MEDA has received funding from CIDA – Canadian International Development Agency – for a three- year internship program. Each year, we will be hiring 11 interns, for a total of 33 interns. The internships will be six months in length. In addition to these CIDA interns we have budget for two self-funded US internships.

MEDA is excited to welcome this year’s interns, whose start dates range from July to November. We are pleased to have a great group of interns working for MEDA in various countries. Below are brief biographies on each of them:

Brock Hoback – Rural Microfinance intern – Ethiopia (Internship Completed)

Brock, a recent Bachelor of Commerce graduate from the University of Ottawa, ON, is working as an intern in rural microfinance with MEDA’s EDGET project in Ethiopia. Brock brings to his new role his exposure in international finance and policy development through previous internships with the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (Rome, Italy) and in the office of the Minister of Health, Ottawa. He is a recipient of the Rotary Youth Citizenship Award. Blog link: Mind the Gap – http://mindthis.ca/wordpress/author/brock/

Fiona MacKenzie – Business Development Advisor intern – Ethiopia (Internship Completed)

Fiona, a recent graduate of the Master of Arts program in international development at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, also holds a BA in business administration and is certified by the Project Management Institute. Fiona brings previous experience working, interning and volunteering with business and social enterprises in Ghana to her new role as business development advisor intern with MEDA’s EDGET project in Ethiopia.

Sarah Fetterly – Communication Development intern – Morocco (Internship Completed)

Sarah recent earned a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, with a focus on international business and marketing. She plans to apply her previous work and volunteer experience with environmental not-for-profit Reduce the Juice and Right to Play to her new role as communication development intern with MEDA’s Youth Invest project in Morocco. Sarah, who is fluent in French, also plans to complete the certification process for the Project Management Institute. Blog link: http://musingsfrommorocco-sarah.blogspot.com/

Alicia Cornejo – Value Chain Development intern – Peru (Internship Completed)

Alicia earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Guelph, ON, prior to graduating from the school’s international development and political science program with a Master of Arts. She worked as a teaching assistant and course administrator while she completed her university studies. Alicia brings both oral and written fluency in Spanish to her new role as value chain development intern with MEDA’s new Techno-Links project in Peru. Blog link: http://www.aliciainlima.blogspot.com/

Azalea Carisch-Bernasconi – Rural Microfinance intern – Zambia

A recent graduate of the Master of Arts program in international development from George Washington University, Azalea has travelled extensively, including field experience in Mexico, Thailand and Peru. She speaks Spanish, German and French. Azalea hopes to learn more about the development and implementation of technology-based financial services delivery for low-income communities as a rural microfinance intern with MEDA in Zambia.

Christopher McDonald – Rural Microfinance intern – Managua, Nicaragua (Internship Completed)

Christopher has been working as a corporate financial analyst since graduating with an Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Ottawa. His volunteer roles have included VP of external affairs for the university Entrepreneurs’ Club. He is fluent in French and also speaks Italian. Christopher is studying toward accreditation as a certified financial analyst. He joins MEDA as a rural microfinance intern in Managua, Nicaragua.

Kristina Lugo – I.T. Development intern – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Kristina discovered an interest in using mobile phone technology for development while interning with a non-profit in Malawi. For two years, she has been consulting in mobile security practice. A graduate of the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor’s degree in math, Kristina also speaks French and Tagalog. She has lived on four continents and visited almost 20 countries. As an IT development intern with MEDA, she will work in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Blog link: http://www.kristinalugo.com/

Viktoria Ivanenkova – Value Chain Development intern – Melitopol, Ukraine

Viktoria graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2009, then joined the City of Winnipeg, working in human resources and corporate finance. Multilingual in four languages, she also has worked as a Russian interpreter. Viktoria is a certified general accountant trainee. She joins MEDA’s office in Melitopol, Ukraine, where she will intern in value chain development. Blog link: http://medainukraine.wordpress.com/

Manuel Arellano – Impact Assessment intern – Lima, Peru

A recent graduate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies/International Development from the University of Guelph, ON, Manuel also holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree from York University, Toronto. Fluent in Spanish and conversational French, he is a skilled translator. Manuel has experience working in the media, both as an intern in television and as an online editor/feature reporter. He joins MEDA as an impact assessment intern based in Lima, Peru. Blog link: http://manuelinperu.wordpress.com/

Kara Klassen – Impact Assessment intern – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Kara holds a Masters in Conflict Resolution & Mediation (University of Tel Aviv, Israel) and Honors Bachelor of Arts (University of Waterloo, ON). She has lived and worked in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Israel/Palestine. Kara has interned with Mennonite Central Committee and was an international election observer for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first democratic elections in 2006. As an impact assessment intern with MEDA, she joins our office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Peter Borawski – Program Coordinator (ACM) – Simferopol, Ukraine

Peter studied international development at Humber College, Toronto, after graduating with a Bachelor of Political Science degree from McMaster University, Hamilton, ON. He is an experienced scouting leader and also served as a student body representative at McMaster. Peter is interning as program coordinator with Agro Capital Management (ACM), a wholly owned company of MEDA. ACM finances horticultural asset packages to small-holder farmers and small agribusinesses.

Sa-Eun Park (Internship Completed)

And congratulations to Sa-Eun Park, who, at the end of her four-month internship at MEDA’s Washington, DC office, was recently hired full time as a project coordinator/junior consultant! Sa-Eun is a Bachelor of Science graduate from the University of California, Berkley, CA. She worked in banking and business development in the US and Saudi Arabia before returning to school to earn a Master of Science in development management from the American University, Washington, DC. Fluent in Korean and English, Sa-Eun also has served as a volunteer with social organizations in Thailand, India and Mexico.