We are a team of Cornell students currently working in Kigali, Rwanda.
Alexandra (Lexi) Farina
B.S., Global and Public Health Sciences | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Lexi is a global and public health sciences major and health policy minor who is passionate about strengthening health systems and sustainable food systems. She has experience with nonprofit and research work locally and internationally. Lexi is a purchasing team member of Anabel’s Grocery, a student-run, nonprofit food store at Cornell. She has also conducted research in Lusaka, Zambia advocating the need for a diaspora engagement policy to remedy the negative consequences of skilled worker migration. Post-graduation, Lexi hopes to use her skills to solve critical health system challenges.
Jabari Gambrel B.F.A./B.A., Fine Arts | College of Arts and Sciences
Jabari Gambrel is a second-year student currently pursuing a B.F.A./B.A. dual degree at Cornell University, concentrating in photography and Africana studies. His interests are in the intersectional space between art, open air and land markets and foreign aid as they currently and historically interact with the continent of Africa. In the future he hopes to explore how technology and art can be used to change perceptions of the continent, influencing the political, international nature of continent-wide representations. He is passionate about studying languages including Wolof, Pulaar, Bambara and French.
Bichara Haladou B.S., Agricultural Sciences | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Bichara is a student alumna of the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa. On campus, she was consecutively the Chief Finance Officer and the Creative Director of two students led enterprises. Prior to that, she received her scientific baccalaureate from Mariama High School in Niamey, Niger. Bichara is passionate about food production and management, and is currently studying agricultural sciences with a concentration in business. Last summer, she interned at a food company in Niger, where she worked on groundnut production and its use in combatting malnutrition among children. Bichara also aims to promote women empowerment in her community and country through workshops and volunteering activities.
Emily Keast
M.P.S., International Agriculture and Rural Development | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Emily is a Master of Professional Studies candidate studying international agriculture and rural development. She is interested in the role of youth in agricultural production. She has experience in community and agricultural development and value chain analysis. Before coming to Cornell, Emily was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia for over two years, and worked with Catholic Relief Services Ethiopia for one year. She worked on various nutrition-sensitive projects targeting issues of agricultural productivity, nutrition, and livelihoods. After graduating, Emily hopes to work for an international development organization focused on small-enterprise strategic development.
Robert Swanda
Ph.D., Biomedical & Biological Sciences | College of Veterinary Medicine
Rob is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of biomedical and biological sciences with a concentration in biochemistry, in Dr. Shu-Bing Qian’s laboratory. He is currently studying the mechanistic details of translation regulation in response to nutrient stress and investigating how individual amino acids alter ribosomes and initiation factors. Outside of the lab, he enjoys volunteering with the Cornell Center for Material Research by teaching youth science, and spending his free time running the trails of Ithaca.
Jarra Jagne – Team Leader
Poultry Diagnostician, Animal Health Diagnostic Center | College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Jagne is a veterinarian with over 23 years of experience in poultry disease management and control, and a faculty member of the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine. She performs field investigations of poultry diseases and teaches poultry medicine. She also has worked as a Veterinary Advisor for a USAID-funded project on avian influenza and for the UN FAO. Dr. Jagne holds a D.V.M. from Cornell University, a B.Sc. in biology from Colorado State University, and is a Diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians.
CARL Group: Reducing Vitamin A Deficiency in Rwanda 