Fellows collaborate with U.S. policy-makers on leading-edge research and high-profile publications for a global audience.
Eight Jackson School students have been named Kerry Fellows for the 2022-2023 academic year.
The Jackson students are among 19 students selected this year.
Part of the Kerry Initiative founded by Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change and the 68th US Secretary of State John Kerry YC ’66, the Fellows collaborate with U.S. policy-makers on leading-edge research and high-profile publications for a global audience touching on issues from the global environment to democracy and technology.
“Each year, the number of applicants to be Kerry Fellows grows, as does the list of fellowship alumni working everywhere from the State Department to USTR and parliaments around the globe. It’s fast becoming a powerful network of thinkers, doers, and practitioners supporting each other,” said David Wade, who directs the Kerry Initiative.
“This year’s selectees, our sixth cohort of Fellows, each bring a diverse set of strengths, talents, and lived experiences to the work ahead, spanning everything from service in uniform to service in legislatures and agencies domestic and global. They will learn from each other, and whether their passions are climate change, technology, democracy, or global justice they will make a difference in a very complicated world. We hope this Fellowship will help them do that, which is exactly what Secretary Kerry and Dean Levinsohn envisioned when they created it,” Wade added.
The eight Jackson students are:
Darryl Alexander is an MPP student focused on developing economic policies that address environmental and social injustices. Before coming to Yale he served as an Americorps VISTA in Allentown, Pennsylvania, managing a coalition of businesses, nonprofits, and municipal governments focused on mentoring underrepresented youth to fill future STEM jobs. He later went on to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia, where he advised NGOs and municipal governments on project planning, grant writing, and program management. He also led a series of environmental activism camps throughout the country. Afterwards, Darryl moved to Houston, where he co-founded a nonprofit focused on engaging local residents around policy issues related to environment, voting, and transportation. During the protests following the murder of George Floyd, he pivoted to co-found Mutual Aid Houston, an abolitionist organization focused on providing support to black and brown Houstonians most affected by the pandemic. At Mutual Aid Houston, he played an integral role in raising and distributing over $750,000 through direct cash transfers and disaster recovery programming. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2013 with a BS in psychology. After Yale, Darryl is interested in working as a social policy advisor.
Hayoung Choi is an MPP student and Fulbright scholar focused on human rights and public policy. At Yale, she is exploring her interest in the intersection of human rights and sustainable development through interdisciplinary approaches. Before coming to Yale, she worked as a consultant for Human Rights Watch, where she gained hands-on experience with research on human rights violations in the two Koreas, as well as fundraising and public outreach. Through her career as an international journalist for nearly 6 years, she built strong communication and networking skills. Hayoung also published multiple analytical and investigative stories on labor conditions and social strife in Korea as a Seoul correspondent for Reuters. Her in-depth coverage of human rights activism and constant interactions with local NGOs led her to pursue graduate studies in public policy. Hayoung was born and raised in Seoul, Korea, and received her BA from Korea University in 2016. Hayoung is looking for professional opportunities at international human rights organizations where she can conduct human rights research and do policy advocacy activities leveraging international human rights mechanisms.
Manuela Nivia is a Master in Public Policy in Global Affairs candidate at the Jackson School. Before arriving at Yale, she served as an international development fellow in Santiago, Chile, where she contributed to the design, development, and implementation of a pilot program that supports young migrant and refugee women. She previously worked at a philanthropic foundation in Washington, D.C., where she managed a multi-million-dollar portfolio of development grants across Mexico and Central America related to issues of food security, conflict mitigation, and rule of law. One of her favorite initiatives in this role was a four-year community pilot that served victims of gender-based violence in El Salvador. Manuela graduated with the highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in global studies and double minors in social and economic justice as well as geography. During her undergraduate career, she completed an honors thesis on grassroots peace activism in Colombia for which she was awarded the Douglas Eyre Award for Excellence. After Yale, Manuela plans to work with international development and human rights organizations in Latin America.
Paulina Prasad is an MPP Student at the Jackson School of Global Affairs focusing on the nexus of international development and climate sustainability. Prior to her time at Yale, she lived in the Ecuadorian Amazon as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English at a local high school. She spearheaded the development of the first English language camp in the region and coordinated after-school youth clubs with the local community center. After serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer, Paulina was hired as an environmental specialist for Sun Mountain International, a company that specializes in environmental monitoring and compliance for USAID-funded food security projects. She worked out of the Quito office with Sun Mountain for over two years where she gained exposure to USAID procedures and documents. Her clients were in numerous countries with a large geographic breadth, which allowed Paulina to become familiar with different cultures as she worked with clients to strengthen their project’s environmental resilience and adaptation. At Yale, Paulina is focused on partnering with countries in the Pacific region and Latin America to create economically and environmentally sustainable policies with a particular focus on infrastructure and the built environment. Paulina received her BA degree in international relations from Boston University in 2018.