My life and career have been dedicated to social justice, humanitarian aid, and increasing access to resources and opportunity for others, which is why I’m so excited and honored to be a part of AfS.
With a Thai mother and a father who grew up on a farm in rural Oklahoma, I had a real interest in and early understanding of relative poverty and how deeply it impacts people’s lives and futures. I studied in the UK and Australia, then worked in international politics and development across six continents, focusing primarily on Southeast Asia and East Africa. My early career was spent with organizations like Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and a branch of the International Rescue Committee called the Women’s Refugee Commission.
I went on to work with several more NGOs and social enterprises, moving to San Francisco from rural Kenya for what became six years of launching and running internationally recognized programs for the microfinance organization Kiva. I then took a short turn helping tech companies like Lyft and Twilio design and rollout social impact programs to best utilize their people, product, and philanthropic dollars to do good in the world.
I’m thrilled to take all that experience – and all that I’ve yet to learn – to support the powerful mission and community of AfS.