Sarah Baran (C’14) and Christopher Stromeyer (SFS’14) join a community of future global leaders through the prestigious scholarship program that promotes addressing complex challenges through collaboration and innovation.
Empowering the Marginalized
Baran, who studied government at Georgetown, will pursue a masters in international policy at the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences.
During her undergraduate years, she worked at the Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs as an education and social justice research fellow and moved abroad after graduation to pursue her passions for humanitarian aid work.
Her first position was with Georgetown’s Initiative on Innovation, Development and Evaluation in Nairobi, Kenya, after which she worked in Bangladesh with Solidarites International, a nongovernmental organization working to provide vital support for people in life-threatening situations in areas of conflict and natural disasters.
Innovative Humanitarian Work
“I’m dedicating my career to changing the way aid is conceptualized and delivered,” says Baran, who adds that living in these areas around the world has opened her eyes to the strengths and weaknesses of the aid industry. “I want to empower the marginalized to write their own agenda and develop market-driven programs that support local economies.”
With her degrees from Stanford, Baran hopes to make changes in the humanitarian sector.
“I aspire to bring more private sector rigor, business acumen and interdisciplinary innovation to humanitarian activities,” she says. “I eventually want to bring what I’ve learned from program administration to policymaking in order to enable resilience gains on a larger scale.”
Understanding Government
Stromeyer studied international economics at SFS and will pursue an MBA at Stanford.
Since leaving Georgetown, the alumnus has worked both in the private and public sector in Washington DC, Mexico City and Buenos Aires. Most recently, he served as the director of strategic planning for the Province of Buenos Aires, which encompasses 40% of Argentina’s population.
After completing his MBA, Stromeyer plans to return to Argentina to apply his knowledge toward the Argentine government sector.
“I hope to focus my studies on better understanding how governments can more effectively and efficiently provide public goods and services to their citizens by leveraging innovative management practices,” he says.
For more information about the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship and other fellowship opportunities, please visit the Georgetown Office of Fellowships, Awards, and Resources.
