Hi family and friends,

I’m doing a fundraiser to continue my Arabic language studies for this upcoming summer at the Middlebury Arabic Language School (in Vermont). The program cost $15,060. However, I’m hoping to raise $7,880 as I have secured $7,180 already. I learned Spanish at Middlebury when I was 18 years old and still speak it today. In fact, from 2019-2020, I used it professionally during my time working on human rights issues at the Costa Rican Mission to the UN in NY.

As many of you might know, after that, I worked on the conflicts in Yemen and Libya. I’m currently doing my Ph.D. in International Conflict Management. My regional focus on Yemen makes it even more important for me to be proficient in Arabic. In 2022, I was awarded the Kathryn Davis Peace Fellowship, which made it possible for me to study Arabic at Middlebury in an intensive summer environment. Here is a video of that summer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqErrop_ijk&t=21s

In March this year, I was invited to work on a national localization strategy that is being authored by 70 local NGOs in Yemen. Furthermore, on April 19th, I will be presenting my research on Yemen titled, Insights and Strategies for Action to Yemen's Environmental Challenges: A Gender-Inclusive Approach, to the U.S. State Department. Additionally, I have also been invited to share my research on the discourse around ‘disgust’ and dehumanizing language in international conflicts at MIT in May.

I would appreciate any support that you might be able to offer toward my Arabic language studies for the summer. Also, it would mean a lot if you could share this link with people who might be interested in contributing to this effort. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!