Alumni Update:

Dan is currently working with ACDI/VOCA as part of the Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellows Program. He worked on the Feed the Future Tanzania NAFAKA Cereals Market System Development project during his first year as a Leland Fellow and is now part of ACDI/VOCA’s Market Systems team in Washington DC.

Fellow Bio:

Dan graduated with a degree in Political Economy, and is originally from Dallas, TX. During his time at Georgetown, he studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, interned for an economic think tank and a sustainable development consulting firm, and led trips as an outdoor guide. Since graduating, Dan has worked in international development for two organizations including a recent position backstopping agricultural development projects around the world for a non-profit called CNFA. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, kayaking, playing and watching sports, and reading. While in Ghana next year, Dan looks forward to expanding on his agricultural development experience, learning some of the Akan language and exploring Ghana’s cultural and natural landmarks.  

Fellow Bio:

Cat Richardson ’08 is a Comparative Literature major from Princeton, NJ. At Princeton, she pursued a certificate in poetry with the Creative Writing program and studied French and Japanese. After studying abroad in Paris her Junior spring, she is excited for a longer commitment in Ghana and can’t wait to start her year there.

Alumni Update:

Allyse is a civil rights attorney in San Francisco. She represents people who have been subjected to atrocious acts including sexual assault, disability discrimination, and whistleblower retaliation (to name a few examples). She works hard to help her clients not just survive a difficult period, but also learn to appreciate their own strength as they navigate a system that all-too-often feels stacked against them. PiAf taught Allyse to face the unknown and the uncomfortable head on, and to keep an open mind. She exercises those muscles everyday.

Fellow Bio:

Allyse is originally from Chicago and recently graduated from the Ford School of Public Policy with a focus on International Development Policy. During her time as a Wolverine, she built solar lights with Sa Nima Collaborative, studied Swahili, and sang in a co-ed a cappella group on campus. Last summer, she worked as the economic development and entrepreneurship intern at Vital Voices Global Partnership in Washington, D.C.  She is “nuts” about her placement with the African Cashew Alliance. While not at work in Ghana, she hopes to learn some new dance moves and finally fulfill her dream of joining a band.

Allie is originally from Minnetonka, MN and recently graduated from American University in Washington, DC with a degree in International Development with an emphasis on African Studies and Economics. During her time at American University, Allie took advantage of the city’s multitude of opportunities, interning for the Africa Division of the Department of Agriculture and the Africa Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center. She also spent two semesters abroad in Paris, France and Arusha, Tanzania, where she engaged with rural communities and conducted trainings in sustainable agricultural practices. In her free time, Allie enjoys hiking, painting, kayaking, and gardening. She is absolutely “nuts” about her placement with the African Cashew Alliance and is excited to learn Ghanaian dance and drumming while in Accra.

Alumni Update:

Alex is currently a first-year MBA student at the Yale School of Management. She will be spending her summer interning at the Boston Consulting Group in Philadelphia.

Fellow Bio:

Alex is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame where she majored in Political Science and Peace Studies. Since graduating, Alex has worked as the Raise Hope for Congo Assistant Campaign Manager at The Enough Project, part of the Center for American Progress, in Washington D.C. She develops campaigns targeting both the U.S. government and major electronics companies that use the Democratic Republic of Congo’s minerals to address the root causes of conflict in eastern Congo. As a student, Alex studied in Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and most recently she traveled to the eastern Congo with Enough. In her free time, she plays soccer on two co-ed teams and likes to go on long bike rides around D.C. Alex is excited to explore West Africa and see first-hand how multinational companies can operate successfully and responsibly in Africa.

Akinyi Ochieng started her professional journey working with fast-growing innovators like Nova Credit and WorldRemit to design programs, initiatives and campaigns to advance economic mobility. After several years in the financial services industry, she joined APCO as a social impact consultant to help organizations align profit and purpose.

Akinyi is currently a senior associate director at APCO in New York where she works with leading corporations, foundations and nonprofits within North America, Europe and the Middle East, to improve and advance their social impact in the world. She has worked across various sectors such as technology, entertainment, financial services, consumer goods and education.

She holds a deep expertise in economic development and food security in Africa, with a successful track record of mobilizing multi-million-dollar public-private partnerships to accelerate sustainable business practices in the region. Her insights on business, culture, and politics in Africa have been featured in Forbes, CNBC, BBC, African Business Magazine and the World Economic Forum. She has continued her pursuit of sustaining and developing the African continent and its resources by serving as Board Chair of SOS Sahel USA and a Trustee of Operation Fistula, organizations that have proven to be dedicated to food security and maternal health in Africa. In 2019, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent under 40 . She has previously served as a co-president of the inaugural PiAf Alumni Board and was a Fellow at Global Shea Alliance in Accra, Ghana during her time as a Princeton in Africa Fellow.

Akinyi holds an MSc in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and a BA in Political Science and African Studies from Yale University. She also holds a certificate in Strategic Philanthropy from the University of Cambridge’s Judge School of Business.