Emma Murphy

The Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa (GPFA) is a nonprofit organization started by 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee. Created to promote women’s education in West Africa and encourage peace across the entire continent, the Foundation’s flagship program provides scholarships to Liberian women and girls. As the institutional support intern for GPFA, Emma Murphy assisted in tasks ranging from administrative to substantive. A typical day at the Foundation’s base in Monrovia, Liberia might include coordinating visas for international scholars, attending a graduation ceremony for a scholarship recipient, and proposing concept notes for future grants. In an environment with daily technical and logistical challenges, flexibility became essential. This presentation will explore the challenges, successes, and surprises of working in the field for a nonprofit focused on national and international development.