Leland Fellow: Laura Ostenso »
6th Class, 2011-2013
Field Placement: World Cocoa Foundation, Accra, Ghana
Laura works with the World Cocoa Foundation on its signature youth education and livelihoods development project, Empowering Cocoa Households with Opportunities and Education Solutions (ECHOES). ECHOES works in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire to provide a holistic mix of strategies to strengthen rural education, provide opportunities for livelihoods development, and make lasting change in cocoa growing communities. Laura’s primary responsibilities include conducting a qualitative assessment of the program to date from the perspective of beneficiaries, implementers, and stakeholders and researching education standards in Ghana.
Pre-Fellowship Education/Experience:
For the past 3½ years, Laura has worked as a consultant to a variety of nonprofit clients—from Native American cultural preservation programs and international health advocates to youth development and microfinance resource organizations—to provide research, evaluation, and capacity building services. With an underlying focus on promoting community development initiatives by improving nonprofit programs and capacities, she has worked in Washington, D.C., Washington State, California, and Texas, and internationally in Uganda, Taiwan, and Brazil. Laura received her MA in the Anthropology of Development from the University of Sussex in Brighton, England and her BA in Political Economics from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Laura is a native Californian and in her spare time enjoys working as a barista in small, craft coffee houses (which she has done for eight years!).
- Join the movement to ensure access to nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate food for all people. Learn More
- Donate! Advocate! Host a Fellow!Learn More
News & Events
- Honorees Announced for CHC’s June 2012 Congressional Awards Ceremony
- May 1, 2012
At CHC’s June 7, 2012, Congressional Awards Ceremony… Read more we will honor Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Roy Blunt. We invite
- Hunger Center Releases Paper
- April 20, 2012
The goal of ending childhood hunger can be furthered effectively through alliances of anti-hunger advocates and partners from the education… Read more