Alumni Update:

Samantha is currently a Research Associate with FHI 360, where she does global public health research, primarily qualitative and quantitative research on family planning in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Fellow Bio:

Samantha Archie is a young professional in international development, specifically interested in monitoring, evaluation, and research with a gender focus. Samantha developed her passion for international development during her study abroad experiences in Guatemala, Tanzania, and Uganda while pursuing a degree in International Relations and Global Health at the University of Southern California. In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious Boren Scholarship to study Swahili and intern at an agricultural microfinance organization in Arusha, Tanzania. In her senior year, she returned to East Africa to conduct her own independent mixed methods research project for her honors thesis, which aimed at understanding what contributes to gender differences in entrepreneurship program outcomes in Northern Uganda. Since graduating from USC, she has worked at Women for Women International, where she performed data analysis to test the effectiveness of WfWI’s programs in conflict regions and Innovations for Poverty Action in Monrovia, Liberia, where she oversaw the implementation of a market access intervention connecting farmers with agricultural goods dealers. Samantha is very excited to embark on her next endeavor as a Women and Girl’s Protection and Empowerment Research Fellow at International Rescue Committee-Sierra Leone.

Tomas graduated from Davidson College in 2015, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Economics. As an undergraduate, he worked with a professor on a study of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, sparking an interest in African conflict that led him to intern at the Enough Project and culminated in a senior thesis on the M23 rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After graduating, he joined the Congressional Research Service, where he assisted Africa analysts with research on a range of projects. While at CRS, he was fortunate to co-author reports on Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Boko Haram, and the Lord’s Resistance Army, among others. Tomas is very excited to join the International Rescue Committee in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he hopes to expand his knowledge of Sierra Leone and West Africa, gain insight into the challenges of governance and development in post-conflict societies, and (with any luck) learn a little Krio.

Alumni Update:

Thomas is an attorney at Clayman & Rosenberg LLP in New York City. He focuses on civil litigation and criminal defense.

Fellow Bio:

Thomas Dollar ’08 is a Woody Woo major from Troy, New York. A member of the Colonial Club, he has enjoyed IM sports and acting on stage. Some of his favorite roles include Roald Amundsen in “Terra Nova,” and Bradley in “Buried Child,” both at Theatre Intime. Tom enjoys Spanish and Latin American literature, and spent a semester in Buenos Aires. He enjoys hiking, skiing and camping in his free time. Tom looks forward to living and working in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Alumni Update:

Jing is currently living in western Kenya, where she is doing a year-long clinical research fellowship. Her work is based around looking for ways to improve malaria diagnosis and treatment at rural government health facilities. This has been Jing’s first time back to Africa since her PiAf fellowship. After this, Jing will be returning to Philadelphia for her final year of medical school.

Fellow Bio:

Jing is a Woodrow Wilson School major from New York City. At Princeton, she was a member of the Tigressions, an all female a cappella group, and the Cap & Gown Club. She is a pre-med student interested in global public health and has interned with the Children’s Hospital of NY as well as the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative in Nassau, Bahamas. Having traveled to Tanzania last summer on a Princeton trip, she is excited to return to Africa for a fellowship with the IRC and hopes her high school French will help her pick up some Krio.

Jessica graduated from Macalester College with a BA in Economics and an interdisciplinary concentration in International Development. In college, she participated in the four-year civic engagement program Bonner Community Scholars and worked at the youth farming organization Urban Roots.  Jessica studied abroad at Ashesi University in Ghana. Her involvement with Sesa Mu Farmers’ Initiative inspired her honors thesis, which used econometric methods to analyze the effect of loan timing on fertilizer use in Ghana. Jessica earned the Winter Mann-Hill Fellowship to design and lead a workshop on sexual violence prevention and response for Ashesi students that volunteer with Future of Africa, a nonprofit that serves street children. She served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the International Rescue Committee’s refugee resettlement office in Utah and developed initiatives to improve access to contraception and better respond to domestic violence. Jessica has worked on a farm in Nicaragua, attended the UN climate negotiations in Paris, and is passionate about health equity. She is excited to continue working with the International Rescue Committee in Sierra Leone and support education, health, and women and girl’s protection and empowerment programs. 

Alumni Update:

Claire recently received her master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She was awarded a Presidential Management Fellowship to work with USAID in the Africa Bureau, Office of Sustainable Development beginning in September 2019.

Fellow Bio:

Prior to Princeton in Africa, Claire worked at the Center for Global Development, a think tank in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, she conducted research to analyze country ownership principles in U.S. foreign aid agencies, which included field research in Liberia, El Salvador, and Kosovo. Before joining CGD, Claire interned for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she researched transnational militancy in the Sahel and Middle East. Previously, Claire interned with Tomorrow’s Youth Organization in Nablus, Palestine and the Center for Victims of Torture, contributing psychosocial support to refugee populations through direct service work and organizational capacity building, respectively. Originally from the Chicago area, Claire graduated from Carleton College in 2013 with a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations and a concentration in French and Francophone Studies. While at Carleton, Claire studied in France and then in Rwanda, where she conducted research to identify sources of social exclusion for ex-combatants in the process of repatriation and reintegration. Claire is excited to return to West Africa and, as an avid soccer player, looks forward to making her way onto the local football scene while working for the IRC in Sierra Leone.

Fellow Bio:

Audrey Banks was a Princeton in Africa Fellow with the International Rescue Committee in Sierra Leone from 2008 – 2009. Following her fellowship, she went on to work with the IRC in Afghanistan, Jordan, Iraq, and South Sudan, where she focused on human rights protection and emergency response programming until 2015. She is now an “International Ninja” on the legal team at Palantir Technologies, a company that builds software platforms designed to enable organizations to analyze data at scale. At Palantir, Audrey’s work includes international expansion and corporate governance, privacy and civil liberties matters, and contracts related to Palantir’s philanthropic engagements with UN agencies and NGOs. Audrey holds a B.A. in History from Princeton University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Anthea graduated from Georgetown University with a Master’s in Public Policy. She is originally from Singapore but has spent almost a third of her life studying, working, and living in the United States. Her first encounter with international development was during her time at Georgetown where she learned how data could be used to understand more about people, policy, and what works. After graduation, she joined Burness Communications, a public-interest communications firm specializing in spreading the news about social causes ranging from public health to environmental conservation. But with a data itch that wouldn’t quit, she then went on to work as a Senior Analyst for a data consulting firm, helping non-profit organizations and the US EPA to better visualize their data and extract meaningful insights. Outside of work, she volunteered at the National Aquarium as a diver where she fed the fish and waved at visitors. Anthea is excited for her move to Sierra Leone where she will work with the WARC Group as a monitoring and evaluation fellow, using data to measure the impact on improving the lives of farmers. During her time in Freetown, she hopes to learn to love dancing and okra, while picking up a bit of Krio in between.