Bio
I recently graduated from the MPAID
(Master's in Public Administration and International Development)
program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Because of its
emphasis on advanced economics, I'm convinced it's the best development
degree out there. In fact so convinced it was the only one I applied to.
During the summer of 2009 I worked in the Liberian Government's newly formed
Philanthropy Secretariat -- a small team coordinating private foundation support for the country. One of my primary responsibilities was determining how philanthropists can best support information and communication technology, which was incredible because it led to me interfacing with cabinet members on telecommunications policy. I also oversaw the development of the Philanthropy Secretariat's website: www.supportliberia.com.
Prior to the Kennedy
School I spent nearly four years at Google working on strategic
projects relating to building Google's business internationally: from
launching its first sales offices in Latin America and Asia; to
developing its mobile phone strategy in China, Korea, and Japan; to
deciding where to locate engineering offices around the word; to
launching YouTube internationally. It was a truly phenomenal
experience that took me to more than twenty countries around the world
on behalf of my work.
Before Google I worked for two years as a
management consultant for Accenture, focused on the communications and
technology industry. There I had an opportunity to gain a little bit
of exposure to all things tech: enterprise software companies, hardware
OEMs, broadband providers, internet companies, and semiconductor
manufacturers.
In what feels like a former life at this point, I earned a BS from Berkeley in Engineering Physics, and even spent a summer working in Geneva at CERN, which houses the world's largest particle accelerator. My father and grandfather were both engineers. Being the only member of my generation in my family, following in their footsteps was the natural thing to do.
When I'm not buried in the development and economics books, the most likely place to find me is on the yoga mat. I've been practicing Ashtanga since 2006, it has transcended exercise and opened up new dimensions to my existence. I spent a couple months practicing in Mysore in 2008 and I long to return for an extended stay. One of these days I'll get around to improving my Spanish and French, as well as learning how to play the guitar again. Maybe I'll even start painting again. There's always retirement.
In what feels like a former life at this point, I earned a BS from Berkeley in Engineering Physics, and even spent a summer working in Geneva at CERN, which houses the world's largest particle accelerator. My father and grandfather were both engineers. Being the only member of my generation in my family, following in their footsteps was the natural thing to do.
When I'm not buried in the development and economics books, the most likely place to find me is on the yoga mat. I've been practicing Ashtanga since 2006, it has transcended exercise and opened up new dimensions to my existence. I spent a couple months practicing in Mysore in 2008 and I long to return for an extended stay. One of these days I'll get around to improving my Spanish and French, as well as learning how to play the guitar again. Maybe I'll even start painting again. There's always retirement.
