Alumni Directory Display

Emma Impink 2011-2012 Fellow with The BOMA Project, Kenya Barnard College Class of 2010

Alumni Update:

Since leaving Kenya, Emma has been working as an Innovations and M&E Manager with One Acre Fund, helping to grow their program in Tanzania.

Fellow Bio:

Emma (Barnard ‘10) graduated with a degree in African Studies and a minor in Biological Sciences. Before attending Barnard, Emma worked in southern Africa with baboons, elephants and humans in several distinct capacities. She returned to Africa in the spring of her junior year where she studied wildlife management in southern Kenya. At Barnard, Emma worked as a writing fellow and explored New York City’s vibrant food and coffee scenes. A Princeton native, Emma has worked in many facets of the local food community, both growing and eating the best of central Jersey’s bounty. She is thrilled to be returning to Kenya where she hopes to improve her Swahili, learn more about livestock and make new friends.

Jessica Lynn Inocencio 2008-2009 Fellow with Mpala Research Centre & Wildlife Foundation, Kenya Princeton University Class of 2005

Fellow Bio:

Jessica Lynn Inocencio ’05 is an Art and Archaeology major from Lytle, Texas, a small rural town outside of San Antonio. At Princeton, Jessica was the Student Supervisor at the Marquand Library of Art and Archaeology, Art Editor of the Nassau Literary Review, Social Chair at the Colonial Club, pitcher/outfielder for Princeton Club Softball, and staff-writer for the Daily Princetonian. After graduating from Princeton in 2005, Jessica lived abroad in Port Elizabeth, South Africa where she received a Masters in Media Studies from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in April 2007. Upon returning to the U.S., Jessica began teaching 6th grade Math at the Garner Middle School in San Antonio and working to obtain an MBA from the University of Texas in San Antonio. During her free time, Jessica enjoys traveling, sculpting, scuba diving, gardening, tubing, videomaking, playing sports, and volunteering. Recent travel during the past year includes a roadtrip from Texas to Canada, caravan trip throughout Germany, and hiking trip to Machu Picchu in Peru, which were all inspirational landmarks in her life. Jessica cannot wait to start her fellowship at the Mpala Wildlife Foundation in Kenya.

Megumi Itoh 2005-2006 Fellow with Harvard University AIDS Institute, Botswana Princeton University Class of 2003

Alumni Update:

Meg moved with her husband and newborn daughter to Zambia in the fall to work in the CDC office on PEPFAR-supported TB/HIV programs. She says to holler if you find yourself in Lusaka!

Michaela Jacova 2005-2006 Fellow with Africare, Uganda Princeton University Class of 2005

Alumni Update:

After returning from Uganda, Michaela worked at an International Affairs NGO in Prague, facilitating informal business talks between South and North Korea at that time. She later moved to Oxford in England, where she stumbled upon a job in technology transfer for Oxford University. She then did her Master’s in Geneva, Switzerland, including a semester exchange at the Fletcher School in Boston. Following her graduation she finally moved back to Slovakia (initially for a year or two) and ended up loving it. She’s a co-founder of the biggest startup event/competition in Slovakia, called the StartupAwards.SK which is now in its fifth year. She works full-time as an investment manager at Neulogy Ventures, the first regulated seed and VC fund in Slovakia. Unfortunately, due to their investment restrictions, no investments in Africa yet, but it’s in the works! She is in regular touch with her friends and adoptive family in both Uganda and Kenya. She also helps fund an orphanage in Nairobi and works as a part-time dilettante advisor to her TV news reporter brother, who travels to East Africa frequently to cover development aid projects run by Slovak NGOs.

Alec Jahncke 2011-2012 Fellow with Generation Rwanda, Rwanda Tufts University Class of 2010

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.

Javangula_Rohita_WebsiteRohita Javangula 2016-2017 Fellow with Global Shea Alliance, Ghana The George Washington University Class of 2015

Rohita graduated with a degree in International Affairs concentrating in African Studies as well as a minor in GIS/Cartography. She spent a summer in Ghana working with a small NGO empowering girls through sports as well as a semester in Rwanda studying post-genocide restoration. While in Rwanda she conducted an independent research project on local methods of conflict mediation by traveling around the country to observe dispute resolution processes. She’s also received the opportunity to intern at a variety of different organizations including All Africa Media, The Woodrow Wilson Center, as well as working on the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. In her spare time, she works with a startup called Africa Talent Management, an organization that aims to connect local African talent with U.S. businesses expanding to Africa. Most recently she’s been working on the Digital and Strategic Communications team at Amnesty International USA designing emails in HTML, managing website content, and just learning more about non-profits in the digital space. Rohita is extremely excited to be going back to Ghana and doing Communications for the Global Shea Alliance.

Elizabeth Jemison 2008-2009 Fellow with mothers2mothers, South Africa Princeton University Class of 2008

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.

Clara Jessup 2017-2018 Fellow with The Kasiisi Project, Uganda Bates College Class of 2016

Clara graduated from Bates College in 2016 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in U.S. History. While attending Bates, Clara had the opportunity to study abroad for a semester in Rwanda and Uganda through the School for International Training’s program Post-Genocide Restoration and Peacebuilding. Upon returning to the States, Clara continued to cultivate her interest in East and Sub-Saharan Africa. During the summer of 2015, she received funding through Bates to work in South Africa, as well as to return to Rwanda to conduct independent research. While in South Africa, Clara gained hands on wildlife rehabilitation experience at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. She then traveled to Rwanda to research how the coffee industry has been utilized as a reconciliation tool. During her final year of college, she completed a senior thesis analyzing Rwanda’s gorilla tourism industry through a positive peace paradigm. With a strong interest in East Africa and having previously worked on farms, Clara is excited to return to Uganda to work as a Farm fellow at The Kasiisi Project. She looks forward to expanding her understanding of conservation work, learning Rutooro, and becoming a part of the Kasiisi community.

Lillian Jin_websiteLillian Jin 2013-2014 Fellow with Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Lesotho Columbia University Class of 2013

Alumni Update:

After completing her fellowship, Lillian moved to Dublin, Ireland, where she is currently completing her Master’s in Public Health. Next year, she’ll be returning stateside to start medical school in New York City.

Fellow Bio:

Lillian is an English and Biology double major from Newtown, Pennsylvania. At Columbia, Lillian was Co-President of GlobeMed, volunteered at Harlem Hospital, and assisted with research on children’s psychological resilience and inner city pediatric asthma. Last summer, Lillian worked in Uganda with her GlobeMed chapter’s partner, Gulu Women’s Economic Development and Globalization (GWED-G for short), where she helped design an HIV/AIDS prevention project and became interested in the power of stories for health and development. Next year, Lillian hopes to do lots of hiking, explore Lesotho’s hip-hop and culinary scenes, and pick up some Sesotho.

Shahrzad Joharifard 2005-2006 Fellow with International Rescue Committee (IRC), Democratic Republic of Congo Princeton University Class of 2005

Alumni Update:

After her fellowship with the IRC in the DRC, Shahrzad worked for a second year with the IRC in Sierra Leone. She then attended medical school at Duke, where she spent her third year in Rwanda conducting epidemiological research and working with Partners in Health to establish a surgical service. She also completed clinical rotations at a district hospital in the extreme north of Cameroon and at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa.
 
Shahrzad then returned home to Canada to begin general surgery residency at the University of British Columbia. She was very fortunate to spend several months of residency doing clinical rotations at Mbingo Baptist Hospital in northwest Cameroon and at Gondor University Hospital in Ethiopia. She finished residency in June 2017 and is now working as a general surgeon for Partners in Health in Harper, Liberia while concurrently pursuing a Masters in Public Health at Harvard. As of August 2018, Shahrzad will be starting pediatric surgery fellowship in Montreal.

Our History

In 1999, a group of Princeton alumni, faculty, and staff launched Princeton in Africa as an independent affiliate of Princeton University inspired by the University’s informal motto, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations.” In 2010, the program opened up to include graduates of any US accredited university in order to meet the growing demand from host organizations and allow more young professionals access to the unique opportunities afforded by PiAf. During the past 20 years, we have placed over 600 Fellows with more than 100 organizations in 36 countries, while developing more strategic partnerships across Africa and creating more opportunities for our alumni community to engage with the continent and with one another.

Testimonials

The International Rescue Committee has been so fortunate to have had a longstanding relationship with Princeton in Africa since our very first Fellows landed in Rwanda in 1999.  Whether it was Emily or Renee in 1999 or the 110 Fellows across 14 IRC countries over the years, we have been blessed by the relationship, the quality of the Fellows and the impact on what IRC does on the ground every single day.

Brian Johnson
Chief Human Resources Officer
International Rescue Committee

My fellowship has been the most impactful personal and professional development opportunity of my life. I wanted a post-college experience that would push my limits, expand my comfort zone, and help me discern the next steps in my career journey. And this has been the case.

Ryan Elliott
2014-15 Fellow
Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Lesotho

I can honestly say that this year has changed my life and my view of what’s possible for the future. Princeton in Africa isn’t just a one-year fellowship, it’s an introduction to a particular way of life and a new way of thinking about the world. I feel like so many doors are open now that I never would have considered before.

Katie Fackler
2010-11 Fellow
UN World Food Programme

My Princeton in Africa fellowship was everything I could have hoped for and much more. The myriad of experiences makes my head swim, and it has strengthened my desire to help underserved populations worldwide.

David Bartels
2006-2007 Fellow
Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative

Princeton in Africa was an invaluable experience for me. I learned an infinite amount through my work and through living in Uganda. I also realized that I want to continue working on African issues as long as I can.

Alexis Okeowo
2006-2007 Fellow
The New Vision

The International Rescue Committee’s experience with Princeton in Africa has been exceptional. Each Fellow brings excellent writing and analytical skills as well as unique interests and passions that enrich the program and the field office environment. We were so pleased we expanded the program to more field offices.

Susan Riehl
Human Resources, IRC

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has been working in Africa for over 11 years through its Secure the Future program.  One common theme in all aspects of program implementation is having passionate, energetic individuals on the ground who can think outside the box and then transfer the skills for sustainability.  The Princeton In Africa Fellows have been a huge asset in this regard and our programs and patients have been better for it.

John Damonti
President, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation