Fellow Bio:
Liza Hillenbrand is originally from Summit, NJ and has lived in NYC since graduating from Princeton in 2004. Liza majored in politics, was pre-med, and had two certificates: one in French language and culture and another in European political studies. Liza was a member of TI, played varsity lacrosse all 4 years, was a volunteer EMT, and spent a gap year abroad living in London and Paris while at Princeton. Since graduating, she has worked in public finance investment banking at JPMorgan in NY, continued her volunteer EMT work, done a marathon and triathlon, and coached lacrosse to little kids. She will be working at BroadReach Health Care in Cape Town, South Africa.
Fellow Bio:
Elizabeth Jemison ’08 is a Religion major from Memphis, TN. At Princeton, Elizabeth was a leader of the Religious Life Council, Princeton’s multi-faith dialogue group, and an Easting Concerns Advisor through University Health Services. She was also a volunteer for the Student Volunteers Council, a member of Princeton Evangelical Fellowship, and a member of Colonial Club. Elizabeth has interests in studying questions of gender and race in religion in the long term, and she is very excited about the opportunity to work with mothers2mothers on issue of women and children’s health.
Elijah graduated from the University of Georgia with majors in international affairs and economics. He spent six months in Kenya working with the African Prisons Project, where he taught law courses and served as a paralegal to death row inmates in three maximum-security prisons around the country. He was an investigative intern at the Georgetown University Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic, where he worked with attorneys to create defense theories for indigent and mentally ill clients. Scott also conducted client intake and legal research at the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights to investigate claims of education discrimination. In addition to his experience in the legal field, Scott has extensive experience mentoring and educating youth, as he spent over a year facilitating weekly restorative justice trials and leading courtroom etiquette and public speaking trainings for middle- and high-school students with Athens Peer Court. He has researched the intersection of minority rights and conflict in northeastern Kenya and the Xinjiang region of China through the Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai Conflict Studies Center in Cluj, Romania. Scott has studied abroad at the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics, and he has conducted independent research on the future of the regulatory structure of Antarctic Treaty in Ushuaia, Argentina and West Antarctica. Finally, Scott was the Operations Director of the Georgia Political Review for one year, during which he managed an eleven-person Editorial Board and thirty-person Writing Staff and planned and organized lectures and debates. He is looking forward to exploring his host country!
Alumni Update:
Desiree is an English teacher at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights, NY, although she was recently granted a leave to attend a graduate creative writing program at NYU.
Fellow Bio:
Desiree (Georgetown ‘11) is an English major and African Studies minor. She was born in Trinidad and Tobago and lives in Queens, NY. Desiree has a deep interest in education and was involved in the DC Public Schools System through programs such as DC Reads and DC Schools. She is also involved in the written and performing arts, performing original poetry on campus and around DC. Desiree pursued her love for education and the arts while studying abroad at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. She is excited to return for a year and hopes to deepen her knowledge of the nation’s history and culture.
Alumni Update:
After her fellowship, Dana began a Master’s of Education program in Education, Culture and Society at The University of Pennsylvania. She also works part-time at West Philadelphia High School as a college counselor. She will complete her master’s this summer and relocate to begin a PhD at The University of Michigan in Educational Studies with a focus on Foundations of Education and Policy. She plans to study how African-American secondary students conceptualize and contest dynamics of race and class in school reform. One distant day, she hopes to make this work comparative with the South African context. All of this is undoubtedly inspired by her time at Equal Education!
Fellow Bio:
Dana is originally from Allen, Texas. At Northwestern, she majored in African American Studies with a minor in Anthropology. While an undergraduate, she studied abroad in Ghana where she conducted independent research on notions of diaspora among Ghanaian repatriates. Since graduation, Dana has worked at Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men in Chicago, IL as an Urban Prep Fellow where she served as a teacher and student advocate. She has also worked with the South Side Health and Vitality Studies at The University of Chicago as a Research Coordinator where she supported healthy living and community development projects. While living in Cape Town, Dana is excited to start learning Xhosa and to frequent live music spots.
Alumni Update:
After completing her fellowship in 2012, Cydnee spent another year doing business development for mothers2mothers in Cape Town, SA before enrolling at the NYU Stern School of Business in 2013. She will receive her MBA from NYU Stern in May 2015. She’s spending the summer as a pro-bono consultant with the African Entrepreneurs Collective in Kigali, Rwanda. In September 2015, she will join Strategy&/PwC Consulting in their organization design and leadership practice.
Fellow Bio:
Cydnee graduated with a major in History, concentration in African History, and minor in Peace Studies. Originally from North Kingstown, RI, Cydnee has spent the past two years working as the Deputy Scheduler for US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. She studied abroad at the University of Cape Town and is excited to have another 12 months to continue to explore the city. While in South Africa next year, Cydnee plans on taking many road trips, running the Two Oceans Marathon (she still hasn’t decided if she’ll do the half or the full), and going pony trekking in Lesotho.
Chelsea graduated in 2012 with a major in Political Science and a minor in International Leadership and Development. Originally from Port Charlotte, Florida, Chelsea spent the two years since graduation working for nonprofits in Nashville. During that time, she served as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Better Health 4Kids, where she created a program that provides access to healthcare for uninsured children and connects their families with local health resources. She also headed up the Communications Team for iStandAbove, which works with disadvantaged young people in Africa and the U.S. on developing leadership, teamwork, and innovation skills to empower them for future growth. While at Vanderbilt, she was involved in Model United Nations, interned with The Mocha Club, and spent a formative semester studying and volunteering in Cape Town, South Africa. She loves travel, coffee, baking, and naps. Chelsea is thrilled to be returning to Cape Town and is looking forward to learning some Xhosa, exploring more of the region, and deepening her understanding of development and public health at mothers2mothers.
Fellow Bio:
Carolina Danspeckgruber ’08 is a politics major from Princeton, NJ. She also earned a certificate in European Cultural Studies. At Princeton Carolina was a Community Action leader and coordinator, a French Story Hour reader, and a member of the Ivy Club. Through Princeton, Carolina also worked for the Financial Institutions Department of the Raiffeisen Bank in Vienna, Austria. An avid traveler, tennis player, and skier, Carolina is excited to spend the coming year in Cape Town to learn more about public health NGOs as well as the NGO world in general.