Jean-Camille de la Cruz Kollmorgen

Age: 26

Home Town: Los Angeles, CA

Education: MSW Social Services Management, Columbia University School of Social Work; BA English Literature, University of Chicago

Specific Field Interests: Community & organizational capacity building; health & nutrition; livelihoods; GBV & child protection

Placement: Community Health and Advancement Initiative (CHAI)/Broadleaf Health & Education Alliance, Darjeeling, West Bengal

Area of Focus: Public Health

Highlights: JC spent four years working with children from disadvantaged communities in Chicago while pursing her undergraduate degree. During this time she also studied in Pune, India, and participated in Habitat for Humanity International's efforts to build affordable housing in Guayaquil, Ecuador. From 2007-2009, JC served as an Agroforestry Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Senegal where she engaged in food security, rural livelihoods, environmental protection, health education, and gender equity projects. JC's graduate studies focused on the management of social welfare programs, with an emphasis on services to immigrants and refugees. In 2011, JC helped strengthen monitoring/evaluation systems and non-profit work with Self-Help Groups as part of an internship with Srinivasan Services Trust in Tamil Nadu, India. Most recently, JC worked as an NGO representative to the United Nations, lobbying for the adoption of inclusive policies towards poverty eradication. JC is particularly interested in community-based approaches to rural development, livelihoods creation, and psychosocial protection.