Team Liberia

I am extremely fortunate to be accompanied in Monrovia this summer by a stellar cast of 6 other graduate students from the Kennedy School. From the MPA/ID program are Yue Man Lee, Rupert Simons, Jesse Torrence, and Emily Stanger, and the MPPs are represented by Zach Neumann and Yesenia Mejia. We've also adopted Jeff, a law student at Columbia University, into our merry family. I've relished the group's endless comic relief, lively entertainment, and the invaluable sounding board as we process and reflect on our experiences in Liberia. Moreover, my learning has multiplied many times over as I learn from my classmates' perspectives from each of their respective ministries of gender, agriculture, health, and state.

A few individuals have been particularly helpful to our group. Steve Radelet, principal economic advisor to Liberia and Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, has been an amazing mentor and an invaluable fountain of knowledge and contacts. Mrs. Thelma Johnson in the President's Office has been an angel: setting us up with housing, arranging all of our logistics, and very warmly welcoming us to Liberia. Zach, Emily and I are also deeply grateful for the extremely generous financial support of the Nancy Germeshausen Klavans Cultural Bridge Fellowship, and to the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard.