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.

Alumni Update:

In several months Bailey will be moving to Cambodia where she will work as a Nutrition Officer with the World Food Programme. For now, she resides in Washington DC, having just finished a graduate degree in Global Human Development from Georgetown University.

Fellow Bio:

Bailey graduated from American University’s School of International Service in 2016 with a degree in International Studies. She concentrated in International Development and Peace, Global Security, and Conflict Resolution in Africa and earned a minor in Public Health.  While at American University, Bailey served as president of Empower Congo, a student-led organization dedicated to addressing and raising awareness about the conflict in the DR Congo. She held a number of internships during her academic career with organizations ranging from Vital Voices to the Enough Project, the Rockies Venture Club, the Philanthropiece Foundation, and Heshima Kenya. Her passion for development in Africa was strengthened through her experience studying abroad in Nairobi, Kenya. In Kenya, Bailey worked closely with unaccompanied refugee girls through an internship with Heshima Kenya, leading to her senior thesis on UNHCR discourses and programming efforts for unaccompanied refugee children. She also spent a semester in India studying public health spending time in local health facilities. Originally from Colorado, Bailey loves skiing, hiking, biking, and spending time outdoors. She is excited to explore Rwanda, make new friends, learn Kinyarwanda, and gain a deeper understanding of agriculture and malnutrition through her work with GHI.

Arien, originally from Kansas, is a history major from Princeton University with a certificate in African American Studies. At Princeton, Arien was the Senior coordinator for the Leadership and Mentorship Program, which helped to improve the experience of African American freshmen at Princeton. Arien studied abroad for a semester in Cape Town, South Africa and studied the socioeconomic history of Africa as well as the Xhosa language. Her time in Cape Town made her eager to study the economic and cultural effects of colonialism and globalism on African nations. Arien is excited to learn about the experiences of her prospective Rwandan friends as well as to gain a greater sense of self-reliance while in Kigali.

Amity Weiss ‘07 is a politics major with a certificate in African studies from Ithaca, New York. During her PiAf fellowship year, she will be working to develop programs for the opening office of Plan Rwanda. (Plan is an international child and community development non-governmental organization.) While at Princeton she was a cadet for three years in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, where she learned how to do night land navigation, handle an M-16, and interact with people of different political and social backgrounds. She also served on the board of the Global Issues Forum and as the co-chair of the Princeton Darfur Action Committee. During her summers as a Princeton student, Amity worked with a local community-based refugee organization in Cape Town, South Africa; worked with the International Rescue Committee in Uganda; and did thesis research in Malawi. Her interest in Africa stems from her fascination with African politics and culture and how this forces her to confront ingrained biases about the continent on a daily basis. She also, totally randomly, is a certified aerobics instructor. Over the next year she hopes to learn about how international NGO programming is developed through her work with Plan and to connect with some of the Rwandan refugees she worked with in Cape Town that have since returned.

Alumni Update:

Aliya currently lives in Johannesburg. She works as a Director of Investments at Kagiso Tiso Holdings, an investment holding company, and is responsible for the firm’s private equity investments outside South Africa. Aliya moved to Joburg in 2013, after 5 years in Lagos, Nigeria with Africa Finance Corporation, where she also focused on private equity investing across Africa. Aliya has been lucky enough to make it back to Rwanda a few times since her fellowship and has seen Kigali change a lot in the last 10+ years.

Alumni Update:

Alec currently lives in Boston, where he is working for the Harvard Clinical Research Institute. In summer 2015, he will move down to New Orleans to begin his MD/MPH at Tulane School of Medicine.

Fellow Bio:

Alec (Tufts ‘10) studied Economics and Comparative Politics with a focus on developing regions. While at Tufts, Alec competed on the varsity swimming and diving team, as well as the varsity sailing team . He also spent a semester abroad studying at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. For the past year, Alec has been working for a public relations and communications firm specializing in the arts and non-profits. In Rwanda next year, he can’t wait to commune with the Mountain gorillas and sail on Lake Kivu.