How have you put to use what you learned in the PROLAW program?
PROLAW was a crash course in the history, structure, and lingo of the world of international development and humanitarian work, with a global cohort of classmates.  We had ten plus nationalities, spanning Latin America, the Caribbean, across Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Asia, and North America.  All of us met in the middle of Rome--so cross-cultural collaboration and learning, which is so essential to effective development work, was embedded into the experience.  PROLAW helped me gain an orientation to and knowledge of the international aid system that let me hit the ground running.

What program experiences prepared you for your current position at Oxfam?
Our course in International Development Architecture hosted at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) gave a comprehensive, high-level overview of the key actors, processes, and debates in the international aid system, while drilling down into some of the most current and cutting edge legal and policy issues in development.  Professor McInerney's course on the history of the rule of law helped me understand the deep political and cultural roots of the rule of law as a concept and value and how it is reflected in the rights-based approach to international development. 

What do you see are the most pressing challenges to ending the injustices of poverty? 
The hardest thing to confront about entrenched poverty and inequality is that, in every case, there are those who benefit from the status quo and resist change.  Development and anti-poverty work is about building the alliances that enable the power of the many to challenge and overcome the entrenched power of the few, so that the benefits of the societies we all build through our work and participation in public life can be more equitably shared.  Fighting poverty is political and requires us to face the challenges all effective political action requires. Even in challenging times, however, we see unmistakable signs, especially among the younger generations, that a more fair and equal world is possible by working together.