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Alexandra (Alex) Middleberg graduated from Kenyon College in 2018 with a B.A. in International Studies. She also holds an M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University’s (GWU) Elliott School of International Affairs, where she focused her studies on transnational security, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding in the Middle East and Africa. For her capstone project, Alex designed an agricultural development program that aimed to facilitate the sustainable and peaceful return of Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons in Afghanistan through the expansion of agriculture technical and vocational education and training programs and the country’s agricultural sector. Following her studies, Alex worked on the Central and West Africa team at the National Democratic Institute supporting governance and democracy programs in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia. In her free time, Alex loves to travel, cook, spend time with friends and family, and jam to her favorite songs.

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Abigail graduated with distinction from Strathmore University with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, majoring in Finance and Accounting, Abigail then began her career journey as a graduate trainee at a microfinance holding company. Her journey towards impactful change began here, where her passion for development finance grew, leading to her swift transition to the treasury department where she honed skills in financial analysis, reporting, data analysis, and funder management,
Outside her professional pursuits, Abigail remains deeply rooted in her community, as a volunteer finance associate for a foundation focused on women and youth empowerment, she channels her expertise to provide tools and resources for economic growth and wellness. Additionally, Abigail served as an associate teacher at a local primary school, nurturing academic excellence and instilling a sense of empowerment in her students. For Abigail, giving back to her community is not just a duty but a calling, reflecting the values instilled in her as a Maasai girl. She remains steadfast in her mission to leverage her experience and skills for the growth and development of Africa.

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Eva Anyumba Barasa is currently a fellow at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Somalia. In 2021, she obtained a B.A. Hons. in International Business and Trade at the African Leadership University, Rwanda. In her studies, Eva’s mission was to understand the philanthropic approach of the private sector in Africa and globally through an analysis of financial support for NGOs. Her background led her to explore diverse industries as a business, marketing, and strategy professional within the nonprofit, fintech, insurance, and digital commerce industries. Her background as an intrapreneur led her to seek out solutions that enhance financial inclusion when it is needed most. Her passion for empowering communities is evident in the founding of Valleyhub, dedicated to growing digital adoption among micro-businesses in East Africa. Approve, Disrupt Africa, and Forbes have recognized her efforts. Additionally, she is a mentor for the 2023 Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship for Entrepreneurship program, successfully guiding her mentees through the ideation to launch phase of growing successful businesses in multiple industries. A huge step from being a previous participant. Eva believes giving back, building lasting connections, and seeking out growth are keys to success.

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 Emily Langlois is a recent graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University where she received a degree in Regional and Comparative Studies with a concentration on East Africa. She grew up in Nairobi, Kenya and is excited to be returning for her work with the International Rescue Committee–Somalia Programme as a PiAf fellow. Prior to this fellowship she has spent time in various NGO and governmental settings in Kenya and Tanzania. This experience led to her burgeoning interest in both journalism and international development, and she hopes to pursue a career in those fields in East Africa. In her free time, she loves to read, write, crochet, and spend time outdoors.

Lance (Asa) Cooper was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied philosophy at the University of Georgia before moving to France to pursue a Master’s degree in International Affairs. It was his experience working with refugees in Paris that directed his interests toward humanitarian response and international development. Asa subsequently pursued a degree at the Fletcher School at Tuft’s University focused on human security and conflict resolution in East Africa. During his time at Fletcher, he worked for peacebuilding organizations in Central and East Africa, as well as UNICEF’s Tanzania Country Office.  In his spare time, he enjoys running and reading. 

Folakemi was born and raised in Nigeria. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2019 with degrees in international affairs and French, subsequently working with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Washington D.C. As the program assistant on NDI’s Cote d’Ivoire programs, she supported the development and in-country implementation of democratic governance and social cohesion programs. Before her time at NDI, she monitored the implementation of the cluster munition treaty as an intern with the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch; conducted research on food security policy in the Sahel as a Carl Vinson Institute Undergraduate Fellow; and studied abroad at Sciences Po, Paris. Building upon her academic and professional experiences, she hopes to further her understanding of the scope and challenges of sustainable humanitarian and development programs during her fellowship with IRC Somalia. In her free time, Folakemi enjoys experimental cooking and exploring new literary works.

After attending the United World College of Southern Africa in Swaziland to complete his final two years of high school, Willem recently graduated from New York University Abu Dhabi with a major in History and three concentrations in Arabic, African Studies and Political Science. Willem strongly advocates for global education as a tool to increase tolerance and cross-cultural understanding in the world. As a former TEDxNYUAD speaker, Willem gave a talk on the “Importance of Being a(G)local Citizen” in which he advocated for a three-step approach to viewing the world that emphasizes one’s awareness of one’s local surroundings, encourages an active effort to engage with the world and promotes an understanding that we are part of something larger than ourselves. As an intern for the Youth Crime Watch of Liberia, Willem spent a summer interning in Liberia where he worked on women’s empowerment and youth literacy projects. In his sophomore year he acted as the Dialogue and Communications intern at Hedayah, the International Center of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism, in Abu Dhabi. He also interned at the International Law Institute in Washington D.C. during the spring and summer of his junior semester abroad and as a participant in NYU’s honors Global Leadership Scholars program. After his PiAf fellowship, Willem hopes to continue working on issues related to the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Alumni Update:

Mallary is a Grants Manager with the Health Technical Unit at International Rescue Committee, based in New York. She works closely with in-country and HQ staff on business development and grants management for health programs across 25+ countries.

Fellow Bio:

Mallary Taylor graduated with honors from Furman University in 2016, with a B.A. in Political Science and a B.S. in Psychology. During her time at Furman, Mallary spent two months on a travel study program through South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana, where she completed coursework in poverty and child development, global health inequalities, photography, and history. She has also studied the interaction between oceans and human health in Bermuda and travel writing in Cuba. In 2015, Mallary served as a Voices of the Future Delegate representing the United States at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Manila, Philippines, collaborating with other delegates from around the Pacific Rim for youth action towards sustainable and inclusive economic development. Mallary’s undergraduate career culminated in a thesis exploring the relationship between gender and support for foreign assistance among members of Congress. Since graduating, she has worked with the Women, Girls, and Population team at the United Nations Foundation, the Global Policy team at the ONE Campaign, and the International Visitor Leadership Program at FHI 360. Mallary is honored to join the PiAf network alongside this year’s fellows, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to gain a more nuanced understanding of humanitarian policy and practice in East Africa through her work with IRC— hopefully joining a few pick-up soccer games, exploring Kenya’s hiking trails, and channeling Anthony Bourdain by trying tons of new foods along the way.

Alumni Update:

Krishnan has stayed in Africa, and has been based in Tunisia for the last three years working as a Regional Livelihoods Officer with UNHCR. He supports a number of different UNHCR offices in Francophone Africa to improve their partnerships and programming aimed at increasing refugees’ access to sustainable livelihoods in their countries of asylum.

Fellow Bio:

Krishnan is from Portland, OR and studied French and Spanish language and literature at Haverford College. His interest in international development grew out of time spent abroad, first as a student in Aix-en-Provence, France then as a youth development volunteer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and after graduation, spending a year as an English teacher at a university in Bangkok, Thailand. Since returning to the U.S., he has been working in the IRC’s refugee resettlement office in San Jose, CA and is looking forward to learning more about the IRC’s international work with its Somalia programs office. He is particularly excited to be able to contribute to Somalia’s development at such a critical juncture in the country’s history. While living in Nairobi, Krishnan hopes to learn Swahili and explore the great Kenyan outdoors as much as possible.

Originally from San Diego, California, Kelsey graduated from Harvard with a B.A. in Social Studies, focusing on human rights and humanitarian frameworks in the global south. Her senior honors thesis, “Permanent Impermanence: Identity and Agency in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp, Tanzania,” examined Congolese refugees’ experiences with protracted conflict and prolonged humanitarian aid dependency in western Tanzania, where she conducted 5 weeks of ethnographic research. While at Harvard, Kelsey also received a minor in Modern Middle Eastern Studies and a language citation in Swahili. As an undergraduate, she spent two summers working for a small HIV/AIDS education nonprofit based out of Arusha, Tanzania, and returned to East Africa for a third summer to intern with the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission in Kigali, Rwanda, where she edited the first English-language translation of The History of Rwanda, used across Rwandan schools for civic education. Kelsey is thrilled to continue her work with refugees and looks forward to exploring life in Nairobi.