Alumni Directory Display

she/her/hers

Raquel Ramirez is a 2024 graduate of Princeton University with a degree in the School of Public and International Affairs and certificates in both Theater and Gender and Sexuality Studies. As a San Diego native with family on both sides of the US/Mexico border, she understood the importance of cross-cultural connection to facilitate understanding, tackle international problems, and grow together. She is passionate about studying that connection through the arts. At Princeton, she worked on a dozen plays and musicals through the Lewis Center for the Arts, centering Latinx voices and stories. In 2022, she led Princeton Summer Theater’s post-covid season as its Executive Director, raising money, directing a team of 40 individuals, and drawing audiences back after two closed seasons. For her senior thesis entitled Drag Dissent, she explores the role drag performance played as a form of performance protest in the past and what space it occupies today. She is also a proud dancer in Más Flow, Princeton’s only Latinx dance group, and an avid recreational tennis player. She is excited to be a Princeton in Africa Fellow this year, teaching Research Methods and Theater at USAP Community School.

Alumni Update:

Jillian is currently a project coordinator at The Ohio State University College of Nursing, where she manages an NIH-funded project seeking to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in young black adults through a culturally and environmentally tailored mobile health program. She recently completed a Certificate in Public Management and began her MPH where she will focus on global health and health policy.

Fellow Bio:

Jillian, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, graduated from the University of Virginia with a dual degree in Global Development Studies and English Literature. While at UVa, Jillian was a member of the University Guide Service, a Rotunda Student Ambassador, and the Head Manager for the Varsity Women’s Volleyball Team. Since 2016 she has led an action-based research project investigating the use of public health models in alleviating youth violence in a township outside of Cape Town, South Africa. She and her research partner are currently writing a paper suggesting a complimentary use of contagious and chronic disease models in conceiving of youth violence in order to design effective and sustainable community-based programs to combat consequences and implications of youth violence. For this work, Jillian and her team were recipients of a Davis Projects for Peace Award, multiple UVa research grants and awards, and were participants in the Clinton Global Initiative University conference in 2017. Through her internships, Jillian has developed a passion for using data storytelling to empower traditionally marginalized populations, while also creating layered narratives of impactful work for both donor and internal facing communications. Jillian is excited to explore the global development field and all that Tanzania has to offer in her role on the External Affairs team at CCBRT.

Lavina is from Chicago, IL and is a 2014 graduate from Texas Christian University. Lavina majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry and Business. While at TCU, Lavina worked as a Resident Assistant on campus, participated in cultural dance performances, and was on the executive board for the pre-health honors society. Lavina enjoys travelling, working out, yoga, teaching at her church nursery, and dancing in her free time. While in Botswana, Lavina looks forward to building relationships, learning a new language, and making an impact on the students at Maru-a-Pula.

Alumni Update:

Stephanie is currently working as the Global Partnerships Manager for Muso, an NGO building and advocating for proactive community health systems. She is based in Bamako, Mali.

Fellow Bio:

Stephanie graduated with a major in Political Science and a minor in Africana Studies, and has been excited about international politics and development since living in Arusha, Tanzania for six years while growing up. Originally from Waterloo, Iowa, Stephanie currently lives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she is teaching English for university scholarship students, learning Haitian Kreyol and becoming a Capoeirista. While at Vassar, Stephanie was an avid participant in the Model United Nations program as a delegate for both ECOSOC and the International Court of Justice, and was a member of an all-female collaborative theatre ensemble, whose plays dealt with topics from women in conflict to gender and sexuality. While in Rwanda next year, Stephanie hopes to learn Kinyarwandan, cook amazing food and make a return trip to Tanzania.

Alumni Update:

Sarah is now working in the Sustainability Department of Olam International. Her work focuses on making a positive impact for people and communities in their food and agricultural supply chains across Africa. She is based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and is often on the road supporting their operations in various countries on the continent.

Fellow Bio:

Sarah graduated with a major in International Affairs, concentrating in International Development, and a minor in Sociocultural Anthropology. During her time at GW, Sarah served as President of Students Helping Honduras and was an active member of Delta Phi Epsilon, a Professional Foreign Service Sorority. She studied abroad in both Uganda and France, and spent time as an intern with Le Conseil de l’Europe, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and with Population Services International, an international public health and social marketing NGO. While in Malawi next year, Sarah looks forward to rededicating herself to international service and learning more about humanitarian aid. She also is very excited to learn some Chichewa, explore the arts scene in Lilongwe and connect with the people and culture in The Warm Heart of 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.

Shayla graduated from Princeton University in 2015, with a major in Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures and certificates in Global Health and Health Policy and Latin American Studies. She is interested in sexual and reproductive health as well as public health. During her undergraduate years, she studied abroad in Havana, Cuba and conducted ethnographic thesis research on women’s childbirth experiences in São Paulo, Brazil. She served as a Peer Health Adviser and developed the curriculum for the Safer Sexpo program, a comprehensive safer sex educational program mandatory for first-year students. Outside of her work in health, Shayla facilitated multiple identity-based discussion groups that encouraged students to share their perspectives on issues such as race, gender, and sexuality. After graduating, Shayla worked with UMatter, Princeton University Health Services’ new health and wellbeing initiative focused on active bystander intervention among the campus community. Shayla is thrilled to work in Gaborone, Botswana with Young 1ove, and is looking forward to learning more about public and sexual health. She is very excited to explore all that Botswana and southern Africa has to offer.

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.

she/her/hers

Lyla Renwick-Archibold is a recent graduate from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in computer science and brain sciences. Through her experiences studying human rights and technology in Amsterdam and interning at a startup in Cape Town, Lyla developed an interest in the misuse of technology and how they affect society. She has continued to pursue this interest by spearheading a research project at the McKelvey School of Engineering about the toxicity of AI chatbots. She is interested in pursuing a law degree and working on developing global regulation to lead to equitable technology development and usage, and is excited to be a fellow working on STEM education in Tanzania.