Mission, Vision, History and Accomplishments | Board and Staff | AID's Approach

AIDemocracy's Staff:

	Priti Gautam - Global Health Program Director Priti is the Global Health Program Director for Americans for Informed Democracy. She has a Masters in Public Health from the UCLA School of Public Health and Bachelors in Economics from Boston College. Having been born in Nepal and having seen first hand the wide range of problems faced by those in the developing world, Priti has always been passionate about global humanitarian and health issues. During her undergraduate and graduate career, she has been very active in fulfilling her passion. At Boston College, she -- along with a fellow student -- revived the BC Amnesty International Chapter. Priti also became co-president of the Chapter for two years. Priti pursued her interest in Global Reproductive Health during her Masters program, where she became a leader for the UCLA Reproductive Health Interest Group and earned a Bixby Certificate in Population and Reproductive Health. She also secured a Bixby fellowship to conduct Reproductive Health and Family Planning fieldwork in Nepal. While performing her fieldwork with the Nepal Family Health Program II, Priti conducted qualitative research exploring the continued low use of long-term contraceptives in Nepal. During her free time, Priti enjoys traveling, going to the beach, watching sports, exercising, learning about different cultures and languages, and eating exotic foods.
	Sarah Frazer - Global Development Campaigns Coordinator Sarah is the Global Development Campaigns Coordinator at Americans for Informed Democracy and directs AIDemocracy's global development and environment programming in coordination with CARE.  A 2007 graduate of the University of Richmond, Sarah majored in International Studies and Spanish, played in a Brazilian music ensemble, and jump-started a Latino Student Alliance.  She spent two semesters abroad:  the first in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she studied social movement theory and attended her first rodeo; the second in Fortaleza, Brazil, where she learned to samba and conducted research with feminist farmers organizer for gender equity, sustainable agriculture and solidarity economy in the Northeast.  After returning to the University of Richmond, Sarah collaborated with AIDemocracy to organize events on international trade, lending and development.  She has worked for Central American Solar Energy Project, Best of What’s Around Organic Farm in Virginia and the School for Field Studies in Costa Rica.  She has attended the 2007 U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, 2009 People’s Summit of the Americas as well as trainings by Midwest Academy and the Center for Popular Economics.
	Bill Murray - Financial Manager Bill is a Dartmouth graduate with a degree in economics and has spent the past 30 years in financial management in a variety of industries. Having done well in the private sector, he has decided to give his time to support worthwhile causes in the non-profit sector. Bill works with AIDemocracy staff and Board of Directors to ensure that the organization's financial reporting is timely, accurate, and transparent. With solid financial management supporting our efforts, Program Directors can more effectively reach the goals of AIDemocracy and its grantors.

Regional Coordinators

Northeast

Priyanka Joseph

Priyanka Joseph was one of 14 students from India awarded a Fulbright fellowship in 2005 to function as a cultural ambassador to the U.S. This is her second year as a graduate student of Public Administration at Roger Williams University in RI. With a focus on non-profit management, Priyanka hopes to bring her experiences in student organizing, relief work post the 2004 Asian Tsunami & Katrina, and her interest in social media and grassroot movements to the Global Peace & Security program at AIDemocracy. Her focus is U.S. & South Asia relations and transnational student education & mobilization, with a focus on disaster management, sustainable development and civic action. She moonlights as a writer & blues enthusiast and calls Chennai, India her home. You can find her at http://twitter.com/Pjoseph85

Ethan Frey

Ethan is a rising Senior at Westminster College studying International Politics, focusing on Peace and Conflict Studies. Born into a family of activists, progressive causes have long been his lifeblood. Last summer, after returning from a Peace and Conflict travel/study course to Malawi and South Africa, he joined the Barack Obama campaign as a Field Organizer during the general election, registering 2,531 students in 4 months. Back on campus, he organizes primarily with the Amnesty International and Sierra Student Coalition chapters. This summer Ethan took a fellowship with the Energy Action Coalition and organized around the Climate Change bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives and readied a fall campaign around domestic and global environmental issues. In his spare time, he enjoys running, cooking, reading, and expanding his (inexpensive) travels outside of the U.S.!

Southeast

Lily Olson

Lily Olson is excited to focus on the modernization of foreign assistance in her up coming sophomore year at George Washington University. Lily has been interested in Global Development and Health issues since she first traveled abroad to Zambia in the summer of 2005. Since then she has continued to travel to Africa and Latin America participating in cultural exploration and developing a better understanding of the impact of poverty around the world. Lily is originally from Newton, MA.

Erick Ford

Erick is in his final year at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA where he is studying Global Affairs. At GMU, Erick has extensive experience as the former president and founder of Global Relations Organization and the former president of the GMU undergraduate law society. He also gained extensive knowledge of Congress's inner workings during his tenure as an intern for Congressman Tom McClintock (CA. 04) this past summer. Erick will be focusing on peace and security issues including civil-military balance this year with AIDemocracy. He is originally from New Jersey.

Central

Charlie Harris

Charlie is a junior at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY and has been organizing around social justice issues since high school. As part of the original leadership team of the WKU chapter of AIDemocracy, he has organized against poverty and hunger, run voter registration drives, lobbied on legislation to end poverty and provide primary school education around the world, and helped win the ONE Campaign Campus Challenge & the title of "Most Globally Active and Aware Campus in the nation" for WKU. Charlie has also served as a Campus Outreach Ambassador for the ONE Campaign and is skilled in all forms of social media. He will be focusing on Global Development Issues this year as AIDemocracy regional coordinator.

Alma Raymer

Alma Raymer, a sophomore at Earlham College from Fort Wayne, IN, recently finished the first stage of making a documentary in Nicaragua. The documentary's focus is on obtaining personal accounts and insights into wars fought in Nicaragua from the 1960s to the 1990s. The documentary attempts to examine the usefulness of nonviolence and the drawbacks of violent conflict all over the world, including interviews and footage from Nicaragua and Israel/Palestine. She looks forward to working on Global Peace and Security Issues this semester and Global Development issues with all of you this year!

West

Joseph Beeman

Originally from Nevada, Missouri, Joseph is a senior at the University of Missouri and studies Biology, Gender Studies and Spanish. This year he will be advocating for comprehensive sexual health education at his university and initiating dialogues about the current state of HIV/AIDS in the United States and abroad with a focus on communities of color.