Hometown: I’ve spent 5-7 years in each of the following places: Paris, France (where I was born), Connecticut, Texas, and California (San Francisco and LA) – so I never know how to answer this question! I moved to New York City two years ago to pursue my MPH and MPA at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and SIPA, respectively. I now live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and will be graduating in December.
What are you working on? This fall I will be working on several projects for the SHE team focusing on government advocacy, content development, strategy, and technology. I’m looking forward to applying my public health, development, and gender expertise to furthering SHE’s mission!
What superpower would you have? Teleporting. I live an hour’s train ride from school and work – how nice it would be to be able to snap my fingers and arrive at my destination! Either that or the ability to be two places at once, as my family lives in the UK and I have friends scattered around the globe.
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? I love fruity sorbets, salted caramel, and sometimes just a plain old vanilla cone from one of NYC’s ubiquitous ice cream trucks.
What was the last song that played on your iPod/iPhone/iPad? Last night I was listening to the new self-titled album from indie folk/electro-pop band Sylvan Esso.
Why did you join SHE? I joined the SHE team to help unleash girls’ and women’s full potential by improving their health, promoting their dignity, and enabling their full participation in society. I recently concluded a 6-month consulting engagement with BRAC on their Empowerment and Livelihoods for Adolescents program, which brought me to Uganda for 3 weeks of qualitative research. There I met the most inspiring girls who face extremely challenging circumstances but have hope for their futures and take pride in themselves and their communities. One observation that struck me as a public health professional was the lack of affordable health commodities including sanitary pads. Most girls used rags or other workarounds and suffered humiliation during that time of the month, as well as uncertainty due to lack of accurate menstrual health information. I have been interested in social enterprise and market-based approaches to public health for the past couple of years am so excited to be a part of the path breaking work being done at SHE using these strategies to solve a fundamental public health problem.
