2018 Summer Scholars
CORI FAIN | Summer Scholars 2018 : RWANDA Fellowship
Cori Fain is pursuing an MPA in Development Practice at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, focusing on the humanitarian-development nexus and nutrition. Cori is also currently serving as the Finance Officer for the Humanitarian Affairs Working Group, working as the Media Assistant for the Development Practice Program and conducting research for a cross-sectoral education and nutrition project in the Dominican Republic.
Prior to SIPA, Cori worked as an educator in Navajo Nation and a Fulbright Grantee in Sabah, Malaysia serving the indigenous Dusun community. She has a variety of past professional experiences focused on education, development, indigenous rights, and nutrition. A highlight of her time at SIPA thus far was recently presenting research findings and intervention strategies to the former President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández.
She is originally from Alabama and graduated from the University of Alabama in 2014 with a BA in International Studies and Spanish Language. She has also studied at the Universidad de Sevilla in Spain.
Cori is excited to spend the summer serving as a UNA-NY fellow in Rwanda with Plan International. While working in Rwanda, she will focus on a local project aimed at improving the nutritional status of Rwandan women and children as well as increasing the resilience of the agriculture and food systems in a changing climate.
Read Cori's blog HERE
JI-YOUNG KIM | Summer Scholars 2018 : EGYPT Fellowship
Ji-Young Kim is currently pursuing a Master of International Affairs at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. Her concentration is in Economic and Political Development (EPD).
Prior to SIPA, she had a diverse experience in different countries. She worked as an assistant to a Member of Parliament at the House of Commons in Canada for three years, and as a Coordinator for International Relations at the International Affairs Bureau of the Fukuoka Prefectural Government in Japan. She also volunteered in Ghana, providing business skills training to women living in poverty and with HIV/AIDS; and in Chile, where she taught English at a municipal school in a rural area.
Her current interest is at the nexus of data, gender, and humanitarian work. During her studies, she did an internship at the Humanitarian and Fragile Context Branch at the UNFPA headquarters in New York, where she used data for communication and advocacy purposes. With the help of the UNA-NY Summer Scholars Program, she will be interning at the Arab States Regional Office of UNFPA in Cairo, Egypt working at the nexus of data, reproductive health, and youth.
Ji-Young is from Toronto, Canada and is fluent in English, French, Korean, Japanese, as well as some Spanish.
Read Ji-Young's blog HERE
JUSTINE LaVOYE | Summer Scholars 2018 : CAIRO Fellowship
Justine LaVoye is a current candidate in the Master of Development Practice Program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, specializing in Gender, Public Policy and Human Rights. She has her BS in Health Sciences from Boston University and is a Massachusetts native.
She has extensive experience in grassroots sexual reproductive health & rights (SRHR) and water, sanitation, & hygiene (WASH) projects throughout Latin America. Prior to her studies, she was a Peace Corps Community Health Volunteer in Nicaragua (2015-2017) where she developed and evaluated programs in SRHR education and advocacy, LGBTQIA safe-space, maternal child health promotion, gender-centered youth empowerment, and HIV/STI mitigation.
Justine enjoys working with adolescents and has directed six leadership camps for at-risk youth in Latin America and in the United States. During her spring semester at SIPA, she completed a capstone project with Peru’s Ministry of Education on the inclusion of offline educational technologies for rural contexts with fellow SIPA students and faculty.
She is excited to be in Cairo, Egypt this summer working with the UNFPA Country Office’s Youth, Peace & Security Program.
Read Justine's blog HERE
ERICK REGALADO | Summer Scholars 2018 : BELARUS Fellowship
Erick Regalado is originally from Mexico City. He is a graduate student at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) pursuing a Masters degree in Public Administration in Development Practice. As a Mexican, Erick acknowledges the defying conditions inequality imposes on the majority of people in his country. For that reason he graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico with a B.A. in International Relations, for he strongly believes in ways that other countries’ successful experiences can be applied to his own nation.
Prior to SIPA, Erick worked at the Mexico City’s Human Rights Commission, where he decided to devote his professional career to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable. He also has professional experience managing Corporate Social Responsibility Campaigns, and his last job involved impact investing dedicated to boost and foster impoverished communities' capacities.
Erick considers himself a passionate defender of social justice since he is convinced that fostering, strengthening, and building the capacities of the countries’ most vulnerable population groups are key factors that can lead to a more sustainable and long-lasting development. For that reason, he strongly believes that adolescents and youth can be the drivers of their own social change, but certain prior conditions must be met to give them proper and optimal tools for achieving their full potential.
He is excited to spend the summer in the Belarus UNFPA Country Office working for the Youth Empowerment Program. He is sure that he can contribute to the organization with his interest and knowledge but also that he will be able to learn from the committed staff that works there.
Read Erick's blog HERE