Current Students

Current students in the IDCE department are from many international countries, including Uganda, Nepal, Egypt, Yemen, Spain, Colombia, Albania, Haiti, Austria, India, Somaliland, Hungary, South Korea, China, France, Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Tonga, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bahamas, Canada, and Czech Republic. The programs includes students with field experience in several African, Asian, and Latin American countries, including this year China, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, India, Eritrea, and Japan. Among our current students are Peace Corps returnees who have served in Ecuador, Togo, Zambia, Jamaica, Botswana, Morocco, Latvia, and Guatemala.

Class of 2009:

If you would like to adjust or correct your current bio, please send your corrections to idcenews@clarku.edu.

Lena Alazawi, IDSC (U.S.) received her B.A. in international relations from the University of San Diego. She began her career in the music industry, and later moved to Egypt to work in business and community development. Most recently she worked as a bicultural bilingual advisor to the U.S. Army in Baghdad, where she also developed juvenile reintegration classes for young detainees.

Alex Charles Atim, GISDE (Uganda) received a B.S. in natural resource management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and holds a diploma in conservation and environmental science. He worked as a horticulturist for the Uganda Wildlife Education Center, developing ground exhibits and site landscapes, and promoting conservation efforts for school and community groups. As an environmental education specialist, he supported DERO and USAID, and was assistant warden law enforcement for the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Ratna Bahadur Bagchand, IDSC (Nepal) received his B.A. in Law from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, and a diploma in human rights from the Danish Centre for Human Rights in Copenhagen. He is a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Nepal, and is the Founder and President of the Lawyers National Campaign against Untouchability. In 2003, he was awarded Outstanding Lawyer of the Kingdom of Nepal for promoting social justice, equality, and human rights.

Carl Baniszewski, CDP (U.S.) earned a B.A. in social work from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Penn. He has served many populations in the U.S., working with the developmentally disabled, mentally ill, homeless, addicts, immigrants and the economically marginalized. He also volunteered on the advisory board of the West Side Neighborhood Development Project in Erie and as a collaborative representative of Matt Haven ACT, Bronx, New York.

Melissa Tyanne Benallie-Stewart, IDSC (U.S.) earned her B.A. in political science with a minor in spanish from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. She worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the American Indian Environmental Office, and other non-profit organizations—focusing on community and social outreach among Native American and Latin Communities. She is interested in studying Native American society and developing countries.

Oliver Bengle, IDSC (U.S.) graduated with a B.A. in political science and a minor in economics. His research interests include the ethics of development, human rights advocacy and sustainable development. He joined Peace Corps as a health and hygiene officer in Morocco to work in developing hygienic infrastructure in a rural village setting.

Anas Bingaith, GISDE (Saudi Arabia) received a B.S. in surveying engineering from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia in 2005. He then worked for one year as a GIS and surveying engineer for the Planning Studies & GIS project for Ad’dariyah City, Saudi Arabia. He received a scholarship from the ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia to pursue his M.A. degree at Clark.

Jennifer Boyle, IDSC (U.S.) received a B.A. in global and religious studies from the University of Minnesota. She moved to Jaipur, India to work with an orphanage for street children, and another NGO dedicated to promoting grassroots efforts in development throughout India. Her interests include gender issues and development, particularly concerning Dalit women and girls in India.

Scott Broo, GISDE (U.S.) received a B.A. in television, radio, and film production with a minor in geography from Syracuse University in 2004, and has a certificate of study in cartography and geographic information systems from Montgomery College. He volunteered and worked for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), updating data for the National Landscape Conservation System and using it to determine the conservation value of the BLM’s protected areas.

Elizabeth Bullock, ES&P (U.S.) completed her B.A. in international development and social change with a minor in Spanish from Clark University. She worked as a project intern for the Family Hope Sanctuary in Windhoek, Namibia, helping develop a proposal for the World Bank’s Development Marketplace program to install clean water and flush-toilets to a local community. She also led support group sessions for women living with HIV/AIDS, and developed markets for income generating projects.

Sarah Byrne, IDSC/BA/MA (U.S.) graduated from Clark University with a B.A. in international development and social change. Her interests include women’s studies in Latin America and how Latin women organize themselves, and how forces such as increasing migration are changing gender roles in these communities.

Kaensri Chaikot, IDSC (Thailand) has a B.A. in agriculture from Khon Kaen University. She worked in population and community development for Nang Rong Laser Company under the Thai Business Initiative. Recently, she worked as a coordinator and training officer at Thai Rice College, training 4,500 farmers on techniques in land leveling, rice production, integrated pest management, rice quality improvement, and marketing.

Xiongzhen Chen, ES&P (China) received her B.S. of agronomy from the College of Agriculture, Guangxi University. She was Vice Director for the Agriculture Bureau of Huanjiang County in China. Having worked in the sericultural field for 15 years, she has helped develop a mulberry and cocoon base in Huanjiang, Guangxi. In 2006, she received the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program Award.

Chun Chun, ES&P (China) graduated from Donghua University in Shanghai with a B.S. in environmental science. Her undergraduate research focused on the evaluation index system of the eco-industrial park, and she interned at Zhejiang Day National Forest Park. She has worked for the Environmental Protection Bureau of ChangNing District, and recently the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center.

Alexis Close, IDCE/BA/MA (U.S) received a B.A. from Clark University in international development and social change. Her honors thesis focused on HIV/AIDS, peer education, and community empowerment. She also studied abroad in Namibia and interned with Hope Initiatives, an organization that cares for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in the squatter communities near Windhoek.

Brandon Cohen, IDSC (U.S.) graduated in 2004 from the University of Pittsburgh in political science and history. He helped create a student-initiated NGO which empowers African refugee youth by coordinating development projects in the Dukwi Refugee Camp in Botswana. He later returned as Associate Director of the camp to coordinate three new development projects in Zambia. In the U.S., he worked as Development Associate for the Tahirih Justice Center in Falls Church, Virginia, assisting women and girls who flee gender-based human rights abuses.

Courtney Croteau, CDP/BA/MA (U.S.) received a B.A. from Clark University in international development and social change with a minor in government and international relations. While studying in Namibia, she interned for Management Science for Health, evaluating the effectiveness of computerized management tools, observing the management of patients and their records, and producing consultation reports. She also interned as a community organizer for Oak Hill Community Development Corporation in Worcester, assisting in youth development initiatives.

Kate Del Vecchio, ES&P/BA/MA (U.S.) has received her B.A. in environmental science and policy and psychology. She worked with the Human-Environment Regional Observatory (HERO) Program on the issue of vulnerability analysis. She researched suburban public water systems in Massachusetts and how they have adapted to the effects of climatic hazards, and links between land development, water consumption, and demand. Recently, she traveled to Kisumu, Kenya with malaria researchers, working on malaria control, eradication, monitoring, and treatment.

Anna Djachiachvili, ES&P/BA/MA (U.S.) graduated from Clark University with a B.A. in environmental science and policy and global environmental studies in 2007. She is founder and president of Clear Jade Studio, an online art business. She has also co-founded Hands of Leelye, an Independent Art Association. Most recently, she worked with the Traina Summer Research Fellowship with “Last Stand” Conservation Group.

Teo Do Dang, IDSC (Vietnam) received his Bachelor’s degree in business administration and English from Hue University in Vietnam, and an engineering degree in animal science from Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry. He worked as a local program coordinator with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Program, supporting activity implementation, networking, planning, coordination and implementation, management, and monitoring.

Erin Driesbach, IDSC (U.S.) graduated from Drake University with a B.A. in political science in 2006. She volunteered with Iowa Lutheran Services’ Sudanese Literacy Program, and with AmeriCorps as coordinator at Kentucky Refugee Ministries. She recruited and trained other volunteers to assist clients in becoming self sufficient, developing educational packets, and helping represent the agency at community and local university events.

Elena Fedorova, ES&P (Russia) graduated with a degree in biophysics from Krasnoyarsk State University. She worked as the research assistant for the Russian Academy of Science, developing a project on the implementation of luminescence bio-tests for the investigation of pollutants' detoxication mechanism. She also worked as a teacher in the Natural History School of Russia. She comes to IDCE on a Fulbright Eastern Europe grant.

Clayton Fielding ES&P (U.S.) earned a B.A. in natural resources and conservation from the University of Florida. He worked as an environmental educator, interning as a naturalist at the Clemmie Gill School of Science and Conservation in the Sierra Nevadas. He also worked as a field biologist on the California Condor Restoration Project at Ventana Wildlife Society. Interested in sustainable food and community building, he plans on apprenticing on a Massachusetts community farm this summer.

Jamekaa Flowers, CDP (U.S.) received her B.A. in psychology from Clark Atlanta University in 2005. She worked for the Young Adult Guidance Center as an Administrative Outreach Services Coordinator, supervising case managers, leading workshop discussions relating to life skills, documenting students’ daily life, and assisting in grant writing.

Erica Frank, GISDE (U.S.) earned a B.S. in geography and a B.F.A. in photography from Arizona State University. She worked as a GIS consultant for business development strategies in Ghana, and later interned as an ECO Associate with the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada, producing environmental impact statements and maps depicting soil and vegetation conditions of Northern Nevada. She also researched the topography of the Washita Watershed in Western Oklahoma, and worked as a GIS specialist for the government of Washington D.C. and the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan.

Caitlin Fritz, CDP (U.S.) earned her B.S. in environmental science from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Penn. She worked at after-school programs for inner-city youth, teaching outreach education for the Philadelphia Zoo. She also worked on environmental campaigns in Washington D.C., and recently was an environmental educator at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, a wildlife hospital, bringing conservation education programs to thousands of students and adults.

Dawn Gedenberg, ES&P/BA/MA (U.S.) received her B.A. in mathematics from Clark University in 2007. She is currently a vulnerability analysis tract HERO fellow, researching suburban drought in relation to climate, land-use-planning, lawn irrigation, and demographics in the town of Ipswich, Mass. In the future, she plans to research the vulnerability of New England fishing communities to the effects of changes in market and local socio-economic conditions.

Nancy Goedhart, IDSC (U.S.) earned her B.A. from Framingham State College in sociology with a concentration in anthropology. She has led volunteers on over 25 service trips to Haiti, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, Latvia, and Spain. Most recently she led a team to New Orleans to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief. Her research interests include gender, and the relationship between development and faith-based NGO’s.

Jaime Haber, CDP (U.S.) received a B.A. in geography in 2006 from Clark University. In the summer of 2005, he interned with Worcester City Councilor Barbara Haller for six weeks, researching street-sweeping in other regional cities, compiling data on street and sidewalk conditions, and attending city and local group meetings.

Merlinda Hoco, IDSC (Albania) received her B.A. in political science and public administration in 2003 and a Master’s in sociology at Tirana University in Albania. She is a board member of the non-governmental organization MediaLB, and has lectured at the Department of Political Science at Tirana University, teaching courses in international relations, international law, and political science.

Katherine Holzman, CDP/BA/MA (U.S.) received her B.A. in international development and social change from Clark University. She interned with Worcester Public Schools, promoting community organization for the Main South CDC. She also interned in Argentina with Bachillerato IMPA, a school run by a group of popular educators, and with the kindergarten class of the Unemployed Workers' Movement of La Matanza. She currently works with Clark's Community Engagement and Volunteering Center and is a member for the Stone Soup Learning Co-operative.

Desiree Hoskins, ES&P (U.S.) received a B.A. in history and biology from Lindfield College in 2003, and an undergraduate diploma in environmental management at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. She worked in biomedical regulation, and through various volunteer positions and internships has researched how Piget Sound area water bodies are being damaged, changed, and remediated by private and public organizations.

Prabha Joshi, ES&P (Nepal) received a B.A. in environmental science from Tribhuvan University, and an M.A. in Environment Management from Pokhara University. She volunteered as co-editor of the journal Jeevan Patrika, writing articles on contemporary environmental issues, selecting articles for publication, and marketing. Recently she worked for the Urban Environment Management Society, supervising and monitoring local communities, arranging community meetings, and participating in the Community Based Water Treatment and Bottling Plant.

Matthew Keith, IDSC (U.S.) received a B.A. in international studies-Latin America from Portland State University. He volunteered with the Catholic Church in Guatemala, where he worked as a translator for doctors and dentists, participated in permaculture farming, bee keeping, and building wood burning stoves. He also volunteered for AmeriCorps, teaching environmental education, and for 3 years has developed and coordinated after-school programs in Austin, Texas.

Le Dang Khoa, ES&P (Vietnam) has a B.A. in agronomy from Vietnam’s University of Agriculture. He worked as Vice Head of the Research & Technology Transfer Department for Gia Lai Research Center for Agro-Forestry in Vietnam, researching scientific solutions of the Agro-Forestry field to local farmers. From these research results, he proposed regional development solutions to the local and central government. In 2006, he received the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program Award.

Michael Lindgren, GISDE (U.S.), received a B.A. in social psychology from Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire. He worked as a research assistant and technician with the Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, coordinating studies and analyzing polysomnograph data. His interests include land use management, public transportation, urban planning, and environmental protection.

John Magnant, ES&P (U.S.) received a B.A. in engineering management. His previous experience involves wetland conservation and horticulture. He has served on the Worcester Conservation Commission, is a board member of the Mass Audobon Advisory Commission, and a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist. Working in the agricultural field for over twenty years, he has learned firsthand the complicacy of human interaction and the environment.

Joel Masselink, GISDE (U.S.) earned a B.S. in geography from James Madison University. He has worked with World Harvest Mission in Uganda, helping a water engineer develop GIS for the management of rural water sources. He also worked with a geophysical surveying company on UXO remediation projects. He hopes to support the use of GIS technology for sustainable development.

Shrikanta Mohanta, ES&P (India) received her B.S. in agriculture from the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology in India.She spent 10 years in India working as an area manager for a co-operative organization, increasing the oilseed production and providing marketing support to rural farmers. Afterwards she worked for an NGO directly engaged in developing the agriculture-based livelihood of rural farmers.

Jenna Mosely, IDSC (U.S.) graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in international studies and government. She spent six months traveling in Africa and thereafter worked as a research assistant for the Education Development Center, Inc., an international non-profit organization. Her interests include grass-roots community development in areas of conflict, focusing on mediation and reconciliation and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Susan D. Moynagh, ES&P/BA/MA (U.S.) earned a B.A. in environmental science from Clark University. She set up and coordinated three Neighborhood Watch groups in Worcester, and has organized neighborhood clean-ups and participated in phytoremediation efforts at Middle River and Coes Pond in Hubbardston, Massachusetts. Recently, she set up an Emergency Preparedness Pilot Program for Quinsigamond Village.

Peter Mugume, IDSC (Rwanda) has a B.A in public administration from the National University of Rwanda. He served as administrator of the water resources and environmental management project in Rwanda, and volunteered with a youth association, advocating the promotion and protection of human rights and supporting grassroots development initiatives. His interests include poverty alleviation strategies, sustainable development, conflict resolution, and human rights promotion and protection.

Anthony Munanga, IDSC (Kenya) received a B.A. in environmental studies from Kenyatta University in 1997. He worked as a manager with Earthworks Co., designing energy saving stoves for GTZ/PSDA and THUIYA Enterprises to ensure efficient use of biomass fuel for the poor. Recently he worked with THAYU Consultants, specializing in environment, energy, wildlife, sustainable dirt and conservation. He is a lead environmental impact assessment expert with the National Environmental Management Authority in Kenya.

Julie Muszalski, ES&PBA/MA (U.S.) received her B.A. in environmental science and policy from Clark University. She worked at the Greater Worcester Land Trust, serving as a mapping intern, using the latest ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator software to compile data layers and create maps of land held by the Trust.

Loi Nguyen, IDSC (Vietnam) received aB.A. in English language from the Institute of Foreign Language, National University in Hanoi and a B.A. in sociology, women studies at Open University, HCMC. She has worked with a growing grassroots NGO in Vietnam.

Bernardo Nieuwland, IDSC (Peru) earned a B.S. in geography and environment from Pontiff Catholic University. He led workshops in Andean communities to promote local understanding of global warming, and has worked with DESCO, a Peruvian NGO, researching the social and political dynamics of Lima’s urban settlements as well as supporting the management and execution of participative projects for the improvement of local settlements.

Eun Jung Oh, IDSC (South Korea) received a B.A. in film, television and multimedia from Sungkyunkwan University. She worked as a fundraiser and project coordinator for Korea’s Food for the Hungry International, acting as a liaison for 505 sponsored children in Uzbekistan’s Child Development Program. She also reported the results of rehabilitation and development projects of Uzbekistan to donors, monitored agricultural development, and supported women’s vocational training programs.

Stephanie Oleksyk, ES&P/BA/MA (U.S.) graduated from Clark University with a B.A. in environmental science and policy in 2007. While attending a semester at the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole, Mass, she studied ecosystem science through an array of aquatic and terrestrial fieldwork and lab-based group projects, and designed an independent research project in a local salt marsh habitat. Her interests include the chemistry of soils, soil contamination, and remediation.

Luke Pekrul, IDSC (U.S.) received a B.A. from Clark University in international development and social change and Spanish in 2007. Recently he was a program manager, supervising all staff in Family and Youth Services programs for Centro Las Americas, a non-profit Latino organization which serves the Hispanic Community of Worcester. He has also volunteered with local development organizations in Zambia, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.

Maureen “Mo” Pepin, IDSC (U.S.) graduated with a B.A. in middle grades math and science education from Texas A&M University. She served as a science teacher for elementary students, and worked extensively in sub-Saharan Africa, serving as an orphanage volunteer for Aldersgate Missions in Morocco. She also worked two summers for Teen Missions International in Zambia and Ethiopia, and as a result, is keenly interested in promoting social justice and the universally equitable education.

Misty Jean Perez, CDP (U.S.) graduated from Lyndon State College in 2001 with a B.A. in psychology and a B.S. in human services-counseling. She worked as a domestic and sexual violence advocate and community educator at Umbrella Inc., Vermont. She also served as a grassroots organizer with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.  Recently, she built support for the Comprehensive Health Education Bill and the Buffer Zone Bill; and she volunteered as Vice President on the board of the Jane Fund of Central Massachusetts.

Allison Petrozziello, IDSC (U.S.) received her B.A. in women’s studies and Spanish from Smith College. She traveled as a volunteer Spanish teacher aboard a Japanese NGO cruise ship, Peace Boat. She also joined the Peace Corps in Honduras as a municipal development volunteer, promoting women’s community and political participation and training local development practitioners on incorporating gender-equitable approaches to their programming. Recently, she worked on a gender training project for USAID’s Office of Women in Development in Washington, D.C.

Manuel Pinto, ES&P (Angola) received a B.S. in fishery engineering from Ceara Federal University, Brazil.

Gabriel Rand, ES&P (U.S.) graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in biological and environmental engineering. He worked as a staff assistant engineer on industrial remediation projects with Roux Associates, Inc. He also worked as a research and program assistant at the City College of New York on a waste prevention, reuse, and recycling program. Recently, he volunteered on an “Engineers without Borders” drinking water project in rural Honduras with the City College of New York.

Prajna Regmi, GISDE (Nepal) received her Bachelor’s in computer engineering from Kathmandu University. She worked as a web assistant for the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, maintaining, upgrading and managing the content of the Space Application site of the Mountain GIS Portal.  She also volunteered as a teacher at the Children’s Model School in Kathmandu, and attended several workshops, from a Map World Forum in India to Rapid Urban Assessment in Nepal.

Quinton Robinson, CDP (U.S.) received a B.S. from Michigan State University in urban and regional planning. Most recently, he was the Title V Grant Program Coordinator of a youth violence prevention program, hiring staff and recruiting volunteers to facilitate programs around health awareness, teen life skills, parent training, and community and family cohesion. He is interested in empowering the poor and oppressed to take control of their communities.

Anna Royer, IDSC (U.S.) earned a B.A. in social work and religious studies from the University of Iowa in 2005. She worked in China, preparing and teaching English lessons for elementary, middle and high school students, all while creating a curriculum for six college level classes. She also worked in India, El Salvador, and Germany. Recently, she volunteered with AmeriCorps assisting with refugee cooperative services.

Sona Shah, IDSC (U.S.) received a B.A. in asian studies and a minor in business from the University of Texas at Austin. She served in the Peace Corps as an English teacher in Wanzhou, China. She was also an AmeriCorps volunteer at SAHELI, a nonprofit that assists victims/survivors of domestic violence within the Asian American community in Austin. Her work in the nonprofit sector involved issues such as media, bicycle advocacy, education, domestic violence/sexual assault and social justice.

Bronwyn Sheppard, IDSC (U.S./Turkey) graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. in German studies and a certificate in human needs and global resources (HNGR). She worked in Durban, South Africa, assisting street girls in the process of reunification with their families and communities. Recently, she lived in Belfast, Northern Ireland, working towards peace-building within the Protestant/Catholic divide, including helping to implement a "Forgiveness Curriculum" in local schools. This project also involved a field assignment in Rwanda and Burundi, emphasizing the role of forgiveness in rebuilding broken communities.

Jared Silva, ES&P (U.S.) earned a B.A. in anthropology from Ithaca College with a double minor in history and Native American studies in 2005. He conducted anthropological field work in Alaska, studying the effects of tourism and industry on the native Tlingit and Haida. For his senior thesis, he studied the eco-social ramifications of banana plantations in Guatemala.

Asha Singh, ES&P (Nepal) received a B.S. in environmental science from Khwopa College, Tribhuvan University, and her Master’s degree in environmental management from Pokhara University. She worked as a publications officer with Organization Development Center Incorporated, contributing articles in the environment section of The Organization magazine, under topics such as indigenous knowledge, food security, and urban water and sanitation problems. She also worked with YATRA, an NGO working for environmental awareness programs.

Gregory Sixt, ES&P (U.S.) received a B.A. in political science from the University of Vermont, with minors in geography and business. He worked for the UN Development Program as a research consultant in conjunction with the Arab States programs on HIV/AIDS, Water Resource Management. He attended Bogazici University in Istanbul, studying environmental science and the Turkish language. His interests include working with greywater reuse for urban agriculture to develop sustainable usage in developing regions of the world.

Sarah Stewart, IDSC (U.S) received an M.A. in latin american studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in spanish from Middlebury College, Vermont. She traveled to Venezuela on a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research on ecotourism management practices, where she created an ecotourism development plan for a Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas. She also worked as a community development planner for an NGO in the Peruvian Andes. In the U.S., she taught Spanish and ESL classes to Latin American immigrants. Recently she served in the Peace Corps as an ecotourism volunteer in Guatemala and a protected areas management volunteer in Honduras.

Mohan Kumar Sunuwar, IDSC (Nepal) earned his Bachelor’s degree in management and received his Master’s in rural development from Tribhuvan University, Nepal.  Recently, he served as a program manager with the Narayani Eye Care Project, working for sustainable eye care service development in Nepal. As an activist for ethnic-indigenous movements in Nepal, he has volunteered 18 years to the Sunuwar Welfare Society, representing the indigenous Sunuwar people. His research interests include social exclusion and marginalized development.

M. Fayaz Taher, IDSC (Bangladesh) graduated from Babson College in 2007 with a B.A. in business management. He has had various experiences with start-ups, including goSwoop, a virtual office for international students. Coming from a family business background, he started his first venture at the age of 13. Previous businesses include: Fortuna Fried Chicken (Fast Food Restaurant), InfraBlue Technology, and a clothing store. Ultimately, he looks for ways to positively impact the world through social entrepreneurship.

Allison Towle, IDSC (U.S.) received a B.A. from Long Island University where her studies focused on Central America and the Middle East and the role of women in contemporary society. She worked extensively in Asia and the Middle East, and most recently served as Director of Student Services for a cultural exchange organization as an advocate and government liaison. Her academic interests include women in the Middle East, the intersection between women and political/religious violence, and the trafficking of women.

Mischa Tripoli, IDSC/BA/MA (U.S.) earned a B.A. in international development and global environmental studies at Clark University. He studied in Mexico, researching the impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Mexico’s agricultural sector, and linkages between NAFTA, Mexican immigration, and food security. He also interned with Eco-agriculture Partners in Washington D.C. as a Policy Research Intern.

Christopher Troendle, IDSC (U.S.) graduated from Saint Mary’s University with a B.A. in graphic design and studio art. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Gambia and volunteered with the Department of Forestry and Agriculture. He has taught Science and English at his local school, and recently served as a project coordinator for a non-profit organization in Iowa with a grant from the Department of Education, Health and Justice.

Melissa Walsh, CDP (U.S.) earned a B.A. in music from the University of Rhode Island in 2006. From 1988 to 2006, she planned and taught studio music lessons in clarinet and saxophone. She worked as a publicity assistant for Mixed Media Productions and most recently served as an AmeriCorps volunteer with the Ready to Learn and Making Connections programs in Providence, Rhode Island.

Yangyang Wang, GISDE (China) graduated from Zhejiang University with B.A. degree in environmental engineering. He volunteered with the Students Research Training Program, teaching students about research and conducting experiments in the Environmental Science & Engineering labs. He also interned for the Suzhou Environmental Protection Monitoring Center, assisting in planning, coordinating, and implementing committee programs and activities, and data collection.

Yuzhu Wu, ES&P (China) graduated from Tianjin Polytechnic University with a degree in polymer science and engineering. He worked as a marketing manager and representative for the Shanghai-based China Commerce Networks where he recruited, interviewed, trained sales staff members, and provided support to maximize customer satisfaction, and implemented marketing program activities.

Liu Xi, ES&P (China) graduated from the Renmin University of China with a B.S. in environmental science. She interned for Yanshan Petro-Chemical Industry Corporation, studying the progress and management treatment of domestic sewage. In 2005 her team directed a short film publicizing “Green Olympics” for Beijing television stations. Recently, her research has focused on marketing of the urban water industry.

Dhai Yin, ES&P (China) graduated from Qinghai University. He spent eighteen years in the Grass Sei department, where he also received his associate professors degree in 1994, in the Qinghai Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine College teaching grass and forage breeding. He has worked in environmental protection planning and has been involved in two five-year environmental protection plans on the provincial level. He has published around twenty papers and has had one oat variety registered in 1999.

Laya Zayer, IDSC (U.S.) graduated from the University of Southern California in 2005 with a degree in international relations – global business. She worked with a local community inside the Managua city dump through an NGO in Nicaragua, leading health education and crafts classes for women and children, and helping maintain a child sponsorship program for malnourished children. She also worked with various research and humanitarian based NGO’s in Washington D.C. Her interests include political instability in developing regions, and human rights abuses as they relate to poverty.

IDCE hosted its annual Spring Fling in celebration of current IDCE students and graduates.

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