MPA in Development Practice
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MPA in Development Practice Student Biographies Class of 2020 ZAIN ALABWEH University Attended: University of Jordan Degree Awarded: B.A. in Spanish and English Country of Origin: Jordan MDP Summer Placement 2019: ACToday, Guatemala Zain graduated from the University of Jordan. She became interested in customs and trade after working with a USAID project that focused on those sectors in Jordan. After the project, she transitioned to higher education, working as the Arabic Teaching Assistant at Middlebury College in Vermont and later as the Resident Coordinator for their school abroad in Jordan. She enjoyed the work but found that her true passion is to work in customs and trade and decided to pursue it. She enjoys hiking, cycling and cooking, but enjoys playing badminton most of all, and recently squash. FATEMA ALHASHEMI University Attended: American University Degrees Awarded: B.S. Economics, B.A. International Studies Country of Origin: Bahrain MDP Summer Placement 2019: MIT D-Lab, Morocco and Uganda Fatema Alhashemi is a Bahrain-based independent researcher and research assistant focusing on economic development. She has worked on several research projects covering topics such as public sector reforms, resource revenue management, decentralization, the funding effect on research, economic diversification, micro-finance impact, and rentier state theory for organizations such as the Brookings Institution, the Middle East Institute, the Gulf Research Center, and American University. SANDRA ÁVALOS TRUJILLO University Attended: Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México Degrees Awarded: B.A and M.A in Economics Country of Origin: Mexico MDP Summer Placement 2019: International Labour Organization (ILO), Hungary Sandra was born in Mexico City. She holds a B.A and M.A in Economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México. She volunteered for a year in Mexico City at a wish granting organization for children with cancer and as a preschool teacher at a school for low-income single-parent families. She also interned at a NGO in Wroclaw, Poland. Upon graduation, Sandra worked as a consultant for the Labor Market and Social Security Network at the Inter-American Development Bank and as a financial researcher analyst at the Mexican Central Bank. Her research focuses on labor market profiles and social mobility in Mexico. CHAARVI BADANI Universities Attended: Ashoka University, Christ University Degrees Awarded: Postgraduate Certificate in Liberal Arts; B. A in Economics (Honors) Country of Origin: India MDP Summer Placement 2019: American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact, United States Chaarvi is passionate about innovations in business that have significant impact on society. She has four years of experience in social entrepreneurship and incubation in India and Vietnam. Chaarvi co-founded Karmaara, a social enterprise, to revive artisans’ livelihoods in rural India’s nascent handcrafted footwear market. She has worked across multiple programs in Villgro, India’s leading social incubator. She led technical assistance programs to help entrepreneurs scale, raised up to $3M for portfolio companies, and conducted diligence on enterprises in Vietnam, among others. At SIPA, Chaarvi is keen to further her capacity to develop sustainable impactful businesses across the world. VAISHNAVI BALA University Attended: Foundation for Liberal and Management Education Degree Awarded: B.B.A. in Finance and Economics Country of Origin: India MDP Summer Placement 2019: IMAGO Global Grassroots, Paraguay Upon graduating with a BBA, Vaishnavi began her career with an investment banking job. During her stint as an equity research analyst, she analyzed companies engaged in spin-offs, mergers, and acquisitions, and made investment recommendations for these stocks. Working for affluent institutional clients in the investment banking industry made her more conscious of the stark economic divide in her country and fueled her desire to pursue a career in financial development. She aims to work for improved access to financial services for economically disadvantaged communities. Most recently, Vaishnavi volunteered at the Seva Samajam Home for Destitute Children by designing curriculum and teaching English to primary school students. FATÈNE BEN-HAMZA Universities Attended: IAE Aix en Provence (School of Management); University of Portsmouth Degrees Awarded: M.A. in Business and Management; B.A in Honours Languages and International Trade; B.A in Business and Management Countries of Origin: France – Tunisia MDP Summer Placement 2019: UNICEF, Jordan Fatène, born and raised in France, holds a M.A. from IAE Aix en Provence and a B.A. in Languages and International Trade from the University of Portsmouth. Originally interested in business development and trade, Fatène became passionate about development when she moved to Tunisia after graduation in 2009, where she has been implementing platforms for self-expression and civic engagement. Fatène was also part of several public policy advocacy initiatives and has served within private foundations and development agencies in North Africa. At SIPA, Fatène is excited to further her journey to create inclusive impact, in particular for women and girls and via life-long learning opportunities. NATASHA BHUTA University Attended: Villanova University Degree Awarded: B.B.A. in Finance & International Business Country of Origin: United States MDP Summer Placement 2019: Lidya, Czech Republic Natasha graduated from Villanova University with a double degree in Finance and International Business. While studying, she helped facilitate two entrepreneurship workshops in Managua and was inspired learning about mobile money in rural areas of the country. After graduating, she worked in payments product management and product sales at Bank of America for 4 years and then at a rapidly growing cryptocurrency exchange startup. She is especially interested in emerging tech in payments and opportunities for economic development and financial inclusion around the world. EMILY BOYTINCK University Attended: McGill University Degree Awarded: B.Sc. in Environment Country of Origin: Canada MDP Summer Placement 2019: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Senegal Emily is from Edmonton, Canada and holds a Bachelor of Science in Environment from McGill University. As an undergraduate, she was deeply involved in social and environmental movements in Montreal, eventually working on mobilization and political affairs as an executive on her student union. After graduation Emily moved to Inukjuak, a remote Inuit community in the Canadian arctic, to work as an entrepreneurship project coordinator for an alternative education organization. In this role she worked directly with Inukjuamiut youth, implementing experiential learning projects aimed at developing practical leadership and entrepreneurial skills and fostering youth involvement in the community. SAMANTHA (SAM) CHAN University Attended: University of California Santa Barbara Degree Awarded: B.A. in Communication, Global Studies Country of Origin: United States MDP Summer Placement 2019: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Equator Prize, India, Peru and Tanzania Originally from California, Samantha is excited to move to New York City to join SIPA! Her interest in global issues first took her to Puerto Rico, then Spain, for service trips and study abroad opportunities. She then interned at a nonprofit that focused on ending malnutrition for women and children in developing nations. Following graduation, Samantha worked in India with International Justice Mission. As a communications consultant, Samantha helped further the mission of anti-trafficking work through various media platforms. Samantha hopes to combine her passions of storytelling and media to further the reach of women’s rights and social inclusion. MARIA ALEJANDRA (ALEJANDRA) CORDERO University Attended: Bentley University Degree Awarded: B.S. in Managerial Economics Country of Origin: Ecuador MDP Summer Placement 2019: Kantar Public, Myanmar Alejandra was born and raised in Ecuador. She studied Managerial Economics and Liberal Studies at Bentley University in Massachusetts, graduating in 2014. During her freshman year, she spent eight weeks in a rural village in Ghana working alongside a social entrepreneur supporting projects in education, sanitation, solar energy, malaria prevention and farming. Her experiences in Ghana and Ecuador fueled her passion for economic development. After graduation, Alejandra decided to gain work experience in the corporate and private sector and joined an information services company, AlphaSights, in NYC. She is thrilled to join SIPA and make a transition into international development. MARTIN DE AUBEYZON University Attended: Universidad de Lima Degree Awarded: B.A. in Psychology Country of Origin: Peru MDP Summer Placement 2019: SOTENI International, Kenya Martin de Aubeyzon is a social-oriented psychologist graduate, with more than seven years of experience in clinical practice and social programs ranging from public health to higher education. He started his career working at Peru's National Neoplastic Hospital (INEN), caring for patients and designing instructional programs to improve adherence to treatments. For the last four years, he has worked in education programs supervising the mental health of students and administrative personnel, focusing on achieving mentally and physically apt environments for learning in vulnerable circumstances. MERCEDES DE LA VEGA