Molly Knapp joins the GHD program after four years of implementing democracy, human rights, and governance (DRG) initiatives at Democracy International (DI). Based in Washington, DC, and managing programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in El Salvador, Kosovo, Liberia and Trinidad & Tobago, Molly’s portfolio has spanned strengthening municipal governance, teaching civic and voter education, promoting youth development, fostering community resilience, and reducing the risk of victimization of refugees and migrants.

Prior to joining DI, Molly worked as a litigation paralegal for Cleary Gotlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where she provided legal and administrative support for pro bono asylum, immigration, electoral systems, and housing matters and antitrust and civil litigation cases.

As an undergraduate student, Molly served as a policy intern for the office of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and researched cyber and homeland security, foreign affairs, and U.S. election infrastructure and security. Molly’s undergraduate academic pursuits focused on Latin American policies, enriched by her senior thesis on transitional justice in post-dictatorial Argentina and Chile, a visit to El Salvador to learn about the country’s civil war and meet community activists preserving historical memory and effecting restorative justice, and a summer teaching at Finca del Niño in Honduras.

As she continues her education at Georgetown, Molly looks forward to refining her analytical skills, deepening her understanding of sustainable program design and best practices for ethical and effective implementation, and applying her growing toolkit during the summer internship field experience.

Molly grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Notre Dame.