Jini Kades holds an MS in Community Development and Applied Economics from the University of Vermont (UVM), along with a Graduate Certificate in Ecological Economics through the Gund Institute for Environment. Her thesis explored stressors and their mental health affects on Latino migrant farmworkers in Vermont’s dairy sector. While at … Read more

Host Organization: ACDI/VOCA First Year Placement Dhaka, Bangladesh Based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Jini is currently working for ACDI/VOCA as a market systems specialist, contributing to two USAID Feed the Future activities. For the Livestock Productivity for Improved Nutrition activity, Jini … Read more

Marisa Nowicki is from McKinney, Texas. She has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of North Texas. In addition, Marisa has a Master’s in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. In graduate school, she completed a … Read more

Host Organization: Bioversity International First Year Placement Nairobi, Kenya In her first year, Marisa worked as the Policy Analyst and Behavior Change Specialist for Bioversity International in Nairobi, Kenya. Marisa and her team launched a three-year research project aimed at … Read more

Rhiley’s passion lies in facilitating sustainable and harmonious relationships between people and their environments. She completed a MS at Michigan Technological University in Forest Ecology as a part of the Peace Corps Master’s International program in spring 2019. Her master’s thesis focused on local perceptions of forest change over a … Read more

Host Organization: Global Green Growth Institute First Year Placement Seoul, South Korea As an Agroforestry and Investment Specialist based in Seoul, Rhiley worked with GGGI’s Sustainable Landscapes Thematic Area, Impact and Evaluation Unit, Green Investment Services, Climate Action and Inclusive … Read more

Dan Myers, a native of Colorado Springs, Colorado, graduated from the University of Denver in 2016 with a BA in International Studies. As an undergraduate researcher, Dan focused on formal and informal governance systems surrounding agricultural resources in East Africa. He received a Cherrington Global Scholars placement with SIT Study … Read more

Host Organization: World Cocoa Foundation First Year Placement Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire As a Land Tenure and Property Rights Fellow with the World Cocoa Foundation, Dan works to organize and accelerate collective efforts among chocolate companies, civil society groups, donors, and … Read more

Prior to becoming a Leland Fellow, Navya received her MS in Medical Physiology from Case Western University and her BA in Neuroscience from Vanderbilt University with a focus on public health, nutrition and health disparities. After graduation, she worked with Open Hand Atlanta, a non-profit that provides medically-appropriate meals to … Read more

Host Organization: Welthungerhilfe First Year Placement Moroto, Uganda For her first year placement, Navya worked in Moroto, Uganda, to provide technical support for the Integrating Nutrition in Farmer Groups approach within a cross-border project supporting the agro-pastoralist communities of the … Read more

Isis Vera is a Program Analyst for the Africa Bureau’s Office of Sustainable Development in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She holds a Master’s Degree in Agricultural and Environmental Education from the University of Georgia with a certificate in International Agriculture. She served as the Congressional Hispanic … Read more

Host Organization: Foundation for Ecological Security & International Food Policy Research Institute First Year Placement Anand, Gujarat, India Isis is currently in Anand, India, working with the Foundation for Ecological Security as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. As part of … Read more

Michael Wang, originally from Wisconsin, graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2019 with an MPhil in Public Health. His Master’s research ranged from examining the social determinants of diarrheal disease and infant undernutrition in Myanmar to evaluating the impact of digital health interventions in managing non-communicable diseases. Prior to … Read more

Host Organization: International Food Policy Research Institute First Year Placement Yangon, Myanmar Based in Yangon, Myanmar, Michael worked with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to support the development and implementation of a nationally representative integrated household survey on … Read more