Alicia Silverstein | Review and Translation Team Intern
Alicia is a native San Franciscan who studied at the University of San Francisco and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish and a minor in Latin American Studies. Her interdisciplinary academic background, with a focus on Peace and Conflict Studies, has sparked a passionate interest in Economic Development and the many challenges facing the Developing World. Alicia loves travelling and has lived in various regions of Spain over the last six years; most recently teaching English in the Basque Country. She plans on visiting Israel this summer and then travelling to Chile in order to work with Amnesty International in the capital of Santiago. Alicia is very excited to become a part of Kiva’s Review and Translation Team and gain valuable experience in the nonprofit sector.
Alla Barbalat | Mirofinance Legal Intern
Alla Barbalat is joining the Legal Team as a Microfinance Legal Intern, a role in which she will primarily be researching and writing memorandums on legal issues in microfinance by country. She recently earned her Juris Doctor at the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University. At Moritz, Alla was in charge of the Street Law program, in which Moritz law students visited Columbus, OH middle school students to teach them about law, finance, legislation, and civics. Prior to law school, Alla completed her undergraduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles in economics and public affairs. In her spare time, Alla enjoys cooking, running, hiking, reading, and traveling.
Amy Zug | Social Performance Intern
Amy comes from just outside the great city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. She was lured to the West Coast and graduated from Scripps College with a major in Environmental Science. After writing her thesis on the effects of climate change on agriculture in Africa, she felt inspired to travel and spent four months in Tanzania teaching about HIV/AIDS, living with a Maasai family, and picking up some Swahili. Her interests in travel, agriculture, women’s empowerment, and the environment soon turned into a passion for international development, which she hopes to pursue while interning at Kiva. In her spare time, she enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and snowboarding, but fully understands how to kick back with a good book and a cat on her lap.
Bob Mott | Lender Communication Intern
Bob will be joining Kiva as a Lender Communications Intern. Originally from San Luis Obispo, Bob is a current student at the University of San Francisco pursuing a degree in International Business. He will be graduating in May of 2012, and plans to pursue a Masters Degree in International Studies. As an outfielder and pitcher on the school’s NCAA baseball team, Bob has started fundraising projects raising money for anti-malaria bed nets. Having grown up in a family that enjoys travelling, he has been lucky to have been able to experience many different cultures at a young age. He has travelled to Africa four times, and each time he has come back with a more clear understanding of the importance of helping others in need. In his spare time, Bob enjoys surfing and playing basketball. Bob is excited to aid Kiva in bettering the lives of others around the globe in any way he can.
Brianne Sherman | Review and Translation Team Intern
Brianne Sherman received her B.A. in International Studies and French from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. While researching microlending practices for her International Studies senior capstone thesis, she was drawn to Kiva’s mission as a way to combat the cycle of poverty faced by many of the world’s women. As an intern in the International Relations Office at the University of Poitiers, France, she gained translation experience while making lasting international connections. She looks forward to drawing upon this experience while supporting the Kiva team, and to becoming a brand-new resident of San Francisco! In her spare time, Brianne loves dancing, cooking, and traveling, and is in the early planning stages of a round-the-world overlanding expedition in a converted 1987 Landcruiser.
Brigitte Bradford | Kiva Blog Intern
Brigitte received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and minor in Pre-Law, from Northeastern University. During college, her experience studying abroad and interning for Senator Ted Kennedy and the Huffington Post instilled a strong desire to understand the world and to work towards making lasting and important improvements to the way people live, communicate, govern and do business. Having worked for the last two years in media and public relations in New York City, this role is the intersection between her passion for change and her professional experience. She is training for her first half marathon and makes the best guacamole.
Cari-Lynn Kessler | Field Support Intern
Cari-Lynne graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Spanish. During her studies, Cari-Lynne spent a semester abroad in Santiago, Chile where she took university classes and volunteered with children. These encounters exposed Cari-Lynne to the realities of poverty and the differences in quality of life that it creates. They also sparked her interest in the non-profit world, and inspired her to get involved in the kind of work she will be doing with Kiva. Cari-Lynne’s semester in South America helped her to understand her place in the global community, and since graduating, she has spent time traveling and working abroad. She has a passion for food, gymnastics and experiencing new cultures, and is excited to be back in the beautiful Bay Area where she grew up.
Carlos Pierre | Strategic Initiatives Investments Intern
Born and raised among the blatant inequalities of Mexico City, Carlos graduated from Brown University with a degree focus on development. He has studied in China, Mexico and Japan. For eight years he worked in Tokyo, London and New York as an investment banker specializing in Emerging Markets in top-tear European and US banks. Carlos also worked as a Kiva Fellow in El Salvador. He just returned from a year in Beijing ready to push social change via market mechanisms. Carlos believes that economies cannot be understood without their cultural context and thus speaks fluent Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin. To glimpse how half the planet lives, he travelled Asia for ten months, from Indonesia to Turkey and back by land, on a budget of USD 2.00 per day.
Daniel Hinds | Review and Translation Team Intern
Daniel Hinds graduated from CSU, East Bay in 2010 with a B.S. in Statistics and Environmental Business Management, as well as a Minor in Sociology. During his studies, he took on a variety of leadership roles in student government and student clubs with one primary focus: making his community a better place for his fellow students and their families. In fact, his commitment to serving others led to his receipt of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship, as well as his recognition for an Outstanding Student Contribution from his faculty peers. Since graduating, he has turned his attention to serving high-need individuals in numerical literacy, youth development, and now financial empowerment.
Diana Stegall | Kiva Fellows Program Intern
A native of the Bay Area, Diana Stegall received BAs in Politics and Legal Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she focused on the nature of altruism in a capitalist world. So far, she has traveled through four countries and spent the greater part of 2008 living in Paris, where she studied the European Union. Her fluency in French is devolving into a sad franglais but she's working on it, she swears. Since graduation, Diana has done political fundraising and event planning for major statewide races, and currently works at the Asian Art Museum where she spends most of her time training volunteers. Primarily interested in women's rights and health, she first discovered Kiva back in 2006 and admired the way they improved women's political power by raising their economic status. She's thrilled at the chance to work with her favorite organization! Now living in Oakland, she spends her free time cooking and baking, reading, cheering on her beloved Giants, and playing with her dog.
Diego Rodriguez | Kiva Zip Team Intern
Diego was born in Montevideo - Uruguay, lived in New York for the past eleven years and has recently moved to San Francisco pursuing a career shift into the non-profit world. He graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2007 with a B.A. in Economics and Applied Mathematics. He is devoted to practicing a sustainable lifestyle by voting with his wallet and controlling his overall impact on the environment. Diego’s career interests include education and implementation of sustainable practices in agroecology, renewable energy and economic development. He enjoys riding his bicycle around San Francisco, playing soccer and getting creative in the kitchen. He also finds the Spanish soccer league an acceptable reason to wake up early on weekends.
Eedit Bareket | Speakers Program Intern
Eedit was looking to alleviate the monotony of tech recruiting with a casual once a week volunteer gig at Kiva, but then the Speaker Series called out and captured her attention. Coordinating speaking engagements for Kivans will be a great way to know the Kiva community and help disseminate the Kiva mission/vision. Her formal education (BA in English Lit., MA in Art History, and an aborted PhD in Lit. Theory) is the reason she is unable to balance a cheque-book, so micro-finance will be an uphill battle. For several years she has spent her free time in yoga studios, as practitioner and occasional instructor, but has recently given that up in pursuit of horse-back riding where she has discovered a whole new set of muscles to torture.
Eric Chen | Microfinance Legal Intern
Eric Chen is very excited to join the Legal Team, researching legal issues pertinent to Kiva's strategy and operations and assessing the legal implications of extending Kiva's microfinance efforts to new countries and regions. He is currently a third-year law student at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. A Bay Area native, Eric graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Public Policy and Economics and a minor in Biological Sciences. He is currently training for his fourth half-marathon in the past year. Eric is planning to travel to India, Tanzania, China, and Hong Kong later this fall after taking the bar exam.
Erin Viray | Community Education Intern
Erin grew up in Manila, Philippines and comes to Kiva with experience in various educational NGOs. Upon return to her native California, Erin attained a BA in International Studies from the University of California, Irvine where she developed curriculum on the UN Millennium Development Goals and led teams of university interns in teaching high school students about global issues. She also worked to recruit volunteers and plan events around improving literacy for low-income children. Recently, she completed her Master's degree in International Development from the University of Bath in England. After graduation, she returned home to Southeast Asia to spend 5 months planning and implementing educational activities for underserved youth. Erin is enthusiastic to join Kiva as the Community Education Intern and pursue her passion of helping those in need. In her spare time, Erin loves to read, travel, and bake cupcakes.
Grace Garey | Knowledge Management Intern
Grace is a recent graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she completed a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Global and International Studies, with regional emphases in Africa and the Middle East. She studied abroad in Ghana, where she completed coursework in African politics, conflict and community development and volunteered with several local NGOs. When she returned to the United States, Grace moved to Washington, DC for an internship with the International Rescue Committee, where she advocated for US government support of humanitarian assistance and emergency response programs in Africa. Grace comes to Kiva from the Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life in Santa Barbara, where she oversaw event planning, public relations, and community engagement efforts as the Program Assistant. She is thrilled to be joining Kiva's Community Outreach Team as the Education Outreach Intern, and looks forward to experimenting with ways to grow Kiva's offline community by proactively engaging with teachers, student advocates, and campus organizations. She loves live music, spicy food, football, and hiking with her giant yellow labrador.
Hélène Desanlis | Social Performance Intern
Hélène holds a Master's degree in finance from Audencia Nantes, School of Management in France. She is living in the U.S. with her husband and has volunteered at a number of NGOs before beginning at Kiva. For Hélène's first project, she is working to populate our Salesforce data model for social audits, which will be the source for future Social Performance information shared on the Kiva website. She will also be researching available social ratings on Kiva Field Partners in preparation for that information being shared on Kiva. Hélène is currently training for her second half-marathon.
Ian Matthews | Strategic Initiatives Research and Communications Intern
Ian grew up in San Francisco and moved to Washington DC to pursue a degree in Comparative Politics from Georgetown. After graduating, he bounced around a little stopping first in Honduras to build HIV/AIDS clinics, then in Barcelona to teach ESL only to settle back in DC to work with Oxfam. A few years and countless election cycles later, Ian eventually escaped DC and followed his wife to Bulgaria, where he taught while she finished school. He then moved on to the London School of Economics and Political Science where he completed a Masters in Global Politics. In addition to moving a lot, Ian likes reading, writing and has an unhealthy dependency on the Tottenham Hotspurs Football Club. He is excited to be back in San Francisco after so many years away and also by the opportunity to work with the Strategic Initiatives team exploring newer types of microfinancing for development-related ventures.
Jacqueline Watts | Lender Communications Intern
Jacqui was just introduced to Kiva upon her relocation to San Francisco this fall. She grew up in RI and attended school at Boston University, studying biology with a concentration in neuroscience and a minor in psychology. In addition to being a very science minded person, she has always developed a strong sense of helping others, especially in the summer of 2009 when she cycled across the country with an organization called Bike and Build. Her group of cyclists not only raised money and awareness for affordable housing issues, but also stopped to build with Habitat for Humanity along the way. Her recent travels include Europe and South America, where she taught English at a school in the jungle of Peru. This experience provided her first real exposure to poverty in underdeveloped parts of the world, and gave her a better understanding of why Kiva’s approach really does work. In addition to attending medical school, Jacqui’s future goals are to gain some experience in the nonprofit world in hopes of applying these skills to a future in international public health. When she’s not studying for her MCATs, she’s usually attending yoga classes, baking, playing the piano, or trying to work on her Spanish!
Jane Irwin | Volunteer Program Intern
Jane grew up in Orinda, CA, a town about 20 minutes East of San Francisco. While she loves the Bay Area, she has always been interested in exploring new places and cultures. Her interest in economic development began in high school when she spent two consecutive summers living with families in Latin America facilitating small-scale community projects. After high school, she journeyed across the country to Bucknell University in Pennsylvania where she studied International Relations, Spanish, and Economics. Her interest in traveling and Spanish continued as she worked with a refugee community in Nicaragua, interned in Barcelona, and studied for 6 months in Buenos Aires. After graduating in May 2011, she participated in a City Planning program at UC Berkeley. She is excited to be back in the Bay Area and to be interning at Kiva. In her free time, Jane enjoys drawing and Bikram yoga.
Jasmine Segall | Community Outreach Speakers Program Intern
Jasmine is a rising junior Political Economy major and Public Policy minor at U.C. Berkeley. She became fascinated by microfinance after auditing a campus class on the subject, and is actively involved in the campus human rights and service community - serving as Outreach Director for Amnesty International and as Service Director for student government. She is the founder of the Room to Read club on campus, which is based on the San Francisco NGO dedicated to promoting child literacy and gender-equity in education, and is also a journalist for CalTV. She loves to ski, sail and learn Chinese, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Kiva.
Jenny Zhou | Global Investments Business Analyst Intern
Jenny first confronted poverty when she volunteered in Tanzania as an HIV/AIDS instructor and tutor to orphaned children. Since then, she has been seeking ways to combine her business background with her interest in international development. Jenny holds a B.S. in Business Administration from UC Berkeley and spent the last three years providing pro bono consulting services for Bay Area non-profits through The Berkeley Group and Taproot Foundation. She has also worked in the private sector as a former auditor at Ernst & Young and currently as an R&D Portfolio Consultant at Enrich Consulting. In 2011, she collaborated with Tanzanians to start a safari business in Tanzania that would reinvest profits back into the community where she began her volunteer work. Jenny aims to engage in work that is creative, meaningful, and practical alongside people who are inspiring and passionate, which is why she is now at Kiva.
John Raushkolb | Lender Communication Intern
John left Deloitte in San Francisco as a Senior Associate in their Audit and Enterprise Risk Services division. His love of numbers and passion for helping people is perfectly matched with Kiva's commitment to connecting people through lending to alleviate poverty. In addition to his experience at Deloitte, John also participated in the Kiva Fellow's (KF-12) program at Alalay sa Kaunlaran Inc. in the Philippines where he gained first hand experience of micro-finance in action. In the future he hopes to pursue graduate studies in finance or related international fields with the ultimate goal of pursuing a career in structured finance to provide third world nations with funding for economically viable projects. When not working, John enjoys spending time with family and friends, as well as physical activities including golf, sailing, surfing, snowboarding and tennis.
Jonathan Bloom | Kiva Blog Intern, MF Education
Jon will be working with the Community Outreach Team as the Blog Content Creator, concentrating on increasing the amount of content produced as well as creating educational material for our lenders on the subject of Microfinance and sustainable development. He completed his Master of Social Work degree from the University of Nevada, Reno with a concentration in Sustainable Development. Jon has worked several years in the development field in Chile and Panama as a microfinance intern and a Peace Corps volunteer. He also has experience in non-profit management and fund raising, and will be starting the MBA Sustainable Management program at the Presidio Graduate School this Fall.
Jonathan Remple | Kiva Fellows Program Intern
Jonathan was raised in Capitola, a small beach town hugging the Pacific. His interest in international affairs was solidified when he studied abroad in Niger through Boston University. It was in Niger where he first came into contact with microfinance, volunteering with a grassroots NGO, Case-D, which uses small loans to better the lives of women and street children in the outskirts of Niamey. When famine struck the Sahel in 2010, Jonathan was inspired to create an organization of students and alumni to raise money and awareness to assist in obviating the extreme effects of famine. The success of Niger Food Relief fostered in him a passion for community organizing, and effectively pinpointed international engagement. After graduating cum laude and with Distinction from Boston University with a degree in History, he completed a Fulbright Fellowship in Rwanda. When not working with Kiva, Jonathan writes and performs spoken word poetry around San Francisco.
Jordan Stone | Kiva Fellows Program
Jordan's interest in pursuing a career in international development was piqued during his time studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa in 2007. After graduating from UC Berkeley Jordan worked for the Foundation for Sustainable Development in their San Francisco office, and then as an International Programs Coordinator in Masaka, Uganda. During his time in Uganda Jordan worked with international interns and directly with community groups to implement sustainable development projects focusing on everything from Health to Microfinance. Following his time in Uganda he returned to Cape Town overland in time for the 2010 World Cup and initiated a surfing project with local township youth. Jordan is currently applying to graduate school for Development Studies and is looking forward to pursuing his career in International Development through his work with Kiva. Outside of the office you can find Jordan on the Ultimate Frisbee field or biking in the Oakland hills.
Karina Harris | Major Gifts, Special Events Intern
Karina Harris is a San Francisco native and a UC Davis alumni. After she graduated with a degree in Communication and Global Studies Karina moved to Seville, Spain for a year to teach English in rural Andalusia. While there, the former vegetarian gained an unhealthy love of Spanish ham and extravagant flamenco dresses. Karina became passionate about International Development while studying abroad and working in Argentina. She is excited to join the Development Team as the Major Gifts Special Events Intern and use her long standing passion for event production to benefit Kiva. In her spare time Karina enjoys crafting, thrift store shopping and hanging out with her Welsh Corgi, Honey Bunny.
Kate DeYoe | Social Performance Intern
Kate comes highly recommended by KF4 Dylan Higgins. Dylan and Kate worked together on his Kiva-inspired start-up SaveTogether.org, which was recently folded into another pro-savings NGO in Washington, DC. Kate is into skiing, running and music, just conquered "slacklining," and is trying to conquer photography. She has extensive experience providing strategic advice to NGOs and will likely be project managing Kiva's Social Performance focus on targeting in 2011. Kate is a mom of two. For Kate's first project, she will be working to draft summary results for completed social audits.
Kelly Freidman | Lender Communication Intern
Originally from Oakland, Kelly recently returned from a two-year stint teaching English in Korea. She graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in International Relations, and her love of travel inspired her to spend time in both Costa Rica and Geneva. In Costa Rica she had the opportunity to live in a small community and help the people there complete improvement projects, while in Geneva she interned at a small non-profit and got to work with people from around the world. A summer spent volunteering at the International Rescue Committee sparked Kelly's interest in international development, and she is excited to get an inside look at the field during her time at Kiva. In addition to traveling, she loves reading, wandering around cities, and attempting to cook, though not the cleaning up part. She also loves languages, and she speaks a little Spanish, Russian, French and Korean, but is only fluent in English.
Leah Verghese | Social Performance Intern
Leah's interest in International cooperation and development is rooted in her passion for reducing poverty around the globe. Her enthusiasm for international cooperation, especially involving non-governmental programs, has been fueled by research, travel, and volunteer service. Inspired by the great work done by NGOs and nonprofits working in the developing world, Leah has committed to volunteering with Kiva as a way of contributing to a powerful new model for international, cross-cultural capacity building. She served in Americorps following her graduation with a Political Science degree and has spent the past couple of years building experience in nonprofits in order to be closer to the front lines of change. Leah is currently studying French and works part-time with an award-winning Management Support Organization, the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership. She loves to spend time with her family and friends, as well as play music, dance, and run around with her dog, Rufus.
Lindsay Monnet | Review and Translation Team Intern
Lindsay Monnet recently graduated from the University of California, Davis with a BA in International Relations and a minor in Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology. She is excited to work with Kiva during her gap year while she applies to Business School. Having grown up in France and Switzerland, she witnessed the mass migration of people primarily from Africa and Eastern Europe in search of opportunity. For this reason, she loves Kiva’s ability to reach out to small entrepreneurs all over the world so that they can make a better life for themselves without having to leave their homes and their families. When she’s not at Kiva, you can catch her running around with her horse Stella, boxing or taking flying lessons. Her plan after college was to move back home to France, but she keeps meeting amazing people who make her want to settle down in California!
Macrae McDermott | Social Media Intern
Macrae graduated from Brigham Young University in 2010 with a B.S. in Sociology, with minors in African Studies and Political Science. As an undergraduate student, she was actively involved with international development and cultural studies. Having lived in Singapore, studied in France, and conducted research in South Africa, she developed her passion for international affairs. As a student, she was employed by the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies. Her hobbies include photography, theater, playing the piano, and cake decorating.
Meghan Hazlett | Lender Communication Intern
Meghan Hazlett is from (and currently lives in) San Jose. She went to Cal Poly SLO, and received her BS in International Business with an emphasis in microfinance and social responsibility. Throughout her college years she was highly involved in matters related to food ethics (Fair Trade Club, Real Food Collaborative, Poly’s Sustainability Coalition), as well as global/local hunger issues (Universities Fighting World Hunger). A few months after graduating she went on a 3 month internship to Rwanda with HOPE International to support their SCA program and to conduct client interviews for HOPE’s marketing team. Her time there confirmed and cemented her desire to go into microfinance in the future. Her interests include learning to play the uke, literature, long pretty walks, and selling on her Etsy store.
Michael Cusenza | US Portfolio Team Intern
Michael’s interest in Microfinance and Economic Development stems from his international travels where he observed vast economic disparities. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Economics, he put his passion to the test and spent time assisting Ecuadorian farmers in the foothills of the Andes Mountains as well as impoverished communities in Northern Peru. Since then, Michael has committed his professional career to financial empowerment and business development within low and moderate income communities. Recently, he worked for the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corp. where he assisted Minority and Women owned businesses gain access to government funding and licensing. More recently, Michael spent time working with Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners in New York City. While there, he partnered with Credit Unions to help provide financial education and access to capital to individuals and small businesses. After relocating to the Bay Area, he is excited to join Kiva and the development of its US Portfolio. In his free time he enjoys playing soccer, running, eating, and spending time with friends and family.
Myong-Ha Lee | Microfinance Legal Intern
Myong-Ha is joining Kiva as a Microfinance Legal Intern. Prior to her recent move to the Bay Area, she held a corporate associate position at the law firm of Clifford Chance in its New York office. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. in Economics from Seoul National University. Building onto her legal experience in lending and in international business transactions, she seeks to explore her interests in international relations, economic development and institutional innovation while working with Kiva.
Nadine Lueras - Tramma | Lender Communication Intern
Nadine recently graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelors degree in Psychology. During her time at UC Berkeley, she worked in the social psychology lab conducting research on issues of stigma and prejudice, entitlement, and social class. Outside of school Nadine volunteered at The Greater Good Science Center where she researched and wrote articles on prosocial, altruistic behavior and compassion. Before UC Berkeley, Nadine graduated from The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising with a degree in Merchandise Marketing and Product Development. She continues to enjoy expressing herself creatively but decided on a different career path. She hopes to take the next year to gain experience in the micro-finance industry and decide on going to graduate school. She is grateful to be part of the Kiva team and excited about the new journey.
Nick Rawlinson | Kiva Zip Intern
Nick arrived in San Francisco at the start of his internship in search of sunny weather, the exciting opportunity to make an impact with Kiva, and a break from management consulting. It was raining, but he remains confident that the other goals will be fulfilled! In his other life, Nick, from London, has been a consultant for nearly 3 years having previously graduated from the University of Durham with a degree in English Literature. In between the two, he spent time fulfilling gap year clichés around the world, including a ski season in Whistler, Canada. Nick is thrilled to have joined the Zip team and looks forward to spending his time here furthering the Kiva mission of poverty alleviation, while hopefully picking up an understanding of baseball and hipsters along the way.
Nisha George | Development Team and Lender Communication Intern
Nisha is a recent transplant to San Francisco. She was raised in Los Angeles but her favorite places to live have included Portland, OR, London and Vienna. Nisha obtained her BS in Engineering at Harvey Mudd College and most recently worked at the US Army Corps of Engineers in Portland in Construction Management. She spent two months this past summer visiting family and friends in India and finally saw the Taj Mahal! Nisha enjoys building things, baking, hiking and learning how to play the mandolin. She first learned about microfinance in 2006 through SKS Microfinance, now the largest MFI in India. She spent a week meeting the women that SKS served and has since wanted to find a way to work with companies helping developing nations. Nisha is thrilled to start realizing her goal by working at Kiva.
Paul Eshoo | Grant Writing Intern
Paul was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated from UC Berkeley in Political Economy of Natural Resources in 1995. He joined the Peace Corps in 1997 and served in Nepal as a national parks volunteer for two years. He moved to Laos in 2000 and lived and worked there eleven years as a community-based ecotourism development advisor with a variety of organizations including UNESCO, WWF, Wildlife Conservation Society, Asian Development Bank, GTZ, the EU and the Lao National Tourism Administration. Paul is planning to use micro credit finance in future ecotourism and wildlife conservation projects.
Rachel Bigby | Community Engagement Intern
Upon moving to San Francisco at age 17, Rachel instantly fell in love with the Bay Area. Rachel received her BA at San Francisco State, graduating with a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in Holistic Health. Rachel is inherently a nomad and has a deep love for moving around and seeing the world in all its forms. After her first two years of university, she took a semester off to hitch hike through New Zealand while doing a work exchange program called, WWOOF, where she worked on over 20 organic farms and lifestyle blocks. Since then, Rachel has continued to have a serious case of the travel bug. She spent a summer teaching Environmental awareness through art as well as doing sea turtle conservation in Central America. Working with people and building relationships is Rachel’s strong point and her ultimate passion. While she isn’t working at Kiva, you can find Rachel hiking through Marin, biking around the city or plotting her next travel adventure.
Rose Larsen | Kiva Fellows Program Intern
Rose grew up in San Francisco and attended UC Berkeley, where she earned a BA in Economics with a minor in Spanish. She developed an interest in Latin America and economic development while in college, which led her to study abroad in Argentina for a semester and travel across Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia. After graduating, she worked for a few years arranging tours and vacations within the United States. Rose speaks Spanish, some Portuguese and a little French, and hopes to pick up a few more languages in the future.
Rosy Rumpal | Development Team Intern
Rosy joins Kiva as a Development Intern from Toronto, Canada and she is passionate about various causes. In addition to her Commerce degree in Finance, she has a JD/LLB dual law degree from Michigan and Ottawa. Throughout the years Rosy has dedicated herself to various volunteer projects ranging from assisting at-risk youth with career planning, to obtaining corporate sponsorship for international charitable organizations. After 5 years of being a successful criminal defence lawyer with her own practice, Rosy decided to devote more time to her passions. She is currently an executive board member with a Canadian non-profit organization and also continues to volunteer with other non-profits as well. She is looking forward to transitioning her legal background within the realm of social enterprise and international development. When she’s not working or volunteering, you will find Rosy at either the local yoga studio, attending networking events, or trying out a new activity.
Sabrina Bozek | Viral and Guerilla Marketing Intern
Sabrina is originally from Miami but moved to San Francisco last year from New York. Convinced she has now covered the best cities in the country, Sabrina plans on staying in the Bay Area and building brands through strategic messaging. As the first Viral/Guerilla Marketing Intern, Sabrina will be working on a campaign to help extend the Kiva brand over social channels and increase loan donors. She is an MBA candidate at the University of San Francisco and works part time at an Italian wine bar in the Marina. Sabrina loves a crisp, dry verdicchio, is on the hunt for the best burrito in the city, and hopes to travel to Istanbul and Dubai in January.
Sarah Falltrick | Volunteer Program Intern
Sarah Falltrick is joining Kiva as the Volunteer Program Intern. She is a San Francisco native who is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in International Studies at University of San Francisco. Her studies in international political economy starting at the undergrad level at Scripps College have led her to pursue her interest in development work. After completing a undergrad thesis on the economic strategy in Venezuela and a graduate thesis on food aid industry in East Africa, Sarah has been able to explore specific development issues in detail. She is thrilled to join Kiva and looks forward to growing and interacting with the intern community, both past, current, and future. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys exploring San Francisco, cooking with friends, and picnics on Fort Mason's green.
Simone Greenberg | Kiva Fellows Program Intern
Simone Greenberg grew up in South Africa before moving to Southern California as a young teen. A chance encounter with a Burundian man in England inspired her to get her Bachelors Degree in Development Studies from UC Berkeley. Since then, her passion for human rights has flourished. She speaks a little French and loves the opportunity to practice and improve her language skills. She loves food, yoga, and traveling. She currently lives with her husband and two cats in Berkeley, and is also volunteering part-time at the Global Fund for Women.
Stefanie Moline Benoit | Global Partnerships Team Research Intern
Stephanie will be working with the Global Partnerships team in an administrative and research capacity. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Affairs from Florida State University. Her passion for international development originated during the years she lived in the Dominican Republic, where she was born and raised. She is fluent in Spanish and at an intermediate level of French. Stephanie has a strong interest in microfinance which she has pursued by creating her own undergraduate research project on the impacts of microfinance in the Dominican Republic as well as doing an internship at the microfinance institution Banco de Ahorro y Crédito, Adopem. In addition, she has worked in development projects in Guatemala and India with the non-governmental organization Global Peace Exchange. Stephanie also has experience in small and large scale event planning, program administration, data collection and analysis, and non-profit management. In her free time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, watching movies, traveling, and exploring the beautiful city of San Francisco. She is very excited to join the Global Partnerships team and contribute to the work of Kiva
Steven Buller | Social Performance Team Intern
Steven is a Bay Area native who grew up in Burlingame and recently moved to San Francisco. He received a degree in Economics from UCLA along with a minor in Global Studies. Over the years, volunteering has played an important role in his life. From house building trips in Mexico to working with the Global Business Brigades, he has realized the value of looking at the world from outside his own bubble. After learning about microfinance through a course, he became fascinated with its potential to help people help themselves on a global scale. By combining his experience working in finance with the chance to help people, volunteering with Kiva became an opportunity too good to pass up. While not studying for the GMAT, you can find him exploring the city by bike or attempting to (finally) stick a 360 on his snowboard.
Suprita Makh | Knowledge Management Intern
Suprita Makh will be interning with Jomay Liu to develop partner-facing training materials. When not working on her Kiva responsibilities, Suprita can be found telecommuting from home for her full-time position as Capacity Building & Operations Officer at Population Services International - a leading global health organization. Suprita develops develops training materials, conducts international trainings and coordinates a global network of grant management professionals at PSI. Suprita has a Masters in International Relations with a focus on conflict and health and has studied in India, China, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Ethiopia. When she's not working or interning, Suprita can be found either hiking, cooking or reading.
Tina Cardaci | Product Team Intern
Tina is currently volunteering for Kiva through Oliver Wyman’s nonprofit externship program. During her time at Oliver Wyman, Tina has worked to solve strategic problems in the retail, aviation, and energy sectors. She is excited about applying her management consulting experience to Kiva to make a social impact on a global scale. Prior to consulting, Tina attended Stanford where she received an M.S. in Statistics and a B.S. in Management Science and Engineering. Having grown up in South Florida, she loves the sun and being outside. In her free time Tina can be found swimming, running, and spending time with friends. Since coming to the Bay Area she has also discovered her love for snowboarding and even recently bought a snowboard in the hope of perfecting her skills on the mountain.
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