4th Class, 2007-2009
Field Placement: Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Bamako, Mali
Racey Bingham’s work during the field year involved both policy and practice. She assisted with the development of technical terms of reference, memoranda of understanding with various ministries, basic infrastructure design, tracking of procurements, design of an applied agriculture grants program and administration of a collaborative website. On field missions, she undertook research on various technical issues (input provision, access to credit, farmer organization development) and facilitated communication between various stakeholders (elected officials, project beneficiaries, local radios, and contractors).
Policy Placement: Millennium Challenge Corporation, Washington, DC and Bamako, Mali
For her policy year, Racey stayed with MCC-Mali’s resident country mission and divided her time between Bamako and the project’s field site in central Mali. Her work focused on supporting MCC’s technical oversight of the Alatona Irrigation project in the areas of agricultural training, research grants, involuntary resettlement and community infrastructure. As implementation of the irrigation project continued, she supported the implementing entity’s technical team in contract management and quality control of consultant services.
Pre-Fellowship Education/Experience:
A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Racey graduated in the spring of 2007 with a dual Master’s degree in International Environmental Policy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and in Nutrition from The Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy at Tufts University. Her focus at Tufts was water resource development and management for multiple uses in rural communities, and she received a certificate from the Water: Systems, Science and Society Program. She completed her undergraduate studies in the School of International Studies at American University. After college Rachel spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mauritania coordinating and implementing capacity building agricultural and environmental projects in peri-urban and rural communities. Since leaving Peace Corps in 2003 she traveled back to West Africa every year for research and work with various organizations including Tufts University, Columbia University, Peace Corps, Winrock International and the Department of Defense’s Humanitarian Assistance Program.