Alumni Directory Display

Catherine Blizzard was born and raised in Dallas and graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in international and global studies, german concentration, with coursework focusing on global health and refugee studies. A dynamic writer and effective communicator, she endeavors to help bolster the success and funding of global health and development organizations by telling their stories. Professionally, Catherine has worked with nonprofits, foundations and small healthcare startups. During college, she gained marketing and fundraising experience with Communities Foundation of Texas and spent a year living and working in Germany where she interned with the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. Since graduating she has explored the public health startup sector and spent her summer after graduation conducting qualitative research and conducting a needs-based assessment for Health Together. Currently, Catherine is the Business Development Consultant at Empathetics, Inc. and works directly with client outreach and development. Following a global health experience in the Volta region of Ghana, Catherine developed an interest in reproductive health education and access in the region. A US colleague and she have partnered with a Ghanaian friend and colleague to create ENE Empower, a nonprofit that promotes the development of women leaders by increasing their access to education, furnishing menstrual products, and reducing the violence and stigma around female reproductive health. She is very excited to join the Princeton in Africa community and to develop her fundraising and grant writing skillset with the Mt. Elgon Ecosystem Trust in Kitale, Kenya.

Fellow Bio:

Kevin Block ’08 is an English major from Philadelphia, PA. At Princeton, Kevin participated in club sports and was a member of the Student Advisory Committee for the Program in American Studies, in which he earned a certificate. Kevin studied abroad in Spain and has worked for nikesoccer.com as a consultant for the past two years. He is interested in criminal justice and plans to attend law school after his PiAf fellowship ends.

Fellow Bio:

Nana Boakye ’08 is a history major with a certificate in American studies. Hailing from Clearwater, FL, she enjoyed her time here at Princeton doing Orange Key, WPRB DJing, tutoring ESL and being a member of Terrace F. Club. While she had developed an interest in Latin America and Spanish, her heart belonged to Africa. Being the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, she knew that she would one day return to work on the continent. During the summer of 2006, she did. For two months she worked at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative justice in Accra, Ghana. .Now, two years later, she will embark on a new challenge – East Africa. Even though she has no idea what to expect she feels that this is best. Now, she will face and embrace whatever challenges, surprises, and triumphs come her way

The formation of Maame’s concentration, “Sankofa: (Re) Defining the Indigenous Modern City”, is owed to the inspiration her birth city, Accra, provided during her formative years. While at New York University, Maame secured several research grants to conduct two research projects: one on youth employability in Ghana and the other on civic participation in environmental conservation efforts in Nairobi and Dakar. With the findings from her first research project on youth employability, Maame developed a robust curriculum for a Youth Fellowship Program at the UNFPA in Accra, aimed at mentoring national service personnel and equipping them with employable skills such as team building, research, and creative thinking. The Fellowship Program has since been implemented and will be a part of the UNFPA Accra agenda permanently. Maame is currently working toward launching an Africa-based tourism platform, Ibhazi, which is aimed at promoting intra-continental travel and creating conversations surrounding cultural sustainability on the continent. As a Princeton in Africa Fellow at Yalelo in Lusaka, Zambia, Maame is excited to explore the aquaculture industry on the continent and to live on the side of Africa.

Alumni Update:

Meghan is continuing her work in sustainable supply chains, as the Avocado Category Lead at Equal Exchange, a fair trade importing business. She is based in Boston and travels to Mexico and Peru to meet with their small farmer suppliers.

Fellow Bio:

Meghan graduated with degrees in International Relations and Economics. While at Tufts, she expanded upon her academic understanding of international development as a member of BUILD: India, a student-led sustainable development group. Meghan traveled to India twice to plan and implement a community composting toilet project and to conduct research about the role of microenterprises in community development. Since graduating, she has served as a researcher at the Center for Green Buildings and Cities at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She investigates patterns and motivations of the sustainability and transparency of corporate policies. Excited by the intersection of food and agriculture, sustainability, and small business, Meghan is excited to be joining Village Enterprise as a Monitoring and Evaluation Fellow. She is particularly looking forward to being able to work directly with producers and to the challenge of gardening in a new climate!

Alumni Update:

Christine is currently the Quality Improvement and Data for Action Director with NEST360, a consortium working to reduce neonatal mortality in Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, and Malawi. 

Fellow Bio:

Christine (Rice ‘11), originally from Hann. Muenden, Germany, graduated with a degree in Anthropology and minors in Global Health Technologies and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. While at Rice she was president of the Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees (PAIR), an organization through which she helped refugee youth adjust to life in Houston and succeed in school. During her summers Christine interned at an AIDS clinic in Lesotho, conducted malaria research in Thailand, and pursued medical anthropology projects in India. She looks forward to working with refugees in Burundi and applying this knowledge to her career as a physician specializing in refugee health. Christine is excited about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, African wildlife, and new experiences every day.

Thomas Bohnett ‘07 is a Woodrow Wilson School major from Princeton Junction, New Jersey. During his PiAF fellowship year, Thomas will serve as the communications intern for the International Rescue Committee in Kampala, Uganda. He enjoys outdoor sports including hiking, cross-country skiing, and running. He has traveled and worked in southern Africa, India, and Nepal. At Princeton, Thomas was the president of the Princeton Justice Project and a columnist for The Daily Princetonian. He is working hard to learn Swahili.

Victoria graduated from the University of Albany with a degree in Social Welfare. While at UAlbany, she served in the Student Association, Residential Life and as a peer mentor for programs aimed at supporting first-generation students. Since graduating she has served in the non-profit sector working in the areas of education, access and advocacy. Victoria developed a strong passion for work in Africa after she went to Ghana in 2011 and assisted with curriculum development, outreach, youth development and women’s empowerment initiatives. In her free time, Victoria enjoys being outdoors, dancing and spending time with friends and family. While in Kenya, Victoria is looking forward to going on at least one safari, learning how to make a few Kenyan dishes and working with local artisans through her work with Soko!

Ben Boston is driven to develop innovative governance solutions for sub-Saharan Africa. Ben is a native of Connecticut and a recent graduate of Stanford University, where he majored in political science and minored in history. His undergraduate studies focused on politics, governance, and conflict in post-colonial Africa. As a senior, he completed an honors thesis in international security studies, entitled America in East Africa: Security Partnerships, Aid Dependence and Diplomatic Leverage, through Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation under the advising of Professor Jeremy Weinstein. He has worked on US policy towards and communication on Africa while interning in the State Department with the Office of East African Affairs and the Press and Public Diplomacy office at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and with USAID at the U.S. Mission to the African Union. He also has experience working in American domestic politics, organizing for Elizaebeth Warren in Iowa in 2020 and for Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire in 2016. At Stanford, he organized weekly breakfast donations for a local homeless shelter and served as the Captain, President, and Financial Officer for the Men’s Lacrosse team.

Gwladys Boukpessi is a passionate young professional originally from Togo, West Africa. Growing up, her mother was a caseworker in the New York City area for African refugees seeking asylum. Witnessing their struggles for a better life made Gwladys want to dedicate her life to improving conditions for people around the world. In 2019, Gwladys graduated from Lehigh University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering with a minor in sustainable development. While at Lehigh, Gwladys was awarded the Dale S. Strohl ’58 Undergraduate Summer Research Grant to study sustainable waste management solutions in Ghana. Her undergraduate career also included research in Kenya on their clean water crisis and interning in Nepal with a local NGO to help improve local waste management. After graduating, Gwladys worked as an Environmental Engineer for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection where she helped to develop and implement air pollution control programs and regulations to improve air quality for NJ residents. In addition, Gwladys also served as an intern and Youth Ambassador for African Hope Committee, an NGO that empowers African immigrants in New York City through health education programs, immigration services, and social service support. Driven by her love for Africa and international development, Gwladys is honored to join the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT as a Research Fellow.