Angga Martha

Country: Indonesia
Organization: Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI)

ANGGA: The Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI) is an institution that serves as the center for national development strategy analysis in Indonesia. It involves creating innovations and strategic initiatives that will help accelerate the implementation and achievement of the 2030 Global Goals on Sustainable Development (SDGs) as a whole and specifically the implementation of development interventions in the area of health and youth engagement. As part of CISDI’s mandate, they facilitate and drive cross-sector collaboration between public, private and civil society organizations integral to achieve development goals that are widespread, equal, and sustainable.

My role for this internship includes the following aspects:

1. To assist CISDI in facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships on SDGs, specifically non- state actors, such as youth groups, the private sector, and philanthropy organizations in the SDGs implementation.

2. To assist strategy development on SDG implementation into the local development plan with a concentration on public-private partnership and youth engagement

I got an opportunity to visit and work together with a team of Pencerah Nusantara in Pototano, West Nusa Tenggara and to see their direct contribution to the local community in this area. It is evident to me that youth participation is a pre-condition for sustainable development and the youth need to be co-owners of the future. Inclusive participation will not see youth as an object or target, but more in developing a mutual partnership with young people as a subject and partner to development.

Private sector and philanthropy organization has crucial role in shaping development, especially in this rapidly evolving global environment where information is open and free for everyone.

SDGs can act as guiding principles for the work of private sector philanthropy organization, and provide a platform for the private sector to implement long-term goals and partnerships that will make a significant contribution towards achieving sustainable development for all.

Ashley Anderson

Country: Philippines
Organization: Millenium Challenge Corporation

Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. government agency that provides assistance to support economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries demonstrating a commitment to just and democratic governance, economic freedom, and investments in people. As the very first summer intern for MCC‐Philippines, Ashley Anderson's main deliverable was to create a repository of social impact reports detailing the specific effects of select MCC programs on beneficiaries and their communities. In order to collect insights for the impact stories, she  arranged interviews with key stakeholders all over the Philippines.

Ashley: “My experience with MCC was a truly enlightening experience both for professional and personal reasons. Professionally, I was able to work overseas for the first time and, more importantly, in a developing context. After seeing the poverty and restraints to economic growth in Manila first hand, I am inspired to find inclusive development opportunities for the Philippines and have decided to focus my thesis on potential growth industries for the country. Furthermore, I now want to explore a career in emerging market entry strategy with a focus on Southeast Asia after I graduate. Finally, I want to express my gratitude for Mr. Blakeley and his family – because of his generosity and investment in Fletcher students I’ve been privileged to have this experience and the potential future opportunities it may lead to..”

Katie Halleran

Country: Cambodia

Organization: Development Innovations

Katie Halleran worked at Development Innovations in Cambodia, and immersed herself int he world of Phnom Penh startups, hub, hackerspaces, design thinking groups, and co-working spaces in order to get to know the landscape. She also took part in providing content and editing for the first and second rounds of an internal DAI competition on innovative projects.

Katie: “I was fortunate to alongside the talented people on the ground at DI; one of my colleagues, a Khmer Rouge survivor who escaped at the Thai border camps at 6 years old, had just finished a documentary on rediscovering the camp where over 20,000 were said to have died, and reconnecting with childhood friends with whom he had fled the camp.”

Rachel Bass

Country: Myanmar

Organization: Golden Rock Capital

Rachel Bass worked as a summer associate for Golden Rock Capital, a newly launched private equity fund focused specifically on Myanmar and generally on the ASEAN region. She hoped to gain insight in the demands and processes of private equity, leveraging her background in Microfinance, further explore finance skills acquired through Fletcher coursework, and contribute to a rapidly growing and evolving Myanmar

Rachel: “I learned more about my own intangible skills while gaining a much greater sense of appreciation for my good fortune. I believe this awareness will help me infinitely during a long career grounded in social service.”

Leah Meadows

Country: Indonesia

Organization: Mercy Corps, Agri-Fin Mobile

Leah Meadows was hired for her expertise in gender integration and assessments. While in Jakarta, she researched women’s access to financial services, cellphone technology, and agriculture information. She developed surveys for 160 female and youth farmers, while training local facilitators in how to give 20 focus group discussions in 6 subdistricts of West Java province. She conducted 25 one-on-one interviews and culminated her internship with an office-wide presentation of her 50-page report on how the Agri-Fin mobile project should change to address women’s needs.

Leah: “This internship was truly invaluable. I developed skills that complement my classroom studies, and that will make me more marketable as a working professional. This experience has strengthened my interest in these factions of international development, and I plan to take micro-finance courses next semester to further my career goal.”

Kyle Muther

Country: Indonesia and Uganda
Organization: Mercy Corps

Kyle Muther conducted a value chain analysis of four selected commodities in Uganda and Indonesia to identify market opportunities for bundling farm and crop management tools and financial services on mobile platforms. He attended meetings of the Indonesia World Economic Forum working group on Maize.

Kyle: “The internship was very useful for my career development… with a lot of interaction with high level MercyCorps staff. My main accomplishment during the summer was getting exposure to an exciting field – mobile agriculture information services and mobile money/banking.”