Laura Guzman

Age: 25

Home Town: San Antonio, Texas

Education: MA International Affairs, The New School; BA Latin American Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

Specific Field Interests: Urban Development, Social Enterprise, Technology, Sustainable Development

Placement: iMerit, Kolkata, West Bengal

Area of Focus: Social Enterprise

Highlights: Laura comes to the Fellowship with a deep interest in examining the ways technology, creativity, and collaboration can foster impactful and sustainable development. Previous to joining AIF, she spent three years supporting grant-making and advocacy work around issues pertaining to new technologies, internet privacy, open access, and data for advocacy while at the Open Society Foundation's Information Program. While pursuing her Master's, Laura worked with Slum Dwellers International in Kampala, Uganda, and researched the effects of participatory urban governance initiatives in Uganda. She also developed a keen interest in mapping and GIS while at The New School, and worked at CartoDB, a web mapping platform, on their educational materials, supporting documentation, and storytelling platform launch.