Who's Who at Emerge Global: Introducing Six New Emerginistas!

Posted by Alia on Wednesday, April 07, 2010

We are excited to say that we have six new dynamic Emerginistas joining the Emerge Global team. Learn about them below!

Betsy Greer - Communications Director
Betsy Greer is a writer, researcher and maker who has spent the past 7 years writing about the therapeutic benefits of craft and activism. In combining these two forces to form craftivism, she has helped open a global conversation on how creativity and positive change can help both individuals and communities. After spending a decade moving between England and North Carolina she received her MA in 2004 at Goldsmiths College and now lives in the southeast US. Believing in Emerge Global's mission to use creativity as a tool of transformation and therapy, she's excited to use her communications experience to help it, and those involved, grow.

Safia Ktiri-Idrissi - Sponsorship Coordinator

Safia Ktiri-Idrissi is originally from Casablanca, Morocco. She graduated from Texas A&M University-Kingsville with a Bachelor of Science in International Business Management. In college, she was a Resident Advisor and a member of the Women's Enrichment Committee as well as the Gender Equity Committee. While living in San Antonio, Texas, she was a Big Sister in the Big Brother Big Sister Organization. She is currently employed as a Contract Specialist for the United States Department of Agriculture Livestock and Seed Commodity Procurement Branch in Washington, DC. She is a self-starter with an optimistic outlook on life. Her passion lies in her belief that a woman should always have a choice and the means to support herself and her decisions. She embraces Emerge Global's mission to give girls practical skills to not only assist in generating a fund source but also to give them a voice and power over their destiny.

Morgan Sacco - Operations Director
Morgan grew up in the greater Sacramento, CA region and is a recent graduate of Boston University. In the fall, she will begin pursing her Master’s degree in public affairs. During her youth, she spent many summers visiting her grandmother in Westchester County, outside of New York City. It was that experience and the encouragement from her father that led her to Boston University. While studying economics and international relations, she interned for Congresswoman Doris Matsui and at the African Presidential Archives and Research Center. She was drawn to Emerge Global, inc. because of its unique and effective method of lifting young women out of poverty by using their own skills. Furthermore, Morgan is excited to employ her creativity and good eye for design while making strategic decisions in sales, marketing, and product development.

Rachel Sceviour - Sales and Administrative Officer
Rachel Sceviour is currently working at Harvard University as a Staff Assistant for Transportation and Administration and Finance. Rachel previously worked at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts as the assistant for the Medical Director and VP of Clinical Services. She has also been involved in Massachusetts politics working on numerous campaigns and interning in Congress. She is excited to be getting involved with an organization that is so clearly passionate about reaching out and helping young girls who have survived abuse and rape and being able to be a part of their path to self discovery and empowerment.

Balimkiz Senman - Outreach Officer
Balimkiz Senman was born and raised until the age of 11 in Ankara, Turkiye. She recently graduated from Wellesley College in May '09, completing a major in Neuroscience. She currently works in the Pathology department of Harvard Medical School as a research assistant and hopes to start medical school in September 2011. She first became involved with Emerge Global in 2008 and has been working to establish a chapter at Wellesley College. This year, as the Outreach Officer, she hopes to widen this goal and initiate the involvement of other campuses across the US.


Wendy Wen - Strategic Partnerships Officer
Wendy Wen currently works as an Analyst at The Blackstone Group in its Technology Mergers and Acquisitions Group, where she helps corporate clients explore a range of strategic issues such as entering new markets, competitive positioning, and maximizing shareholder value. Previously, Wendy worked as a summer analyst in the Industrials Investment Banking Group at Goldman Sachs.

Wendy graduated MIT in June 2009 with a dual B.S. in Economics and Management Science. At MIT, Wendy was the co-founder and Director of External Relations for MIT International Development Consulting (MIT IDC), a student-run organization that provides MIT students with the opportunity to work on NGO-backed international development projects. Wendy had also served as President of American Red Cross Team and Network (ARCTAN), where she helped organize blood drives, CPR/First Aid classes, and monthly trips to volunteer at the local food pantry. In addition, Wendy is highly involved in Alpha Phi Sorority, where she currently serves as Alumni Advisor and previously served as Director of Marketing Alpha Phi and Director of Alumnae Relations. Wendy is passionate about Emerge Global's mission and is eager to apply her professional and business skills int his developmental and entrepreneurial context.

Oldies but goodies
Yes, the rest of us are still around too... :)

Nirukshi de Lanerolle - Bead Program Coordinator, Emerge Lanka Foundation
Ellen Sojka - Strategic Advisor, Emerge Global
Lyndz Steeves - President of MIT Emerge Global Chapter
Rachael Pool - Sri Lanka Country Director, Emerge Global
Jennifer Van Winkle - Programs Director, Emerge Global
Raffaela Wakeman - Director of Resource Development, Emerge Global
Alia Whitney-Johnson - Executive Director, Emerge Global

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Welcome to our new Sri Lanka Emerginistas!

Posted by Alia on Wednesday, June 10, 2009

We are excited to welcome two new fabulous Emerginistas to our team in Sri Lanka!

Rachael Pool (Country Director)- Rachael Pool grew up in Mountain View, Arkansas. In 2007 she received a BA in Philosophy from Bates College. While at Bates, Rachael competed internationally with the Brooks Quimby Debate Council, served as a peer health educator, and worked as a Campus Campaign Manager for Teach for America. She spent her junior semester abroad in Madurai, India, where she conducted ethnographic research on women’s health issues in the community. Rachael’s senior thesis was on the capabilities approach to women’s reproductive justice in Tamil Nadu, India.

Most recently, Rachael has worked for Comprehensive Prospect Research, a firm specializing in research support to non-governmental and private-sector corporations. She currently resides in Washington, DC and will be heading to Sri Lanka as our new Country Director in early July.

Jennifer VanWinkle (Programs Director)- Jennifer, who grew up in the Midwest, loves to travel and live abroad. She received a BA in Anthropology and a certificate in Islamic Studies from Arizona State University. She got her first taste of life abroad as an undergraduate when she studied at Thammasat University in Bangkok as an exchange student. While in Thailand, she developed an interest in Southeast Asia and some of the social issues that she encountered. Upon returning to the States she dove into non-profit work, volunteering for ALERT (the Arizona League to End Regional Trafficking) and then working with FAIR Fund, Inc., a non-profit that works in the fields of anti-human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault prevention. As the International Programs Officer for FAIR Fund she managed two programs in Bosnia and Serbia targeted toward at-risk youth and trafficking survivors. The time spent in Serbia gave her a passion for at-risk youth and a desire to help them achieve secure livelihoods. She has studied multiple languages and is most fluent in Serbian (or BCS) and Spanish.

Rachael and Jennifer, we are so excited to have you on the team!

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2008 Summer Intern

Posted by Alia on Friday, July 11, 2008

By Melodie Kao, MIT 2010

This summer, I am interning full-time with Emerge, sponsored by MIT’s Program for Human Rights and Justice. A rising junior at MIT, I am a rower majoring in Physics and concentrating in Architecture. My passion for all types of design led me to Alia this past February, who asked me to join Emerge’s Bead Committee after noticing that I had made my own earrings. I distinctly remember the night that she talked to me and the rest of the students whom she had recruited. The ten of us were huddled around a table in a small, darkening corner of MIT. And there was Alia, eyes wide and filling the small space with the stories of the girls at Emerge, with the barely restrained energy of her own ideas, with the incredible potential that we could all add to Emerge. As I listened to Alia speak, I knew that we were more than just a group of college girls hoping to help part of the world. I could feel myself becoming a part of something much greater and filled with so much beauty that I could barely breathe: I was becoming part of all of the hope, all of the lives, and all of the strength of Emerge. In that instant, I knew that I would do much more than develop new jewelry designs. So here I am for the summer, working day and night with one of the most inspirational people I know, doing all that I can to help Emerge grow and making a great friend in the process.

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Announcing Our New Emerge Sri Lanka Team

Posted by Alia on Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Four incredible women will pack their bags and head to Sri Lanka in September 2008: Ellen Sojka, Lauren O'Toole, April Wachtel, and Karen Noiva.

Ellen Sojka- Emerge Sri Lanka Director- Ellen has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and minors in Management and Chemistry from MIT. From her involvement in her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, as well as MIT's Panhellenic Society, Ellen has developed a passion for empowering women and promoting women's issues. Ellen began working with Emerge in October, 2007, as the Emerge Finance Director. She has deferred Teach For America to move to Sri Lanka as Emerge's Sri Lanka Director, where she will oversee all of Emerge's activities in Sri Lanka, including expansion of the Bead Program and the development of the Emerge Village Project. In her spare time, Ellen loves going to musicals, yoga, and reading fiction.

Lauren O'Toole- Emerge Community Director-Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University. In her senior thesis, she studied gender stereotypes and the impact of youth groups on the development of confidence and self-efficacy. She is excited about the mission of Emerge and is passionate about using entrepreneurship to empower women and fight poverty. While in Sri Lanka, she will be the advocate for all with whom Emerge works. She will study the impact that Emerge has on the women involved, research other successful community programs, seek out new beneficiaries, and build needed partnerships. Lauren enjoys traveling, foreign cultures and cuisines, recreational skiing, running, soccer, Salsa dancing, psychology, and reading non-fiction.


April Wachtel- Emerge Creative Director- April has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University, where she also focused on communications, writing, languages, and logic. April spent 2004 to 2006 working in fine dining restaurants and finding her intellectual path through a wide range of internships. In 2006, she discovered the Hundred Dollar Laptop project at MIT, and became enamored by the thought that simple design+ strategy+ amazing people can solve world problems. Inspired by the project, she entered the Massachusetts College of Art’s (MassArt) Industrial Design Certificate program. April is thrilled to be working with Emerge, eager to combine her creative and business interests to serve others. As the Emerge Creative Director, April will carry Emerge's mission forward, expanding the Emerge Bead Program and working on Emerge's general programming.

Karen Noiva- Sustainability Coordinator - Karen has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from MIT with a concentration in Sustainable Design. She approaches engineering as a way to balance human needs with environmental concerns as well as the growing disparity between those with access to technology and those who don't. She first became interested in Emerge in 2006 when living with Alia and was touched by the stories of the girls and how such a seemingly small thing as stringing brightly-colored beads on a necklace could be such a positive force of change in their lives. She became involved in December 2007 through her work on the architecture of the Emerge Village Project. This fall, Karen will coordinate the next steps of Emerge Village Project's physical design, investigating local materials, collecting information about the building site and surrounding community, and identifying opportunities for environmentally conscious technologies like solar power and rainwater harvesting.

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