Elizabeth DeFreest
2016-2017 Fellow with
Soko,
Kenya
American University Class of 2016
Elizabeth received her BA in International Studies from American University’s School of International Service, concentrating in International Development and Social Entrepreneurship. Prior to enrollment, she spent a year working with Income Generation Projects, a USAID funded coffee cooperative and a street children’s rehabilitation center in Kigali, Rwanda. Additionally, Elizabeth spent time teaching and assisting with photography journalism at an alternative education primary school in Oaxaca, Mexico. During the Fall of 2014, she studied and worked in Pune, India, specializing in handcraft marketing, export programing and organizational development. During Elizabeth’s time at American University, she held an internship every semester in Washington, D.C. Organizations included the U.S. Department of State, Ashoka, GlobalGiving, Global Ties U.S., Lift DC, and Solimar International. Having previously lived in East Africa for a total of two years, Elizabeth can not wait to make a new home in Nairobi, Kenya.