Grace Reynders is originally from Oak Park, Illinois. She graduated from St. Olaf College with degrees in political science and Chinese studies. As a student, Grace studied Mandarin and spent a semester in Shanghai, China. She later completed an internship at Peace Corps headquarters, which sparked her interest in international development and public service.

Grace joins the GHD program after two years at the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). Most recently, she supported humanitarian relief efforts for communities in Gaza and the West Bank as an administrative officer on the Levant Complex Emergency Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). Prior to USAID, she served with City Year AmeriCorps as a fourth grade teaching assistant in Washington, DC. Grace also has experience with qualitative and quantitative analysis through her role as a project assistant on the Peace Corps’ Volunteer Reporting and Grants (VRG) team.

In her free time, Grace enjoys long-distance running, listening to podcasts and going on walks with her Golden Retriever, Chance.