Witnessing the realities of war and experiencing the lasting effects of armed conflict decidedly influenced Leona’s career aspirations. She and her family fled war-torn Kosovo in 1999 and were resettled in San Diego, CA, where she has since reaped the fruits of American education, democracy and security.

Leona is a summa cum laude graduate of San Diego State University where she earned a B.A. in international security and conflict resolution. Her interdisciplinary studies honed her keen interest in international development and a women-centered approach to international security. Following her undergraduate studies, Leona was afforded a unique opportunity to return to her home country as a U.S. Fulbright grant recipient. She regards her professional experience in Kosovo as a precursor to her eventual career as a U.S. diplomat.

In the last year at GHD and Georgetown, Leona’s worldview and network have expanded profoundly. She spent the summer in Egypt working at the World Bank on gender justice issues and supporting the Bank’s MENA justice portfolio. This exposure to the World Bank Group’s mission left an indelible mark on her and her career aspirations. She is particularly grateful for GHD's emphasis on applied experience, such as the summer internship abroad, which has been instrumental in her professional growth. Additionally, she is pursuing a certificate in Gender, Peace, and Security at Georgetown, aligning her studies with her career goals. She looks forward to the bright future her GHD education will unlock!

In her free time, Leona aims to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle. You’ll find her surrounded by her tight-knit family, traveling the world, weight-lifting, practicing yoga, and simply grateful for life.

Summer Internship

This past summer, I had the unique privilege of interning at the World Bank in Cairo, Egypt. My work directly supported the Justice Team and the World Bank’s justice portfolio in MENA. I contributed to the “Voices of the Vulnerable: Access to Justice” report with research, analysis and editing support. The report detailed findings from a household study conducted in Beirut, Lebanon, on the barriers to justice faced by women and other marginalized communities, offering empirical evidence of gendered discrepancies in access to justice. The team aims to expand this household survey to the broader MENA region to better inform service delivery. To that end, I drafted grant proposals for additional funding through the World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict and Violence Fund. This 10-week applied experience on gender justice complemented my studies and aligned with the certificate I am pursuing in Gender, Peace and Security. The internship enhanced my understanding of the World Bank's crucial role in addressing gender-based inequalities in access to justice.