Ramaa Chitale

Age: 25

Home Town: Washington, D.C.

Education: BA History, Bowdoin College

Specific Field Interests: Rural and population health

Placement: Society for Education, Action, and Research in Community (SEARCH), Maharashtra

Area of Focus: Public Health

Highlights: Ramaa's interest in international health and development comes from a combination of living abroad in India, Japan and Zimbabwe, and her professional experiences. Ramaa spent a summer teaching English at a middle school in Jaipur, where she learned about the Indian education system, and issues facing teachers in the classroom. In 2008, Ramaa received a public interest fellowship to work with a microfinance organization in Egypt. There, she designed and implemented grant writing workshops and English classes. It was in Egypt that Ramaa identified her passion for public health work in rural areas, seeing the impact that grassroots initiatives have on local communities. After earning her degree from Bowdoin College, Ramaa worked as a Project Analyst for an IT contractor with the U.S. Government. Ramaa speaks Marathi and Japanese, and is a beginner at Spanish and Arabic.