Join Us in Welcoming Princeton in Africa’s New Executive Director, Sheila Agiti

We are thrilled to announce that Sheila Agiti has joined Princeton in Africa as our new Executive Director! Sheila brings exceptional leadership, a deep commitment to inclusive development, and an ambitious vision for the future of our PiAf community.

An advocate for youth empowerment and equitable opportunity, Sheila has spent over a decade designing and scaling programs that cultivate leadership, belonging, and impact across Africa. She brings deep expertise in developing and executing transformative initiatives, cultivating ecosystems where access meets true inclusion, and connecting young leaders to opportunities that help them thrive beyond barriers.

Sheila’s journey with Princeton in Africa comes full circle. She began her career as a Princeton in Africa Fellow at the African Leadership Academy (ALA), where she supported the Careers and Internships department’s growth. She later led ALA’s alumni engagement efforts, creating systems that strengthened professional pathways and community ties for more than a thousand alumni worldwide. She has also held roles at the African Center for Economic Transformation in Accra.

A 2025 Women Leaders for the World Fellow, Sheila has served on the boards of Teach For Ghana (now Lead For Ghana) and the Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA). She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and a Master of Science from SOAS, University of London.

We’re honored to welcome Sheila to Princeton in Africa! With her purpose-driven leadership and vision for PiAf, we look forward to developing an even stronger, more inclusive community of leaders across the continent.

Together We Begin Another Year of Service and Impact

2025-26 PiAf Fellows (Left to Right): Leleda, Saffiyah , and Geneva

Dear Friends of PiAf,

We are thrilled to share that our 2025-26 fellowship cohort is off to an incredible start, and we are excited to share their stories with you! This remarkable cohort of 19 young leaders, including 3 Nexus Fellows, brings outstanding talent, diverse perspectives, and a shared commitment to service. Representing 5 nationalities and 16 universities worldwide, they are working across 9 African countries with 14 host organizations to build meaningful partnerships and drive impact in their communities. To get acquainted with our current Fellows please read their bios here.

In this first Fellows Flyer of the 2025-26 fellowship cycle, you’ll read reflections from our three incredible Fellows: Leleda Beraki, Saffiyah Coker, and Geneva Tackie as they share their experiences working across Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana, where they’re developing skills, building community, and making an impact in global health, sustainable agriculture, and education.

This summer was a bustling and exciting season for the Princeton in Africa staff, with plenty of milestones to celebrate. Alongside wrapping up the 2024-25 fellowship year and welcoming the 2025-26 Fellows, our Programs team partnered with alumni and members of our Board to host a range of events and webinars aimed at supporting, empowering, and connecting our Fellows and alumni community. We extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in the Alumni Mentor Program and helped lead programming.

Even several months after celebrating 25 years of Princeton in Africa, the energy and spirit of our community continue to grow. We are continually inspired by the young leaders who choose to embark on this journey with us and by our dedicated host organizations whose work continues to make a tremendous impact across the continent.

We extend a heartfelt thank you as well to our supporters for their commitment to supporting our PiAf Fellows. Because of you, emerging leaders are gaining invaluable experience, forming lifelong connections, and helping build a brighter future across Africa.

Warm regards,

The Princeton in Africa Team

Letters from the Field

Leleda Beraki (Tech Care for All, Kenya)

Hello! My name is Leleda and I am a Global Health Fellow with Tech Care for All (TC4A) based in Nairobi, Kenya. TC4A is a health tech company focused on building local capacity by training healthcare providers and supporting the entry of medical innovations to the East African market. Currently, TC4A supports the medical education of over 50,000 providers across the continent!

In my role at TC4A, I have been exposed to various facets of global health work including partnerships and relationship management with large pharmaceutical companies, designing tech innovations to support medical education, writing grants, and implementing projects throughout Kenya. Our most recent work involves designing an access program in a neighboring county to assess public sector integration of novel medicines.

TC4A has not only provided me with many professional development opportunities, but also incredible friends and coworkers! Being that the Nairobi office is entirely Kenyan, aside from myself, I’ve been able to learn more about local culture and foods while sharing some of my own. And, of course, my impromptu Kiswahili quizzes where my colleagues test how many words I’ve learned :).

Outside of work, I’ve enjoyed exploring the food and arts scene in Nairobi and going on road trips to other parts of Kenya. Fortunately, I also live near other PiAf Fellows, both current and past, so it’s been wonderful to support each other through this experience and spend time together.

As I enter my fourth month in Nairobi and at TC4A, I’m truly excited for what’s to come and can’t believe how quickly time has passed!

Saffiyah Coker (Warc Africa, Ghana)

Greetings from Accra, Ghana! My name is Saffiyah, and I am almost two months into my Princeton in Africa fellowship posting at Warc Africa (West Africa Rice Company) as a Project Manager Fellow within the consulting division of the company. I have felt so embraced by the company, the community that I have come to be a part of, and those who I have come to know! 

Warc is a social impact-driven agriculture business that seeks to transform the lives of subsistence farmers in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. I have learned so much about cocoa value chains, agricultural inputs, and the end-to-end harvesting process!

I had the opportunity to travel to New Edubiasi, Ghana, with the Warc team a few weeks ago to understand the cocoa farming process. Who knew that there were so many steps before chocolate becomes chocolate. During my time in New Edubiasi, I was able to spend time with farmers, understand the trading aspect of the business, and learn about farmers’ daily lives. 

Holistically, I have thoroughly enjoyed living in Accra. I spend my free time meeting new people through free workout classes all over the city, attending book clubs, eating at delicious chop bars, and attending Ghana football matches (Go Black Stars!). Life in this city is beautifully warm, fast-paced, and exciting. I am also so grateful to get to live and work with my co-Fellow, Marie. We enjoy trying new foods and shopping in the local markets.

I am greatly looking forward to the year ahead, contributing further to Warc Africa, and the plethora of learning that awaits me.

Geneva Tackie (The Rwanda School Project, Rwanda)

Hi, my name is Geneva, and I am the current Princeton in Africa Fellow in Rwanda, serving as a Program Coordinator at Rwamagana Leaders School (RLS). It feels surreal to say I have already been here for three months. It feels like I have been here for years, in the best way, because it truly feels like home.

I work with my co-Fellow, Davina, to strengthen RLS’s school-wide reading program and support students with their college applications. Each week, we pick interesting readings for students and create worksheets to help them think more deeply about the stories and improve their summary writing. I especially love reading their creative writing pieces. Their excitement about writing has been contagious, and we are now launching a school-wide writing competition in partnership with an international school in South Korea.

I have also had the chance to work on other things I really care about, like youth capacity building. Recently, I organized workshops for seniors to help them explore their interests and brainstorm community projects they can lead. My favorite moments so far have been sitting with students one-on-one, talking about their dreams and helping them shape them into something real.

Outside of work, I have been exploring the beautiful city of Kigali and recently picked up running, inspired by the energetic running community in Rwamagana. I am now training for a marathon before the end of my fellowship. I have also started learning Kinyarwanda and practice with my fellow teachers whenever I can. I am especially grateful to my housemate, Olive, who has been so kind and welcoming. I also appreciate Davina, my co-Fellow, and Brittany, our Fellow in Kigali, as well as the other nearby Fellows who make this community so special. I am really looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year has in store.

With just 3 days remaining, now’s the time to make sure your application and all required materials are complete and submitted. Please remember to submit:

• An official transcript submitted by your university

• A letter of recommendation

• Proof of university enrollment document (for Nexus applicants only)

Since 1999, Princeton in Africa has offered yearlong, paid post-graduate fellowships with leading organizations across the African continent. To date, more than 750 Fellows have served in 37 countries, making an impact across sectors such as humanitarian aid, public health, business and economic development, agriculture, and education.

The deadline to apply for the 2026-27 PiAf fellowships is next Monday, October 27th, 2025, at 11:59 PM Eastern. 

We can’t wait to review your applications!

All the best,

Princeton in Africa Staff