Integra just wouldn’t be the same without interns! Since early 2011, we have hosted graduate students from around the world to help us on international development projects and gain valuable work experience. Our interns do research, work on both group and individual projects, get first hand experience in USAID project management, and do a LOT of networking. To date our interns have gone on to work for consulting firms, NGOs, and US government agencies. Others have continued their education at prestigious universities both in the US and abroad. Alumni of the internship program continue to stay in touch and those still in DC meet regularly. We’ve even heard rumors of a dance-off.
Below you’ll find bios of our current and previous interns. As we get updates on their careers, we’ll post them (so we can brag a little!)
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Summer 2012
Summer 2012 Interns! L-R: David Dissanayake, Kimberly Hamilton, Benjamin Addom, Kate Genereux
David Dissananyake- David received his bachelor’s degree in international development studies from Clark University in Worcester Massachusetts. Currently finishing up his masters degree in the same subject, David’s work and interest centers around the intersection of youth, ICTs, educational opportunity, and entrepreneurial success, and he has done research and field work on the subject in Sri Lanka. Before coming to Integra LLC, David has worked with Seven Hills Global Outreach, Grassroots International, Sarvodaya Sri Lanka, Hands On New Orleans, and Habitat for Humanity.
Kimberly Hamilton- Kimberly recently earned her Master’s degree in International Affairs from The New School in New York, with a concentration in Development. During this time, she worked with the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of EngenderHealth to evaluate the Client-Orientated, Provider-Efficient (COPE) tool. This tool is used within the ACQUIRE Tanzania Project (ATP), a USAID-funded project in reproductive health and family planning services. She also spent last summer doing fieldwork in Nepal on the increased privatization of higher education and it’s impact on youth. Enthusiastic about education policy and women’s health, Kimberly is particularly interested in how technology can be used to facilitate improvements in these areas. She joins Integra LLC this summer to assist with ICT research and operations procedures.
Benjamin Addom is a knowledge management specialist with training and experience in the use of ICTs for development. He has a good knowledge of the history of rural development and agriculture; farming systems approaches; agricultural extension reforms; and approaches to food security and vulnerability mitigation. Ben has over 9 years of experience in the field of agriculture, food security, ICT4D, teaching, training, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation. He holds a PhD in Information Science and Technology from Syracuse University School of Information Studies, masters in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University, and a bachelors in General Agriculture from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
Kate Genereux- Kate Genereux studies innovative market-based solutions to development problems at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where she is focusing on International Business and Human Security. Prior to joining Integra, Kate participated in design research that explored the cultural and conditional implications of social enterprises attempting to scale in urban and rural areas near Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Jaipor, India. Most recently, Kate worked as a development consultant in Cameroon, and as a Research and Development Associate with Independent Diplomat, a diplomatic advisory group based in New York.
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Spring 2012
L-R: David Reinbold, Chrissy Kulenguski, Ben Addom, Sara Wenger, Rick Doer
Rick Doerr received his Master’s in International Development from the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) at UC San Diego. His focus was in using technology as a tool to improve health and economic statuses in developing countries. Along with experience in microfinance, he has worked on numerous mHealth and eHealth projects, including the World Bank’s eTransform Africa initiative. Prior to graduate school, Rick worked in business development for a software security firm in San Francisco. Rick completed his undergraduate degree in Economics at the University of Washington, where he was a two-year letterman on the UW Men’s Golf team.
Chrissy Kulenguski is currently a first year graduate student at American University in the International Training and Education Program and is focusing on education in international development. She has a keen interest in pedagogy training, curriculum development, and the use of ICTs in the classroom. Before attending AU, Chrissy served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cambodia where she worked and taught at a teacher training college from 2009-2011. She has over 5 years of experience teaching overseas and domestically and hopes to apply what she has learned to creating effective and sustainable education programs in developing countries in the future.
Update: Chrissy is now finishing her Masters and working as a Research Assistant for the mEducation Alliance.
Sara Wenger completed a BPhil and BA at Miami University and wishes to attend a masters program in urban planning with a focus in international development, land use, and resource management this upcoming year. She recently returned from Peace Corps Ukraine where she taught English and worked on various youth and community development projects. Sara will be contributing to the ICT4DEnvironment site.
Benjamin Addom is a knowledge management specialist with training and experience in the use of ICTs for development. He has a good knowledge of the history of rural development and agriculture; farming systems approaches; agricultural extension reforms; and approaches to food security and vulnerability mitigation. Ben has over 9 years of experience in the field of agriculture, food security, ICT4D, teaching, training, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation. He holds a PhD in Information Science and Technology from Syracuse University School of Information Studies, masters in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University, and a bachelors in General Agriculture from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Ben will be contributing to ICT4 Agricultural Development, Connectivity for Development, and ICT4 Environment sites.
David Reinbold is a Master’s student in International Media at American University with regional focuses in Latin America and Russia. He has a strong background in journalism and has served as copy editor and multimedia technician. David enjoys reading, writing, tinkering with technology, and all things related to graphic design. He hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in communications after completing his master’s degree.
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Fall 2011
L-R: Fabrice Musoni, Christie Gillmore, Ben Addom
Fabrice Musoni, a graduate student in the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program at Georgetown University and was the 2010-2011 Yahoo! Junior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Fabrice previously worked as a consultant on another USAID project called Programme Paix et Gouvernance (PGP) implemented by AED in Senegal, for Search for Common Ground’s (SFCG) youth project in Burundi and as a researcher at the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) in Rwanda. Musoni holds a B.A. with honors in Political Sciences and Communication Studies from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. A Congolese-born Rwandan citizen, Musoni speaks fluently Kinyarwanda, Swahili, and French. Musoni’s focus is on International Development with a keen interest in sub-Saharan Africa. He will be writing for the ICT4Democracy and Governance and ICT4Cross Cutting sites.
Update: Shortly after completing his internship at Integra, Fabrice took a position as Policy Analyst at United to End Genocide.
Christy Gillmore recently received her MA in International Development and Social Change from Clark University with a concentration in human rights and peacebuilding. She has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali working on health and environment development projects and has worked in refugee resettlement coordinating healthcare for clients. She served as a Peace Fellow for The Advocacy Project where she worked with a Kenyan NGO in Nairobi to develop an ICT strategy as well as blog about issues and projects within the slums of Kenya. Currently she works at Free the Slaves, managing the anti-slavery organization’s programs in Ghana. She will be writing for the ICT4Health, ICT4Democracy and Governance, and ICT4Cross Cutting sites.
Update: Christy is now serving as the Ghana Program Manager for Free the Slaves.
Benjamin Addom is a knowledge management specialist with training and experience in the use of ICTs for development. He has a good knowledge of the history of rural development and agriculture; farming systems approaches; agricultural extension reforms; and approaches to food security and vulnerability mitigation. Ben has over 9 years of experience in the field of agriculture, food security, ICT4D, teaching, training, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation. He holds a PhD in Information Science and Technology from Syracuse University School of Information Studies, masters in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University, and a bachelors in General Agriculture from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Ben will be contributing to ICT4 Agricultural Development, Connectivity for Development, and ICT4 Environment sites.
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Summer 2011
L-R: Shazad Ahmed, Katie Leasor, Jeffrey Swindle, Tyrone Hall
Katie Leasor is a M.A. candidate at American University for the International Media program with a focus on using information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) in Latin America. Originally from New Jersey, Katie graduated from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island with a double major in Global Communications and Spanish. During her time at Roger Williams, Katie studied for a semester at the University of Wollongong in Australia and spent a summer in rural Guatemala, working in an orphanage called Casa Guatemala and a biodiversity conservation center in Petén. Katie speaks Spanish and will be contributing to the ICT4Democracy and Governance site.
Update: After finishing her Masters at AU, Katie took a position in public affairs at the US Department of State.
Tyrone Hall Originally from Jamaica, Tyrone has recently completed his MA in International Development and Social Change at Clark University and has been accepted into the PhD Program in Media and Communications at the London School of Economics. Tyrone has worked as a journalist in Jamaica, Austria, Barbados and the United States and recently won the ACP-EU Innovations in ICT for Agriculture and Rural Development contest after defending his proposal to tackle Jamaica’s two main agricultural challenges: information asymmetrics and praedial larceny. Tyrone speaks French and Spanish and will be contributing to the ICT4Agriculture and ICT4Environment sites.
Update: A few weeks after Tyrone completed his internship, we hired him as a Research Specialist here at Integra!
Jeff Swindle has completed a BS in Sociology at Brigham Young University and will be attending University of Cambridge in the fall to begin an MPhil in Development Studies. Originally from Arizona, Jeff has has traveled extensively studying development and particularly the relationship between rural connectivity and economic development. Jeff just returned from Mexico where he assisted in research for Concero Connect, a Grameen social business that brings high-speed Broadband internet access to rural villages. Jeff speaks both Spanish and Portuguese, and he will be writing for the Connectivity 4 Developmentand ICT4Education sites.
Update: Jeff went on to complete a Masters in International Development at Cambridge University in the UK and is now working on his PhD in Sociology at the University Michigan.
Shazad Ahmed is currently studying at George Washington University, working on a Masters of Public Health, focusing on Global Health with an emphasis on design, monitoring and evaluation of programs. He has a BS in Neurobiology from University of Maryland and has studied at Universidad de Granada as well. He speaks Spanish and Bengali and has experience working for global nonprofits and community health projects, and conducting clinical and lab research. Shazad will be writing for the ICT4Health site.
Update: After his internship here at Integra, Shazad traveled to Bangladesh for a fellowship in public health and is now finishing his Masters while working for the DC Department of Health.
