Vida Tehrani, a May 2015 GPIA graduate hailing from Oakland, California, has accepted a position with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in N’Djamena, Chad. Her position as a Grants Officer consists of reviewing donor reports, leading in the writing of grant proposals, liaising with IRC headquarters’ grants units, visiting field sites in order to work directly with program staff on the development of proposals, and regularly visiting IRC program activities.
While a student at GPIA, Vida chose a concentration in Conflict and Security while maintaining a student worker position in the GPIA office, as well as interning at the UN and The Global Poverty Project (also known as Global Citizen). Vida became more familiar with the grants world through her Practicum project in which she worked with a small team to write a comprehensive grant proposal for Thaakat Foundation, a non-profit organization, focusing on the expansion and implementation of two training programs focusing on women’s reproductive rights at Fatmata Maternity Center in Sierra Leone.
Prior to her time at The New School where she studied as a Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Fellow, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger and Burkina Faso. Vida is looking forward to her career in the international affairs sector and is confident the experience she gained at GPIA gave her the tools to prepare and succeed.
