The Betsy Bridge Between UVa Grounds and African Continent (Trending)

Betsy Graves has been directly involved with initiatives in Africa since 2007. Since then, her scope of work has ranged from facilitating fair trade to constitutional reform, and she has held roles in various non-profit organizations including Sequoia Helping Hands and the Caucus for Women's Leadership (CWL), an NGO that supports women's leadership training and political participation in Kenya. 

Betsy is particularly passionate about issues pertaining to youth, women and democratic governance, and has lived in Kenya as well as travelled widely throughout the East Africa region. Two of her most formative experiences included working as a civic education officer during the 2010 Kenyan Constitutional Referendum and a volunteer monitor during the 2013 Kenya National Elections.

Most recently, Betsy served as an Analyst with The Whitaker Group (TWG), where she worked closely with private sector and government stakeholders to advance business and development in the East Africa region. She is also a co-founder of the Kibera Informentors Foundation (KIF), a Kenyan NGO that supports youth empowerment and career mentorship in the slums of Nairobi. Betsy received her Bachelors of the Arts in Foreign Affairs and English from the University of Virginia, and currently resides in the United States.