Center for African Studies Alumni
2015
KAREEM ALSTON
Born and raised in New York City, Kareem has a B.A. Honors in African & African American Studies from Stanford University with a concentration in Identity, Diversity, and Aesthetics. As an undergraduate, he pursued research on local Hip Hop culture, activism and education in Cape Town, South Africa, writing an honors thesis and producing a short documentary.
As an M.A. student in African Studies, he plans to continue his focus on the intersections between art and culture, with the ultimate goal of continuing to work in the music industry.
Kareem has worked throughout the arts world in many capacities, formerly working in dance and is currently the Co-Chair of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford. He is excited for the opportunity to keep learning and growing academically while searching for ways to contribute to the arts globally.
SHERIF IBRAHIM
Sherif hails from New Jersey, where he grew up and attended Rutgers University-New Brunswick. He graduated from Rutgers with a degree in Political Science and Honors in English. His senior thesis was focused on the fluctuating Orientalism in Moby Dick.
Throughout his undergraduate career, Sherif worked for political campaigns, nonprofits and various political and cultural organizations focused on social justice and cultural visibility and presence.
His research interests include historical conceptions of political and social Islam in Africa, methods of decolonization, transitions from pre-colonial to colonial structures, and revolution. He has traveled to Egypt and the Middle East seven times, and aims to holistically understand the history and historicity of the African continent as it links to the Middle East.
MEGAN YEALY
Megan studies natural resource governance in West Africa, with a focus on the Niger Delta. She is interested in the historical role of colonial powers in the process of resource extraction and the current effects of neoliberal economic policies on this region.
Prior to joining CAS, Megan interned at the West Africa Research Center in Dakar where she worked with the library on their new acquisitions project. She also spent two summers in Malawi participating in an immersion anthropology course, first as an undergraduate and then returning as a teacher’s assistant. In addition, she worked on a local development project in rural Malawi focusing on agricultural sustainability and alternative farming practices.
Megan hopes to go on to pursue a doctoral degree in History, where she will focus on the Biafran War and other conflicts in West Africa. In the meantime, she is excited to explore all the opportunities Stanford has to offer.
Megan received her B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Rochester.
2014
Nadeem anjarwalla
Nadeem is originally from Mobasa, Kenya and joins the 2013 cohort. The primary focus of his study surrounds the relationship between government policy and business development in Sub Saharan Africa and how business models have adapted to the growing government intervention in the market economy.
Prior to enrolling at Stanford, Nadeem was practicing law at a firm based in Nairobi. He was exposed to the regulatory and commercial framework across countries in East Africa particularly in the oil and gas, energy and real estate sectors.
Nadeem holds a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford and a Law degree from BPP Law School. As an avid skier he is excited about the proximity of Tahoe, especially having been so far away from a slope whilst in Nairobi!
ALEXANDRA BRONER
Hailing from NYC, Alexandra has a B.A. Honors in International Relations from Stanford University, where she is delving further into her regional specialization quantitative/qualitative research training through an M.A. in African Studies with a concentration in political economy and security. Her primary focus is on public service delivery reform and public-private partnerships in West Africa.
As an undergraduate, Alexandra also studied conflict and post-conflict development economics through programs at Oxford and Hebrew Universities. Supported by Stanford grants, she conducted research in West Africa for her B.A. Honors Thesis, Measuring government reform progress in post-conflict states: A comparative case study of Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Alex has also pursued her interest in topics such as poverty eradication, gender-based violence, infectious disease, food security, and political accountability across sub-Saharan Africa through work as a Stanford research assistant; RTI research intern; USAID policy intern; SIG International Fellow at Ghana’s Center for Democratic Development; and Stanford Graduate Teaching Assistant for Global HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Following graduation, Alexandra will conduct health research in East Africa, work for IRC-Somalia as a 2014-2015 Princeton in Africa Fellow, and eventually pursue social impact investing in the developing world and return to school for an MBA/Ph.D.
TAYLOR MAYOL
Taylor studies interactions between politics, governance, civil society, and security, with an emphasis on the Great Lakes region. She is particularly interested in the role and creation of identity in Rwanda and the implications this has for the political future of the state.
Before joining CAS Taylor spent a year as a Princeton in Africa Fellow with Blue Ventures in southwest Madagascar. There, she worked as the Communications and Program Development Officer on conservation and development issues. Prior to working in Madagascar, she spent two years working in Washington, DC, first with the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and later with the International Rescue Committee working directly with resettled asylum-seekers.
Taylor received her B.A. in international relations and a minor in economics from the University of Southern California. During her undergraduate career she focused on Sub-Saharan Africa and international development and spent a semester abroad at the University of Cape Town. While at UCT she also worked with an advocacy organization that fights for the protection of Zimbabwean migrants and asylum-seekers. She has a dog named Kapiky (peanut in Malagasy), loves geckos and chameleons, and is learning Kinyarwanda.
MONZURAT ONI
Monzurat was born in Brooklyn, New York to Yoruba parents from Southern Nigeria. She studied International Relations at Stanford for her undergraduate career with a minor in Middle Eastern Cultures, Languages, and Literatures. Monzurat's research interests are focused in development in West Africa; specifically the ways in which regional integration can help the Western African nations to overcome the current economic and political challenges in the area.
Monzurat also loves West African fashion and enjoys designing Ankara-print clothing during her trips to Nigeria. In her spare time, you can usually find Monzi in a random corner reading a book or a blog on her iPad or laptop.
ANGELA REESE
Angela's current participation in the African studies masters program was partly inspired by the public health research she did in Ethiopia, assessing hypertension and diabetes prevalence. Prior to graduate school, she also earned a molecular and cellular biology BS degree and conducted biomedical research for several years. Her health and sciences background was the first academic lens through which she was able to view Africa.
Angela is now determined to learn more about the social, political, historical, and literary aspects of African societies, which are inextricably linked to health and well-being. Along with healthcare inequality, her academic interests include anti-colonial movements, pan Africanism, Black American genetic ancestry politics, as well as conceptions of race and genetics in Africa and the United States. She is currently learning Twi, and plans to live in Ghana for some time before making her next steps.
2012
SARA CONKLIN
Sara Conklin graduated with a BA in International Relations and Political Science from Florida International University in 2011. As an MA student in the Center for Afric an Studies at Stanford, she specialized in global health, culture and society. In 2007, Sara interned with the American Islamic Congress in Boston, directing the city-wide Boston Muslim Film Festival: "Art Under Fire". The year following, Sara traveled to Arusha, Tanzania with a nonprofit organization called Support for International Change. While living in a village homestay, Sara conducted research with a team on HIV/AIDS education in the Kilimanjaro district and eventually developed an HIV awareness campaign. In 2010, studying abroad with her university, Sara wrote ethnographic entries on globalization and heritage tourism in Senegal and The Gambia. Sara intends to continue research in global health and infectious disease, particularly targeting health education initiatives for at-risk communities in Sub Saharan Africa.
ANNIE HSIEH
Annie Hsieh is a third year joint degree student at Stanford, where she is pursuing a JD and MA in African Studies. Annie has worked on reviewing mining and natural resource legislation in Malawi, and editing a book on constitutional law and women’s rights issues across sub-Saharan Africa. At the law school, she is also Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Journal of International Law and Co-President of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project. Prior to Stanford, Annie served as an Engineer officer in the United States Army, and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Upon graduation, Annie will continue serving in the Army as a Judge Advocate General and hopes to be assigned at the U.S. African Command. In the long term, Annie wants to work on legal development in Africa.
KOFFI BIERHOFF KORHA
Koffi Bierhoff Korha explores development, democracy, political economy and security in Africa. His current work analyzes the impact of conflicts on regional stability on the continent with emphasis on the horn of Africa. He graduated in 2008 from California State University East Bay with a BA in Political Science and Sociology. He was born in Liberia and has lived and studied in Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. Some of his favorite activities are playing soccer, watching European soccer leagues and listening to NPR.
GRIFFIN MATTHEW
Griffin Matthew studies how mobile phones, software programs, social media, and other forms of technology can be leveraged to support health care systems in the great lakes region of Africa. She has worked with the Kaiser Family Foundation to help develop BET's Greater Than AIDS campaign. In 2009, she worked with FACE AIDS to create a community health radio program in Rwanda. Griffin competed for the Stanford Track and Field team for four years, and is currently training for the 2012 London Olympics. As an athlete, Griffin is also very interested in the various ways that sports can be used as a low-cost high impact tool in peace-building efforts. Griffin is currently working with TeachAIDS to create a new research-based, culturally relevant, HIV animation tutorial that will be launched throughout Rwanda in 2012.
CHAD MCCLYMONDS
Chad McClymonds studies small state foreign policy, international organization and the role of Africa’s global perception. He also examines the ethics of humanitarianism and the use of media as a tool for development. Chad earned his BA in international relations from San Francisco State University. He studied at the University of Ghana, Legon, and worked with the Centre for Democratic Development in Ghana to conduct research on election-related violence in Ghana’s 2008 election. He also worked in West Africa’s film industry, broadcast television, and theatre. He argues you can’t discuss Senghor without Sembène, and Obasanjo without Adichie.
VANESSA WATTERS
Vanessa Watters' research interests center around artistic representation and presentation, Islamic West Africa, and critical development theory. Vanessa recently completed her service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana in the Small Enterprise Development sector. Prior to that, she worked for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, with the AMNH Expeditions Program. She holds a BFA inModern Dance Performance and Theory from TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. She claims "Horned Frog for life."
2011
DAVIS ALBOHM
Davis is a Project Manager at Stanford GSB's Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains Program. He manages the logistics of the Program's two-year evaluation analyzing the impact of Riders for Health's work in Zambia. Riders for Health is a British-based NGO which provides low-cost transportation and vehicle and motorcycle maintenance services to health workers in Africa, so people in rural settings can be reached with regular and predictable health care.
Davis spends significant time in Zambia's Southern Province, working alongside the project staff based in Zambia, to ensure effective and accurate data collection. He also conducts qualitative research in Zambia, which helps guide and inform the study.
RACHEL QUINT
Rachel Quint is currently working as a Program Fellow in the Refugee and Local Community Units for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) through the Princeton in Africa fellowship program. Rachel lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
2010
Lindsey Caldwell
Andre Epstein
Rhianon liu
marcus williams
