Katie grew up in Park City, Utah. She graduated from Dartmouth College in the Class of 2015 with a B.A. in Honors Environmental Studies and a minor in Applied Ethics. In addition to skiing and mountain biking, as a Dartmouth student Katie pursued her interdisciplinary interests in environmental science, environmental justice, and civil rights by conducting research in both the Biology and Environmental Studies Departments and the Ethics Institute.  In 2014, Katie interned in the Civil Rights Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in Boston and studied abroad in Morocco. Her experience in Morocco and study of Arabic led to her senior honors thesis research on the influences of international politics on Moroccan phosphate mining. Upon her return from Morocco, Katie served as an AmeriCorps volunteer at Teton Science Schools in Wyoming, where she entered the world of environmental education. Katie believes that improving environmental justice across the globe starts with science literacy. In Rwanda, Katie is excited to work with the Rwanda School Project to develop environmental science curriculum and promote environmental literacy. Katie is a potter and a mountain bike racer, and is excited to learn Rwandan art and pottery methods and explore central Africa.

Originally from Wayzata, Minnesota, Johnna is a graduate of UW-Madison where she majored in Economics and Political Science. During her time at Madison, she held leadership positions with Madison’s chapter of Amnesty International and interned with several organizations, including the United Nations Foundation and the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Additionally, she completed several service-learning projects working with vulnerable populations in Philadelphia, Nicaragua and Cambodia. Her junior year, she studied Swahili and development in Zanzibar, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya as a Boren Scholar. While in Kenya, she also had the opportunity to intern with Ruben Microfinance in the Mukuru slum and research challenges women entrepreneurs face within the community. Next year, Johnna is excited to explore more of East Africa, improve her French, and learn about community-led development initiatives through her work with Spark.

Isabella graduated from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service in May 2017 with a degree in Science, Technology and International Affairs. During her time at Georgetown, Isabella focused on the implications of environmental policy in the lives of people worldwide. Her interest was solidified during her semester in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she worked at a BRICS Policy Institute studying the intersection between gender and climate in the BRICS countries and researching ground-up adaptive solutions to climate change pioneered by women. While at Georgetown, Isabella was a tour guide and the Director for Human Resources at the Corp, the largest entirely student run nonprofit in the world. Isabella has an insatiable curiosity for the natural world around her and as such idolizes Dr. Jane Goodall and enjoys hiking and camping.

Alumni Update:

After her fellowship ended, Helaina spent one more year in Rwanda working for Eos Visions, an educational travel and capacity building company. In May 2012 she joined the U.S. Foreign Service as a Political Officer and in August 2012 she moved to Abuja, Nigeria for her first assignment at U.S. Embassy Abuja, where she served as a Political-Military Officer. She returned from Nigeria in August 2014 to begin training for her second assignment. She is currently living in Washington, D.C. and participating in long-term language and functional training at the Department of State’s George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center in preparation for her next assignment with the U.S. Foreign Service. She is preparing to move to Buenos Aires, Argentina in May 2015 to serve a two-year tour as Vice Consul at U.S. Embassy Buenos Aires.

Fellow Bio:

Helaina Stein ’10 is from Katonah, NY and graduated from Tufts University with a degree in international relations. On campus, she co-funded and co-led RESPE: Haiti, a student research and development initiative in northern Haiti.

Helaina was also a member of Sigma Iota Rho, the IR Honors Society, and participated in the Institute for Global Leadership’s Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship 2007-2008 colloquium. While at Tufts, she interned for the U.S. State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, Migration and Educate! Helaina studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland, where she also interned for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty at the UN Human Rights council. Next year in Rwanda; Helaina looks forward to learning some Kinyarwanda, traveling around the land of a thousand hills, and contributing to meaningful education initiatives.

Eli graduated from Temple University with a degree in Media Studies and Production. He is a video producer and editor from Philadelphia. As an undergraduate, he produced his first documentary while studying in South Africa and interned at NBC10 Philadelphia where he won a Mid Atlantic Emmy for editing videos for Generation Addicted, a web series about the heroin epidemic. After graduating, he traveled to Cuba to work on a web series about the Havana hip hop scene and spent six months living in Nicaragua collaborating with indigenous communities producing videos to preserve the endangered languages of the Caribbean region, for which he won a national College Emmy. He also facilitated the first group of study abroad students to visit the indigenous community to participate in language preservation efforts. Eli wants to find new ways to use media as a tool to facilitate inter-cultural education and dialogue. In his free time, he loves producing music and music videos. He speaks Spanish and some Portuguese. While in Kigali, as a Visual Communication Fellow producing videos, written, and social media content with Gardens for Health International, he is excited to try his hand at Kinyarwanda and French.

Alumni Update:

Deborah is currently the Head of Data & Analytics at FirstWave Group in Lusaka, Zambia, where she is responsible for building a highly analytical team working to create visibility into the operational data of three group companies, most notably Yalelo Zambia. 

Fellow Bio:

Deborah, a native of Florida, graduated from American University with an MA in International Economic Relations. In high school, she spent a summer in Zambia, which led her to pursue a BA in International Studies and minor in Economics at AU. Following her freshman year, Deborah interned with ZAYEDESA in Zanzibar, Tanzania. In this role, she broadened the organization’s online presence and deepened her interest in East Africa and Swahili studies. She was granted a Boren Scholarship to learn Swahili from 2015-2016, for which she spent the fall immersed in language courses in Arusha, Tanzania and spring interning with Yawezekana SACCO in Nairobi, Kenya. In this role, she interviewed SACCO members in Swahili, recorded their stories, and identified common challenges. While in graduate school, she was a consultant with Creative Associates International and a Program Assistant in the Africa Program at the Wilson Center. Deborah is a proud AmeriCorps alumna and served as AU’s Undergraduate Commencement Speaker in 2017. As a Strategic Analyst with Spark MicroGrants in Musanze, Rwanda, Deborah is excited to learn from communities driving their own economic development and work on data projects that support Spark’s community-driven work.

Danielle graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015 with majors in Global Studies (concentration: International Politics and Social Movements in Sub-Saharan Africa) and Sociology and a minor in Public Policy. Danielle is a writer and activist and her undergraduate experiences include work with the U.S. State Department Bureau for African Affairs, summer research and internships in Busia, Uganda and Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and leadership roles in the Washington, D.C. based human rights advocacy organizations STAND and the Enough Project. Danielle completed her senior honors thesis on the United Nations peacekeeping force in eastern DRC (MONUSCO), evaluating the mission’s ability to fulfill its mandate to protect Congolese civilians in the province of South Kivu. While at Carolina, Danielle published blog posts through STAND, Mamafrica Designs, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Enough Project, each examining the economic dimensions of ongoing conflict in the Great Lakes region of Africa. While working as a Communications Fellow for Gardens for Health International in Rwanda, Danielle hopes to learn Kinyarwanda, improve her Kiswahili and French, do a lot of hiking and gorilla trekking, and improve her photography skills.

Dalia graduated from the University of Bristol, where she earned an MSc in Development and Security with the support of the Fulbright program. As a Fulbright scholar she lived in Bristol, England and worked with Bristol based non-profit organizations. In addition to her studies, Dalia conducted field research on refugee securitization and identity at the Skaramagas camp in Athens, Greece. Her work in migration and humanitarian emergencies began early in her undergraduate career during her exchange in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she worked with refugee youth and asylum seekers. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a BA in International Studies and a BA in Anthropology, completing her degrees in three years. Dalia was awarded her university’s prestigious Golden Bull award in recognition of her work with refugees in Denmark, leadership with Initiatives of Change in Switzerland, ISIS research at the Carter Center, and international religious freedom advocacy in the Department of State. Dalia is incredibly passionate about grassroots programs and continues to develop her skills with plans of starting one herself. She is a dual Egyptian and American citizen with a serious case of wanderlust, a major chocolate addiction, and a love for dancing, swimming, and reading.

Alumni Update:

Christiana is currently a first-year Ph.D. student in the Political Science department at Stanford University, where she studies identity formation and public goods provision with a focus on the Global South.

Fellow Bio:

Christiana is a Woodrow Wilson School major from San Antonio, Texas. At Princeton, she was a writer and blogger for American Foreign Policy magazine, an Outdoor Action leader, and a member of Terrace Club. She earned a certificate in Near Eastern Studies, and studied Arabic for four years. During her time at Princeton, Christiana worked at Human Rights First in New York City, and studied abroad in Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan. In Rwanda, Christiana looks forward to learning Kinyarwandan (and possibly French), meeting new friends, and traveling a bit throughout the region.