Hackner headshot

Leland Fellow

Michaela Hackner

3rd Class, 2005-2007

Field Placement: Pact WORTH Center for Gender and Women’s Empowerment, Phnom Penh, Cambodia/Nairobi, Kenya

Michaela Hackner worked on Pact’s WORTH initiative, a unique women’s program that aimed to combat trafficking through self-empowerment, micro-enterprise development and literacy and numeracy training. In Cambodia, Michaela worked closely with the local WORTH staff to monitor and evaluate program activities and to produce success stories, newsletters and other communication tools to publicize the program and its beneficiaries. In Kenya, Michaela supported the six WORTH programs operating in Africa through technical assistance and program support, the training of trainers, the development of training materials and monitoring and evaluation techniques and methodologies. Through a joint project between the WORTH center and Pact, Inc., Michaela also collected global success stories and managed the development of a worldwide WORTH website that profiles the women involved in WORTH through storytelling and multimedia technology.

Policy Placement: Pact, Inc., Washington, DC

Michaela continued to work with communications technologies to support the WORTH program globally during her time in Washington, D.C. She also supported the 5-year WORTH strategic plan through the design of networked fundraising initiatives.

Pre-Fellowship Education/Experience:

A native of Chicago and Maryland, Michaela received her BA from Pennsylvania State University in 2000, focusing on multimedia, web design, and photography. Michaela pursued a career in web design with various government contractors in the Washington area before returning to graduate school part-time at Georgetown University, where she received her MA in Communication Culture and Technology in 2004, with a focus in international development. Mid-study, Michaela joined the federal government as a humanitarian analyst in 2003, analyzing conflicts and aid crises in West Africa, Latin America and South Asia. She also completed a summer rotation through the Centers for Disease Control in Cambodia.