Author: Ali Tharrington

Ali Tharrington graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s in biology, where she also earned a competitive minor in short story writing. She traveled to Rwanda for the first time in 2005 to work in the maternity ward of a district hospital. Returning in 2006 and 2007, she studied Intore (Rwanda’s traditional dance), pottery, and basket-making and worked as a Summer Scale-Up Analyst for CHAI. After college, as a result of growing up in a rural, underserved area of North Carolina, her passion for closing the achievement gap led to two years in the Teach For America program, where she taught 8th grade science just outside of Washington, D.C. During the summer months between teaching, she worked as an intern for the Reproductive Health Department of Population Services International. Passionate about quality healthcare for all, social justice issues, dance and music of all kinds, and great food, Ali is always excited about new people, places, and experiences. After her fellowship with the Global Health Corps, she plans to pursue a master’s in global public health.