunedin, New Zealand, and traveled to Cyprus and South Africa with the EEB and Geosciences departments. It was during this trip to South Africa in 2003 that Sarah was first exposed to the dire needs of communities in Africa and vowed to return. Since graduating in 2004, she has worked in environmental consulting in NJ and environmental education in PA, NC, OR and ME. In her spare time she volunteers in her Maine community in a senior citizens home, with the ambulance corps, at the local college running leadership and group dynamics clinics, and promoting healthy lifestyles on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Committee. She also loves biking, baking anything with wild Maine blueberries, gardening and studying sustainable agriculture, water rights, and international planning policy.

Fellow Bio:

Sachi is a Molecular Biology major with a certificate in Neuroscience from San Jose, CA. While at Princeton she was an Outdoor Action rock climbing leader and led several groups of freshman on pre-orientation weeklong backpacking and climbing trips. She was also an active member of Princeton Charter Club and a volunteer for Peak Potential where she mentored children with cerebral palsy, using rock climbing as a form of therapy. Through Princeton she worked in Hyderabad, India at a summer internship with the International Water Management Institute. In Ethiopia next year Sachi looks forward to immersing in the culture, picking up the local language and making countless friendships with her students at her fellowship with Project Mercy.

Alumni Update:

Rachel just started a two-year fellowship with the Global Development and Population Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in Menlo Park, CA. She will be coordinating the foundation’s post-2015 work, as well as doing some grant-making in the foundation’s strategic areas. Before Rachel moved back to the Bay Area, she was in Addis Ababa working for the UN World Food Programme’s Africa Office on an African Union project called the Cost of Hunger in Africa (costofhungerafrica.com).

Fellow Bio:

Rachel (Stanford ‘10) graduated with a BA in International Relations and in 2011 earned an MA in African Studies. Rachel has worked for the Flora Family Foundation and for Fair Trade USA.  She also spent six months in Tanzania in 2008. While in Addis Ababa, Rachel looks forward to eating tons of Ethiopian food and traveling around the region.

Fellow Bio:

Nastasia is an International Politics major in the School of Foreign Services. Nastasia is from India, but she spent the majority of her childhood in the United States and Switzerland. Nastasia loves art, particularly music and dance, and the way in which it can connect people from all over the world. Through Georgetown, Nastasia interned with the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh which initiated her interest in gender and human rights. She also studied abroad in Ghana and spent the following summer working with the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum in Rwanda. In Ethiopia, Nastasia looks forward to eating delicious food, learning Ethiopian dance, and connecting with the people she meets while living in Addis Ababa.

Fellow Bio:

Nana Boakye ’08 is a history major with a certificate in American studies. Hailing from Clearwater, FL, she enjoyed her time here at Princeton doing Orange Key, WPRB DJing, tutoring ESL and being a member of Terrace F. Club. While she had developed an interest in Latin America and Spanish, her heart belonged to Africa. Being the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, she knew that she would one day return to work on the continent. During the summer of 2006, she did. For two months she worked at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative justice in Accra, Ghana. .Now, two years later, she will embark on a new challenge – East Africa. Even though she has no idea what to expect she feels that this is best. Now, she will face and embrace whatever challenges, surprises, and triumphs come her way

Alumni Update:

Meghan is currently attending medical school at UBC in Vancouver, Canada. She returned to Project Mercy for 2 weeks in December 2014 to continue a vision screening project she started while there with PiAf. It was fantastic to see the children and people she worked with last year!

Fellow Bio:

Meghan is from British Columbia, Canada and studied neurobiology and global health & health policy at Harvard University. At Harvard, she was co-president of Student Mental Health Liaisons, co-president of Women in Science, events chair of Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors, and events co-chair of the Harvard Canadian Club. She also captained, coxed, and rowed for intramural crew. Through Harvard, Meghan studied abroad in Germany and served as a Harvard Summer School proctor in Cambridge. Through Projects Abroad, she spent three months volunteering in a hospital in Ghana. While in Ethiopia, Meghan looks forward to learning Amharic and learning about the Ethiopian culture and food.

Fellow Bio:

Mark graduated with degrees in African Studies and Social Policy. While at Northwestern, he held leadership positions on the African Students Association, the Global Engagement Summit, and the Undergraduate Africa Seminar. Off campus, he studied Public Health and Forced Migration at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and interned with the Refugee Law Project, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, and the Center for Forced Migration Studies. Raised in suburban Illinois, Mark is excited to experience life in the country of his father’s birth. He especially looks forward to improving his Amharic, interacting with hyenas at Harar, visiting other fellows in their respective countries, eating injera every day, and exploring the Addis music scene.