Alumni Directory Display

Neil Wary was raised in the Chicago suburbs and deeply cares about health equity, mentorship, and service. He recently graduated from Stanford University (2022) with a bachelor’s in Human Biology, a master’s in Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and a minor in Music. During his time at Stanford, Neil was involved with Stanford Medicine’s free clinics, edited Stanford’s Journal of Science, Technology & Society, and was a peer tutor. Neil has extensive research experience in cardiovascular and cardiometabolic diseases and wrote his master’s thesis on predicting insulin sensitivity using blood-based biomarkers. In his free time, Neil plays the violin. Following the Princeton in Africa fellowship, Neil plans to attend music conservatory and then medical school. He is excited to be joining the faculty at USAP Community School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe.

Alumni Update:

Chris finished his fellowship in Malawi last year.

Fellow Bio:

Christopher, a New York native, graduated from Williams College with a degree in Political Science and Economics. While at Williams, he developed a strong interest in African culture and economic development, which he pursued through both his academic studies and internships. He spent one summer working for OPIC, a government institution that helps US private enterprises invest in developing economies. The next summer he worked at Jeremy Academy in Limuru, Kenya teaching a range of subjects including Music, Math, and English to middle school students. He thoroughly enjoyed his time at Jeremy, which further piqued his interest in returning to Africa after college.  After graduation, he worked for two years at Fidelity Investments as an internal consultant, performing strategy work for Fidelity’s business units while learning more about financial services. In his down time, he enjoys playing his French horn and outdoor activities like mountain biking and skiing. Christopher is extremely excited to continue pursuing his interest in economic development while leveraging his financial services knowledge at Foster Lewis in Lilongwe, Malawi this year.

Amity Weiss ‘07 is a politics major with a certificate in African studies from Ithaca, New York. During her PiAf fellowship year, she will be working to develop programs for the opening office of Plan Rwanda. (Plan is an international child and community development non-governmental organization.) While at Princeton she was a cadet for three years in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, where she learned how to do night land navigation, handle an M-16, and interact with people of different political and social backgrounds. She also served on the board of the Global Issues Forum and as the co-chair of the Princeton Darfur Action Committee. During her summers as a Princeton student, Amity worked with a local community-based refugee organization in Cape Town, South Africa; worked with the International Rescue Committee in Uganda; and did thesis research in Malawi. Her interest in Africa stems from her fascination with African politics and culture and how this forces her to confront ingrained biases about the continent on a daily basis. She also, totally randomly, is a certified aerobics instructor. Over the next year she hopes to learn about how international NGO programming is developed through her work with Plan and to connect with some of the Rwandan refugees she worked with in Cape Town that have since returned.

Alumni Update:

Keiana is currently a Justice Fellow at the Equal Justice Initiative where she advances public history work surrounding our nation’s history of racial injustice, facilitates community organizing around the country, and assists with legal intake. 

Fellow Bio:

Keiana graduated from Williams College with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Africana Studies. Throughout her undergraduate experience, she was deeply engaged with community organizing and education research in her hometown of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She co-directed an organization called Converging Worlds focused on combating injustices in the prison system, and this allowed her to develop community programs, organize panels, and create a magazine to facilitate relationships between activism on campus and in the surrounding communities. As an Allison Davis Research Fellow, Keiana received two years of funding to conduct independent, faculty mentored research including the effects of race and gender on perceptions of high school students’ behavior and psychological support for behavioral concerns. She also studied abroad in Durban, South Africa, where she had the opportunity to study social and political transformation in the country and to conduct a mixed-methods evaluation of a diversion program offered by the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders. The following summer, she completed a research internship at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she analyzed data and co-authored a pending publication on health interventions in Black churches. In the summer leading up to her fellowship, she and a peer were awarded the Davis Projects for Peace Grant to coordinate a social justice mentoring program with middle school students in Pittsfield. She is thrilled to continue her love for applied education research and non-profit work in Johannesburg

Fellow Bio:

A member of the Class of 2007, Katie White is a history major from Chatham, NJ. She will spend her fellowship year in Dakar, Senegal, working with the United Nations Population Fund in its regional advisory office. Katie has traveled during her last two summers to Cape Town, South Africa, where she studied human rights related issues and researched her senior thesis. At Princeton, she earned a certificate in African studies and was a member of the Cottage Club. A summer internship at the Clinton Foundation in New York gave Katie insight into private sector development work, and she is eager to learn more about an international development agency’s approach.

Alumni Update:

Bjorn recently completed his Master’s degree in International Affairs with concentrations in migration, diplomacy, and human rights at Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs. He is currently working as a consultant for international organizations in the fields of human rights, political reporting, and impact evaluation. He splits his time between Europe and New York.

Fellow Bio:

Bjorn, originally from Ithaca, NY, majored in Human Evolutionary Biology with a minor in French. While at Harvard he also conducted research on human development and completed a senior thesis on the evolution of aggression. He was also involved with the Cultural Survival campaign at Harvard where he campaigned against human rights violations against indigenous people in Ecuador. In Burundi he will be working with returning refugees, both establishing their livelihoods and ensuring the needs of the locals are met. He looks forward to working closely with Burundians, learning about their country, and looking for adventure in his travels around Africa.

Born in Nagasaki, Japan, Kelsie split her childhood almost equally between Japan and New Jersey; but having spent the last seven years in Washington, DC, the District now feels like home. Kelsie graduated from Georgetown University in 2012 with a BSFS focusing in Global Health. Outside of the classroom, she volunteered as an EMT with Georgetown´s student-run ambulance service and served as Executive Director of the world´s largest student-run Model UN conference. After graduation, Kelsie served as an AmeriCorps volunteer in a medical clinic for homeless men and worked as a federal consultant assisting with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. She is currently living in Chile, teaching English at a public high school through an initiative conceived by the Chilean Ministry of Education and supported by the UNDP. Kelsie is passionate about access to health care, health education, and education as a tool for poverty eradication. She is also passionate about baking, music, sunshine, quotes, crafting, and hiking. She is very grateful and excited for the opportunity to further explore her interests while serving as a Princeton in Africa Fellow, and she can´t wait for the adventures, learning, and new friends that await her in Tanzania!