Alumni Directory Display

Fellow Bio:

Carolina Danspeckgruber ’08 is a politics major from Princeton, NJ. She also earned a certificate in European Cultural Studies. At Princeton Carolina was a Community Action leader and coordinator, a French Story Hour reader, and a member of the Ivy Club. Through Princeton, Carolina also worked for the Financial Institutions Department of the Raiffeisen Bank in Vienna, Austria. An avid traveler, tennis player, and skier, Carolina is excited to spend the coming year in Cape Town to learn more about public health NGOs as well as the NGO world in general.

Alumni Update:

Devan is still in Boston with her wonderful husband and fellow PiAf-er, David Bartels! They welcomed their second child in later summer of 2019. After being a staff anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital for the last 2 years, she moved to Williamstown, MA, to start working as an anesthesiologist at Berkshire Medical Center. As her family gets a bit older, she is looking forward to engaging more in volunteering abroad including in southern Africa.

Sanjeev graduated from Duke University with a degree in Political Science. His time at Duke was defined by his work in the field of forced migration and human rights. He conducted field research with Iraqi and Syrian refugees in Jordan, led a youth mentoring program for resettled refugees in Durham, North Carolina, and led a project to create an online platform to share data and analysis on global migration. His senior thesis focused on the origins of the Rohingya conflict in Myanmar. Sanjeev has a diverse array of experiences working internationally. He conducted research into war crime trials for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Serbia, studied the impacts of drought on marginalized populations in rural India for UNDP, and provided legal support to the Statelessness Section at UNHCR headquarters. After graduation, Sanjeev was selected as a Hart Leadership Fellow by Duke and was placed at the Issara Institute in Bangkok, Thailand, where he provided support to a number of research projects focused on eliminating human trafficking and forced labour among migrant workers in global supply chains. He is an avid reader, a complete history nerd, a huge soccer fan and a photography enthusiast. He is looking forward to learning more about working with displaced populations through his time at IRC Tanzania.

Liviya graduated with honors from George Washington University in May 2017 with a degree in international affairs, concentrating on Africa and global public health. Her time volunteering in Ghana and Morocco and studying at the University of Cape Town in South Africa motivated and cemented her passion for African affairs. Currently, she is a project assistant at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center in Washington, DC where she has written case studies for a report on the state of primary education in Africa and researched Africa-Israel engagement and food insecurity in Nigeria. She also manages the Africa Center’s campaign and contacts database, tracks media metrics, and creates monthly newsletters that overview that Center’s events, publications, and media presence. Previously, she was an intern at the Jerusalem African Community Center, an NGO focused on integrating African refugees and asylum seekers in Jerusalem. While working there, she developed their English marketing materials, wrote grant materials and streamlined the application process, created blog pieces, and updated their website to better communicate their work. Liviya is a foodie at heart and is so excited to make her new home in Nairobi, learn some Swahili, and explore the city’s food scene.

Mary Davis grew up in rural Pennsylvania with her family and an assortment of pets. She is a recent graduate of Princeton University and is driven to improve healthcare access in rural settings, both domestically and internationally. She majored in Molecular Biology, with minors in Global Health and Health Policy as well as Applications of Computing. Her skillset centers around her technological proficiency, experience in scientific research, and work in youth leadership. She has interned at Levolosi Health Center in Arusha, Tanzania, fundraising to purchase a fetal heart monitor and other clinical supplies. Mary also worked as a data science intern on the political campaign of epidemiologist Natalia Linos, managing data describing eligible district voters, directing social media data collection, and leading phone canvassing. For her senior thesis at Princeton, she conducted research in the Donia and Wingreen molecular biology labs at Princeton, employing computer science tools to quantify bacteria’s antiviral defense mechanisms. Following Princeton in Africa, Mary plans to attend Sidney Kimmel Medical School to pursue her medical degree. She enjoys singing, exploring nature with her dogs, and hosting board game nights.

Originally from the Netherlands, Marlotte has spent the majority of her life in the United States and now calls Rockwood, Tennessee home. She graduated in May 2015 from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she double majored in Psychology and Child Development and double minored in European History and Environmental and Sustainability Studies. While in school, she interned for EnvironmentAmerica, Urban Green Lab, and the Houston Zoo’s Conservation Department, and designed her own research study focused on children and adults’ perceptions of helpful and harmful environmental actions. She also assisted on a research program investigating long-term cognitive effects of chemotherapy and radiation in Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patients. In her free time, Marlotte loves any and all animals and enjoys cooking, any outdoor activity like hiking, sailing, or swimming, and discovering new places. She is excited to explore Kenya, learn Swahili, and work for the World Agroforestry Centre. Following this fellowship, she plans to pursue a PhD in Environmental Policy and Management.

Alumni Update:

Natalie is currently Protection Policy Adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross.  She is now based at the ICRC’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland after 12 years – including PiAf! – in various overseas assignments.

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.

Fellow Bio:

Annette is a Woodrow Wilson School major with a certificate in Global Health and Health Policy. She is from Annandale, Virginia. While at Princeton, she volunteered as an EMT at the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, led Outdoor Action freshmen pre-orientation hiking trips, and enjoyed playing club, IM, and pick-up basketball. Through Princeton, Annette interned with a non-profit organization in a rural village in the Eastern Cape of South Africa where she did research on pain and palliative care. While in Botswana next year, she looks forward to working closely with those affected by HIV. Moreover, she is excited to learn about a different world and hopes to make Gaborone home with new friends and adventures.