Sandra Tsikor graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with honors in International Relations and minors in African Studies and International Development. Upon graduation, she was a recipient of the Arthur Fauset Award for intellectual pursuit and community service. Originally from Ghana but born in Russia, she has been committed to exploring the world around her. She studied intensive French in Tours, France and International Relations from an African perspective at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She is wholly committed to furthering the political, social and economic conditions in Ghana and Africa. She interned at the IMANI Center for Policy and Education, a think tank in Ghana, conducted research and produced a report on recommendations in improving Ghana’s doing business environment. This research fed into her senior thesis project where she received grants to conduct field research on entrepreneurial Ghanaian return migrants from the US and the UK, the challenges they face and policies for alleviating them. Interested in strategy and consulting, she has worked at the ShawbellConsulting Limited in Ghana and Deloitte Consulting with government agencies to transform their model, garner efficiency and improve their public service delivery. At UPenn, she managed the processes of 9 teams in delivering web content for the Wharton Africa Business Forum, a gathering of executives and leading professionals interested in furthering business in Africa. Sandra Tsikor is interested in exploring entrepreneurship, specifically social entrepreneurship, and youth leadership as a means for furthering Africa’s development. As such, she looks forward to her fellowship with the African Leadership Academy in South Africa!

Originally from London, Ryan graduated with a Masters in Public Health and Bachelors in Economics from the Case Western Reserve University, concentrating in Humanitarian Aid and Global Health.  At Case Western Reserve, Ryan worked as an Emergency Medical Technician for the Case Western Reserve Emergency Medical Service, an organization for which he also served on the executive board as the treasurer and assistant chief.  Ryan also took part in a variety of research projects in chemistry, organizational behavior, and epidemiology and interned with the University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in the Child Health and Policy Division, where his interest in public health originated.  Ryan then went on to work as an intern with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur where he researched HIV spread in refugee populations and the impact of testing and treatment as preventative measures.  Ryan also worked at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine as a Teaching Assistant for the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.  Ryan will be the Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Fellow with Population Services International in Johannesburg and hopes to learn more about HIV epidemiology in the region.

Alumni Update:

Since her fellowship, Ritu has gotten a Master’s Degree in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, worked in India on a medical device startup, and worked as a scientist at Roche developing new medical diagnostics. She currently works at Stanford University, managing global projects for a medical technology entrepreneurship program. Ritu works with student teams who are developing new medical technology products appropriate for use in the Global South (think low-cost jaundice diagnostic or limb prosthetic). She also conducts and publishes research on medical technology innovation for emerging markets in Asia and Africa.

Fellow Bio:

Ritu Kamal ‘07 is an electrical engineering major from India with a minor in neuroscience and bioengineering. Ritu will be working with the mothers2mothers program in Cape Town, South Africa. At Princeton, she has been involved in the international center and the religious life council, in addition to spending lots of time in her stem cell lab. She is also very interested in reading and writing philosophy, and in traveling to crazy places. She’s hoping to learn about public health in Africa next year, and to have a fantastic time.

As a daughter of Eritrean immigrants, Rawan was motivated to alleviate some of the harsh realities facing African communities.  To exercise this passion of serving Africa, she started The Ubuntu Project (www.theubuntuproj.com), a mission driven organization dedicated to bridging the gap between creativity and compassion. The Ubuntu Project utilizes the One-for-One model: for every purchase made, a social cause in Africa is supported. All products are African themed, thus allowing Africans to represent their roots locally while empowering African communities globally. Through The Ubuntu Project, Rawan aims to foster hope and encouragement from within by supporting effective causes in Africa and inspiring young Africans to take an active role towards the betterment of their communities. Rawan is a management consultant by day and a social entrepreneur by night. Aside from The Ubuntu Project, her management consulting career has allowed her to work in a variety of enterprise-wide initiatives, for Fortune 500 clients – including Toyota, Cisco, DirecTV, ATT, and BP – in a variety of industries and roles. Rawan graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles as Magna Cum Lade. In addition, Rawan participated in business programs at UCLA Anderson, UC Berkeley Haas Business School, and Yale School of Management.

Rachel is from Monterey, California. She received her degree in Development from the University of California, Berkeley in just three years while performing as a ballet dancer in San Francisco. Rachel joins PiAf from the World Bank where she worked to increase organizational learning and monitor a portfolio of subsidy projects promoting access to basic infrastructure and social services. Previously, as an intern with Women Thrive Worldwide, she supported a variety of efforts to influence the post-2015 development goals and translated into French a paper on Equitable Learning for All, which was shared with the UN High Level Panel. Through 2012, Rachel worked at the European Centre for Mineral Water Research in Naples, Italy, assisting in planning and implementing water extraction projects for Coca Cola, and facilitating stakeholder cooperation in the resource permitting process. While living in Italy over a period of two years, Rachel taught legal and business English in the Italian Ministry for Communications. Rachel has also worked as a volunteer translator for Plan International UK and UNESCO. This year with CHAI in Pretoria, Rachel is eager to pick up on South African street style, travel as much as she can within the region, and grow her understanding of policy making for development.

Fellow Bio:

Nike Lawrence ’06 was an Operations Research and Financial Engineer major from Alexandria, VA. At Princeton, Nike was the Artistic Director for a tap dance group, a member of Cap and Gown Club, and a member of the National Society of Black Engineers. Since graduation, Nike has been working at Morgan Stanley in New York City doing research on hedge fund trends and has been a member of the steering committee for the Morgan Stanley Microfinance Forum. In her free time in the city, Nike enjoys dancing and playing the bass guitar. A native of Liberia, Nike is looking forward to returning to Africa. She is excited to be working in South Africa to understand the challenges and successes of the country’s social entrepreneurs.

Nika recently completed her M.A. in African Studies at Stanford University, where she focused on issues surrounding international development, education, and visual representation in Sub-Saharan Africa. She received a B.A. degree with distinction in International Relations (specializations in Africa and Social Development) and a minor in Creative Writing at Stanford in 2015. She studied in Cape Town during her junior year and worked at a community resource center for people affected by HIV/AIDS in Nyanga. She returned to Nyanga that summer to conduct two independent, community engaged research projects. She created a preliminary monitoring and evaluation report and a photovoice project, which explored the social dynamics of unemployment by giving youth cameras to capture and narrate their experiences. The next summer, she worked at the Baylor Pediatric Aids Initiative in Gaborone, Botswana, extending the regional scope of her photovoice project, which was exhibited at the largest contemporary art gallery in the country. Nika has published articles for the Stanford Daily and for the Los Angeles Times. She enjoys writing nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Nika is a passionate writer and next year looks forward to improving her Xhosa, telling stories, and advocating for others to have the opportunity to tell theirs.

Alumni Update:

Morgan is currently a PhD student at the University of Washington, where he studies how new technologies and urbanization influence the politics of sub-Saharan Africa. 

Fellow Bio:

Morgan graduated in 2016 from the London School of Economics with an MSc in Global Politics and an emphasis on global health and post-conflict development. Having previously graduated from Colorado College with a BA in Sociology along with minors in African Studies and International Community Development, Morgan has completed a number of research and internship programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Commencing with his study in Rwanda as an undergraduate, Morgan has since conducted academic research throughout west Africa focused on developmental athletic academies and worked in northern Uganda on the development of health and youth livelihoods programs. Morgan has also gained governmental experience developing policy briefings, communications programs and exploring data systems within two UK Shadow Ministries. Alongside these roles, Morgan has worked as an editor and writer for his university’s paper, served as an advisor for two national parliamentary campaigns and supported the IRC as a Health Access and Intensive Case Management Intern. He is an avid backpacker, pick-up soccer player and writer of unintelligible screenplays. Morgan is eager to dedicate himself further to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of sub-Saharan African healthcare systems as an analyst focused on HIV-prevention for the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) in South Africa.