I like getting out of my comfort zone and I will always accept a challenge, which has given me the amazing opportunity to work both domestically and abroad.
Here are some research projects I have led:
Redesigning Student Lending: Students Flourish
I was the lead designer, founder, and author of this project examining the devolution of FICO (credit scores) and the need for college-bound students to have more options for paying for higher education.
Students Flourish is a company that creates a new credit score that empowers students by using data that tracks their behavior and segments customers to find the most competitive loan products, so that students can get ahead in college instead of falling behind and in debt.
Effecting Investing in Girls: The Case for Financial Education
I was the lead researcher and author of this policy brief, case-study, and literature review examining the gap between education level and job placement for women in Latin America. This research examines the huge gap between the educational attainment of women and their participation in the formal labor force. This research also examines the introduction of financial education within Conditional Cash Transfer Programs (CCTs) that are widely popular in Latin America aimed at reducing poverty and promoting education among girls and women.
Women In It: Celebrating Women Through More Global Visibility
Blog: I was the editor-in-chief at W.I.T (Women in It) exploring the inequities women and girls face around the world, particularly their portrayal in the media, and examining different stories, from both mainstream and alternative news sources, concerning women. We seek to combine a wide-angle view of the most pressing issues in different regions of the world. For this, we incorporate different perspectives and schools of thought in our analysis.
W.I.T App: This app supports sharing resources so that women can advance their careers and personal lives. This app allows women to connect and share information, based on the idea that success for any women is a success for all women. The WIT app filters information so women can get inspired and support other women in their networks.
Preserving Indigenous Languages in Guatemala using Education Technology (Duolingo)
I was the lead grant writer and project manager for The Games for Learning Project. This transformative project that will improve the lives of early grade mother tongue speakers in Guatemala. Our interactive online game is founded on the targeted objectives to increase children’s reading, writing, and technological literacy through mother tongue instruction in early grade levels. The Games for Learning Project is innovative as a cross-sector collaboration between the government, local universities, and educational technology sector.
Bias in American Education Systems: Mixed-Methods Approach
- Qualitative Research Project: How American young women from different cultural backgrounds define success in a U.S. context
I was the lead researcher in a qualitative research project. The significance of my study lies in the research questions I want to address and the goal of my research. I wanted to examine the multicultural distinctions in how girls define success and overcome obstacles in the United States. Past studies have examined the U.S context to maintain that gender inequality is rooted in a system that promotes disparities. In understanding the school of thought that has an influence on a girl’s definition of success, it must be noted that researchers have used a traditional gender framework definition to address their research and this approach is more innovative and intersectional.
The Status of Women In India: Conference on Women, India and Empowerment from Violence
I was the lead organizer and writer in a conference about women’s empowerment held at the department for Government and Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania in April, 2015.
The conference concerned the status of women and girls in India. Their representation has changed dramatically over time and there are promising strides towards equality, met with many challenging factors. India’s poor performance on women’s empowerment and gender equality is reflected in many indicators. The aim of this conference was to bring awareness to the issues concerning women’s empowerment and build a network of people and resources to help advance the cause forward while creating a supportive environment to share experiences and build better practices.
