he/him/his

Chukwunwike (or CJ) is committed to the development and advancement of Africa. Utilizing his passion for culture, finance, and the power of connection, CJ is eager to examine current infrastructure needs locally with the intention of creating positive life outcomes for citizens. He is a Nigerian-American born in Los Angeles and an alumnus of UCLA where he majored in International Development Studies. After graduating in 2015, CJ joined Northwestern Mutual as a full-time Associate Wealth Management Advisor. He began his tenure with Northwestern Mutual working on a team of two; they have since hired 4 staff to provide additional support to their growing clientele. While leading his own team, CJ supports two other Wealth Management teams in the office through investment operations and staff training. He works diligently with clients to identify their financial needs and focuses on creating solutions to ensure their goals become reality. CJ’s experience with a diverse clientele and strong interpersonal skills drives his team to be contextual & expansive with their financial planning. CJ is passionate about engaging his community outside of the office as well. As a volunteer, he has hosted multiple financial literacy workshops for Black students at both UCLA & USC. Just last year, he started a weekly beach volleyball league where 90% of the participants hadn’t played prior. CJ recognizes that Africa’s existing natural & human resources both serve as the center of its innovation; his ambition and tenacity would be invaluable assets to an organization fueled by this notion.

Matthew Fuller is a 2020 graduate of Princeton University, having concentrated in History with certificates in African Studies and History and the Practice of Diplomacy (HPD). For his senior thesis, he researched Namibia’s independence movement during the 1980s and focused on the movement’s place in the Cold War, the developments of the South African Border War, and a variety of grassroots liberation efforts. Most recently, Matthew was a project assistant for the National Democratic Institute’s Southern and East Africa team, where he supported programs in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Uganda as well as the Political Party Leadership Institute and the Illiberal Influences regional programs. Before that, he worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office for Southern African Affairs, researching long-term water solutions for drought in southern Madagascar. In 2019, Matthew interned with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, working with EducationUSA programming. In 2017, he worked in Cape Town, South Africa, researching financial literacy and inclusion projects and consulting on carbon-reducing efforts. He also spent the summer of 2018 studying Indian democracy in Haryana, India as part of a Princeton Global Seminar. Matthew is originally from southeastern Michigan. In his free time, he explores his interests in music, cooking, and sports.

A recent graduate from New York University Abu Dhabi with a major in economics and a concentration in finance, Gaurav aspires to use his education and internship experience in the private sector to find data-driven solutions to empower communities in the developing regions of the world. His prior professional experiences include business strategy and research roles at Emaar Properties (Real Estate), Integra Ledger (Blockchain) and Mukta Arts Limited (Entertainment). He has academic and professional experiences in several countries including the USA, Spain, Tanzania, the UAE, India, and Nepal. Passionate about diversity and inclusion, Gaurav is very curious about other cultures and wants to meaningfully travel the entire world while responsibly engaging with local communities. Apart from impact work, Gaurav writes songs, plays the guitar, and makes travel videos on YouTube.

Sarah graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in international affairs and french and a minor in global development. Sarah is passionate about community-driven change through equitable access to education and resources, particularly for women and youth. While at Georgia Tech, Sarah taught multilevel ESL and job skills classes for newly arrived refugees at the International Rescue Committee in Atlanta. She also served as a Literacy Coordinator in South Africa where she created and implemented an ESL program for local students. In addition, Sarah conducted research on terrorist groups in the MENA region with Georgia Tech and developed a local advocacy strategy as Congressional Action Leader for UNICEF Atlanta. After interning at The Carter Center during her final year, she was hired to continue in the Rule of Law Program as a Program Assistant, where she spent three years working on projects to advance government accountability/transparency and increase women’s access to information across a range of countries. Sarah is thankful for the opportunity to be a Princeton in Africa Fellow and looks forward to learning more about grassroots-level development with FCDE.

Conor graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Political Science and a certificate in African Studies. Academically and professionally, he specializes in issues of institutional design and government accountability. Conor has examined these topics closely in his research, including a comparative investigation into East African tax administrations and a senior thesis that tested links between urban protests in South Africa and the responsiveness of municipal officials. In the summer of 2019, he interned at the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, where he supported efforts to develop and expand regional partnerships and transparency initiatives. He is especially passionate about protecting the human rights and dignity of the most vulnerable, having taken part in State Department initiatives to combat human trafficking. Conor is excited to work as a Princeton in Africa fellow with Kaz’O’zah Keza, an organization that provides artisan training and organizational support to communities in Burundi and Uganda.

Nishtha graduated from Emerson College with an M.A. in Communication Management with a specialization in Political Communication in 2018. Born and raised in New Delhi, India, she also holds an undergraduate degree in Journalism from Wilson College, University of Mumbai, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. A former journalist, Nishtha worked with one of the largest English newspapers in India. During this time, she reported on education, politics and LGBTQ+ rights. As she collaborated with activists and community members for news stories, she discovered her passion for social advocacy and community engagement. Since then she has worked with nonprofits and advocacy centers to help further their vision. Most notably, she worked as a program associate with the Elma Lewis Center for Civic Engagement, Learning and Research, where she gained experience in community outreach and building a grassroots movement. She also worked with Boston Partners in Education as their program coordinator for Power Lunch, a reading enrichment program for students in Boston Public Schools. In 2020, she was selected as a Social Entrepreneurship Fellow by ProFellow, a US-based social enterprise, where she learnt about the mechanics of building and sustaining a social enterprise. In the future, she hopes to get an academic understanding of community development and social justice practices, and eventually start her own social enterprise focused around connecting community-based organizations from developing countries. In her free time, Nishtha likes to bake, watch world cinema, and explore museums.

Marco Kull, who is half-Swiss and half-Croatian, graduated from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service in 2018 with a degree in International Political Economy and a certificate in Australian, New Zealand, and Pacific Studies. Born in Switzerland, but having spent his childhood living in a number of countries, his studies at Georgetown naturally gravitated towards putting political economy in a global context, eventually focusing on using firm-level data to quantify, compare, and contrast private sector conditions and trajectories across states. During his studies, he spent time working with the Swiss mission to Cuba, as a trainee public markets Portfolio Manager at Bank Julius Baer in Geneva, and as a waiter at restaurants in Peru and Chile; after graduating, he joined UBS’ New York office as an Investment Banking Analyst, where he spent two years working on a variety of M&A and Capital Markets transactions as part of the bank’s Global Consumer Products & Retail coverage team. Fascinated by the ongoing development of private sectors across Africa and the diversity of economic, social, and political opportunity that it presents, Marco’s goal is to build a nuanced understanding of the circumstances and structures shaping that process, and start a career working in and with Africa.

Katie graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in English and minor in consumer psychology. At Penn, she was involved in Wharton’s undergraduate marketing club, MUSE, where she led projects for their nonprofit consulting division. During her junior year, Katie spent a semester studying at the University of Cape Town, where her passion for serving marginalized communities grew. Following graduation, Katie developed her marketing and communication skills at Rabin Martin, a global health consulting firm, where she communicated public health programs and corporate social responsibility initiatives. She then moved to Edelman, a global communication firm, where she worked in their Corporate and Public Affairs sector driving communications strategy, executive leadership positioning and media relations for Fortune 500 companies such as eBay, Audible, and the PepsiCo Foundation. Looking for ways to further engage with her passions, Katie joined Amref Health Africa’s Young Professional Board where she works on event planning, fundraising and strategy development to forward their mission. She is excited to return to the African continent to work intimately with those fighting to protect and uplift populations most susceptible to systemic injustices.

Mary graduated from The University of Maryland, College Park with a degree in Food Science and Global Poverty. Her experiences are mainly focused in nutrition, agriculture and education. Mary’s enthusiasm for nutrition led her to work with the US Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Food Care Program during her Junior year of college. As she progressed through college, she completed research in International Food Safety with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Mary is a Nigerian native and believes that education and culture are vital to personal development and growth. During the late months of 2006, the United Nations predicted that some minor languages of the world would become extinct by 2025. In response to the prediction, she pioneered an undergraduate class with the University of Maryland’s African American Studies department on the native Nigerian language; Igbo. Her international work spans throughout the countries of Nigeria, Uganda, Haiti, and Taiwan. In her free time she goes on personal missions trips and volunteers with non-profit organizations like Oxfam and The World Bank.

Alumni Update:

Lambert is currently interning with congressman Adam Smith (WA9) as Payne Fellow. In mid-August, he will be moving to Duke University for a master’s in water resources management. 

Fellow Bio:

Ngenzi Lambert graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Environmental Science with a focus in water resource management and a minor in Geographic Information System. He wants to use his research experience and his knowledge about the African continent to help local communities in Africa conserve and manage water resources. Lambert moved from Republic of Congo to Kent, Washington with his family as a refugee from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. He has been conducting his undergraduate research with Dr. Alex Fremier looking at how land use patterns in Ghana and Burkina Faso affect sediment accumulation by using remote sensing programs. Lambert was a McNair scholar and a Doris Duke Conservation program fellow. These programs have helped prepare Lambert to pursue his passion. He has been able to present his research at over 20 different conferences. Lambert’s presentation was recognized as an outstanding research presentation. In addition, Lambert won the President Award and was nominated as an outstanding senior of his department. His accomplishment has awarded numerous scholarships and paid summer internships around the nation. In his free time, Lambert enjoys playing soccer and the outdoors with friends.