Pierina Anton Lopez (she/her) is a Master’s candidate in Global Human Development at Georgetown University in Washington, DC (GHD ’23) where she is a 2021 USAID Donald M. Payne Fellow. At GHD, Pierina is pursuing a specialization in Education and Human Capital and a certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies from Georgetown’s Institute of the Study of Migration. Pierina currently works as a Senior Fellow with the Global Campaign for Education-US, where she assists with global and national advocacy, communications, and resource mobilization efforts surrounding the global right to quality, inclusive, education for all. While at GHD, completed her overseas summer internship with the USAID/Bangladesh Office of Education in Dhaka, where she led the activity design of a new proposed teacher training and development program and evaluated grant proposals for youth-led climate resilience and democracy-building programs. Prior to beginning her graduate studies, Pierina worked with the United States Institute of Peace to support community peacebuilding dialogues in Eastern Ukraine and supported the youth civic engagement portfolio at Blue Haven Initiative, a venture capital firm committed to social impact investing. She previously interned with USAID’s Bureau for Africa, in the Education and Youth Division, where she supported the agency’s work in education in crisis and conflict, social and emotional learning, and countering school-related gender-based violence.

While completing her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Economics at Florida International University, Pierina worked with the International Rescue Committee in Miami to connect unaccompanied youth migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to essential social services and taught English at a teacher training college in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Born in La Guaira, Venezuela, Pierina is a first-generation Latina and a passionate advocate for immigration justice and reform. In her free time, Pierina enjoys spending time with her friends and family, going to the beach, and attempting to recreate family recipes.