The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to enhancing healthcare and education access and reducing poverty globally. I interned on the Policy & Advocacy team in their Beijing, China office, where we create policy & advocacy initiatives through public and private sector partnerships.
I received funding from Tufts' Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) for the internship, and I wrote blog posts for the IGL on my experience about Chinese-led development models here and here.
Public Health Research
I researched for a foundation collaboration with China People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries on a UN maternal and child health initiative, Every Woman Every Child.
For this, I analyzed reports from the Chinese government, the UN and its agencies, public health academics, and think tanks to consolidate evidence of public health successes in China, areas of improvement in the public health of African partner countries, and places of potential collaboration between the two regions. This embodies my bottom-up approach to international development research where circulating knowledge and expertise is agreed upon by multiple parties.
After collaborating with other researchers on the team, I later translated the research into policy recommendations and presentation decks for our partners.
Education Research
I created the foundational research memos for the organization's first international education initiative, as the only current education program is in Washington state in the U.S.
For this, I analyzed Chinese government reports, public spending data, and academic articles to see how the foundation can create initiatives to fill in the gaps of the national education system.