Choosing UMass Boston
What first attracted you to this graduate program and to UMass Boston?
I graduated from undergrad and had been working in international development, and there were a lot of things I found I didn’t like about it. So I decided that I wanted to do something different and I wasn’t quite sure at first what I was looking for, but after a little bit of searching I found that human rights was the answer. . .I found [the MA in global inclusion at] SGISD and I didn’t even apply to any other programs. It was kind of everything I wanted to do.
Why did you choose this program over other similar graduate programs?
SGISD was the first program I found that used this human rights lens to look at economic and social issues.
Professional development
What is your job now, and how did your time at UMass Boston prepare you to excel at it?
I am a program associate for environment and corporate accountability at the Wallace Global Fund. Wallace is a small to medium-sized family foundation. I work with a lot of our grantees that focus on corporate accountability.
I support the grant-making process by meeting with grantees, walking them through the application process. I do a lot of events and interface with the grantees, which is why I went to Nigeria recently.
My time at UMass was really helpful in so many ways. I had the opportunity to work with local community activists and also international human rights NGOs . . . and a lot of people in between. Those varying experiences allow me to be a much more effective grant-maker as we are working with diverse grantees.
I think SGISD did a really good job of working against the formation of silos, and that’s great in the work that I do, to see things broadly and not just in my lane.
What’s the most challenging thing about your work?
Because I work in a relatively small organization there are a lot of moving parts, so I have to jump from A to B to C, which can sometimes be challenging.
What’s something that keeps you excited about your work?
It’s working with the grantees, seeing the work that comes out of the organizations that we fund.
Studying at UMass Boston
How would you describe “global inclusion and social development” to someone who’s not familiar with those terms?
It’s an active process of making sure that people have the option to participate meaningfully at the systemic, regional, national, local, and interpersonal levels. It is something you have to try for, not something that naturally happens.
Inclusion is not the absence of exclusion. Social development goes beyond the traditional development outline. It’s really about using transparency to make development people-focused.
What class that you took was the most fascinating for you, and why?
Human Rights Law Policy and Practice, because I had such curiosity for dealing with inequalities and for making . . . systemic changes for reducing inequalities, but I didn’t have any knowledge of human rights vocabulary or law. It provided me with a whole new language.
What was the biggest surprise for you about studying at SGISD?
There was such a willingness to accommodate people who were working, which I don’t hear about usually.
More about you
What is an interesting fact about you that might surprise people?
I’ve been skiing my whole life. I love the mountains much more than the city. I also just spent a week and a half in Nigeria for a national summit on the human right to water. It was amazing.
What does inclusion mean to you personally?
It’s a continuous process, more than the absence of exclusion. It means that people are feeling comfortable and willing to participate and that we are going out of our way to support each other.
There’s always room for everyone to be actively thinking about how we can include each other. I think it’s important to me to use my privilege to force other people to think about inclusion and to prop people up when I have the opportunity to.
What is an experience you’ve had in the area of inclusion that led you to want to study it?
The program I worked for out of undergrad brought female leaders from sub-Saharan Africa to the US for a leadership program. It was extremely well intentioned and I think the participants had a good experience, but ultimately it was very Global North-centric. I think there could have been more participant-led communal learning dialogue.
I grew frustrated with that lack of inclusion. I wanted there to be a different way for doing this work.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to work toward social justice and inclusion?
I would say take care of yourself. We’re in a field that’s so demanding, you are always kind of on the go and I’ve seen so many people get burnt out. I would always encourage people to take time for yourself and be cognizant of your own needs and don’t feel sorry about that.