Senior Fellows

Bianca graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Latin American & Latino studies, a minor in mathematics, and a certificate in Portuguese. She is originally from Long Island, and hails from a Mexican-Argentinian household, which sparked her interest in Latin America early on. While at Penn, she was heavily involved in the Latino community, actively advocating for issues facing the community to university administration, such as financial aid, faculty diversity, and first-generation students. She studied abroad in São Paulo, Brazil the fall of her junior year, where her interest in Brazilian history and education was piqued. She returned to Brazil the following summer to intern at an educational NGO in Rio de Janeiro where she developed a six-month program to help high-achieving, low-income Brazilian high school students develop competitive applications for U.S. universities. This experience sparked her interest in combating educational disparities in Latin American communities. She is beyond thrilled to be returning to Brazil and joining Worldfund as a member of their STEM team over the next year!

Emma Soglin is from Evanston, IL and graduated from Macalester College in 2016 with a degree in sociology and Hispanic studies. Her interest in Latin America, human rights and ethical volunteerism began early in her college career when she worked with a sustainable development organization in Guatemala that focused on health in indigenous communities. She developed an interest in immigration advocacy during her semester abroad in Santiago, Chile, where she served as an intern with a job forum and legal clinic for migrants from all over the world. She continued this interest in Minneapolis as an intern in the Immigrant and Refugee program at the Advocates for Human Rights and spent the year after college aiding lawyers in research for immigration cases and working in development at a children’s theater near her hometown. She is excited to work with the Arias Foundation and learn about human rights issues in Costa Rica and beyond.

Hilary Brumberg recently graduated from Wesleyan University (2017) with a double major in environmental science and Hispanic literatures & cultures, and certificate in environmental studies. An avid outdoorswoman and committed environmentalist, Hilary spent much of her undergraduate career working on Wesleyan’s student-run organic farm or on her honors thesis about the carbon dynamics in volcanic lakes. Hilary loves sharing her passion for nature, as she demonstrated through organizing Spanish hiking trips, leading volunteer trail maintenance crews on the Appalachian Trail, teaching a course on sustainable agriculture, studying plastic pollution in Puerto Rico, and serving as a co-captain of the Wesleyan climbing team. Through WesInterpreters, she partnered with local domestic abuse shelters, physicians and public schools to translate documents for Hispanic immigrants. Hilary spent her junior fall semester in Quito studying Ecuadorian culture and ecology, where she conducted research to predict the effects of ash from major volcanic eruptions on local populations. She plans to pursue a career as a climate scientist and environmental educator, focusing on underserved populations. Hilary is extremely excited to work as a PiLA research fellow at Osa Conservation in Costa Rica, where she will monitor river water quality, work closely with local communities, learn about rainforest management, hike and climb, and eat a lot of rice and beans.

Colorado native Angie Neslin graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University in 2016 with degrees in Hispanic studies and American studies. She believes everyone has a story and is committed to giving others the tools and spaces to share theirs. This commitment inspired her work with Youth for Debate, a nonprofit providing free debate and public speaking instruction at underserved schools in New York City, and with the Freedom and Citizenship program, which prepares high-achieving low-income high school seniors for engagement in American public life through a philosophy seminar taught by Columbia professors. During her semester abroad in Buenos Aires, she fell in love with Argentine rock music and wrote her honors thesis in Spanish on rock nacional as an emerging element of mass culture in post-dictatorship Argentina. She hopes to pursue a PhD in Latin American studies, but first she will remain as a PiLA senior fellow at Fundación Abriendo Camino in Santo Domingo.

Nathalia graduated from Haverford College (2015) where she earned a bachelor’s in sociology with a concentration in Latin American studies and a Spanish minor. After college, Nathalia joined Teach for America in New York. There she taught 5th-grade bilingual education for two years. She graduated from Hunter College (2017) with a Master’s in Childhood Education Grades 1–6 with an extension in bilingual education. Nathalia hopes to continue developing her passion for education equity at DREAM in the Dominican Republic.

Vanessa graduated from Princeton in 2017 with a degree in anthropology and certificates in Spanish as well as Latin American studies. During the course of her time at Princeton, in addition to playing on the women’s varsity basketball team, which she captained, Vanessa studied in Spain at the Universidad de Navarra, and in Chile at the Universidad Diego Portales. In Chile, she also worked for a summer with the nonprofit Fundación La Fuente, which promotes literacy and funded underprivileged libraries throughout the country. She is excited to be a part of the Mariposa team and continue to learn and contribute to its goals.

PiLA and Vanessa gratefully acknowledge the support of the Amy Adina Schulman Memorial Fund in making her fellowship possible.

Cailin Campbell, a Massachusetts native, graduated from the University of San Francisco (2018) with a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish Studies. Her interest in Latin America, passion for the Spanish language, and commitment to social justice began during the ten months she spent in Portoviejo, Ecuador as an exchange student, before beginning her undergraduate career at USF. Since living in Ecuador, Cailin has returned to Latin America on three occasions: first, as an Education Intern with ViviendasLeón in Goyena, Nicaragua, later, during a semester abroad at the Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru, and, most recently, during a second semester abroad with the School for International Training in Cochabamba, Bolivia. While in Bolivia, she worked with the Proyecto Trabajo Digno, researching labor rights and exploitation and writing and publishing a trilingual children’s book. Upon returning to the United States, she received a Forest Foundation Fellowship and spent the summer interning for the North Shore Community Development Coalition. During her senior year in San Francisco, Cailin was busy writing her Honors Thesis, tutoring for the Spanish department, serving as the Treasurer for her University’s Best Buddies Chapter, volunteering with Mission Graduates, and interning at the Pachamama Alliance. Cailin is excited to apply her diverse research, work, and volunteer experiences at ADISA and learn more about Guatemala’s history and culture.

Yihemba graduated from Princeton University (2017) with a Bachelor’s in politics and certificates in Spanish and Latin American studies. As an undergraduate, she studied abroad in Spain and Chile. She has conducted field research for independent projects on the legacy of military dictatorship in Santiago, Chile and experience of Afro-descendants in the Colombian peace process. Her professional experiences include work as an academic instructor for young students, public policy intern in the U.S. House of Representatives, and communications and reporting intern at The Resource Foundation, a nonprofit that connects donors and development organizations in Latin America. Driven by a passion for service to others and cross-cultural engagement, Yihemba plans to pursue a career in global development. She is very excited about the opportunity to work in Guatemala and learn more about young women’s empowerment through education.

Ana attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar and a Davis United World College Scholar. She graduated with highest distinction as a double major in economics and global studies (concentrations in Latin America and international politics), with a minor in philosophy, politics and economics. During her time at UNC, Ana worked at the local juvenile detention center and served as a financial coach for people experiencing poverty and homelessness, deepening her commitment to fighting for a more just world. Having grown up speaking Spanish with her Argentinian relatives, in her junior year Ana returned to Buenos Aires for a semester, researching the construction of Latin American identity during the 2015 Argentinian presidential elections. Ana's path has been shaped by her experiences learning about and working on entrepreneurial leadership education in South Africa, impact-investing in the South Caucasus, affordable housing in Argentina, and public defense in Washington, D.C. In the long-term, Ana hopes to work in international criminal law and human rights. This year, she is thrilled to be joining Global Partnerships in its mission to expand opportunity for people living in poverty.