Development Advisory Team for Partners in Health

The Partners in Health Development Advisory Team is a dedicated group of Notre Dame students excited to advocate the work of PIH. To us, accompaniment means serving others by walking alongside them in solidarity; it creates a healthy balance of power and facilitates a deeper understanding among equals. It is a sustainable method of delivering healthcare to the world’s

poor. We are eager to help PIH better build awareness of this idea, and see how it can be integrated more fully into the training of PIH staff as well as serve as a training model for other interested organizations.

Howdy! My name is Matt Hing. I am from Ann Arbor, MI, and am majoring in Spanish and Pre-Health Studies with a Peace Studies minor. I first became interested in global health through my time in Latin America, beginning in the summer of 2013 when I served at an eye clinic in Honduras and followed by a fall semester abroad studying in Puebla, Mexico. During my time there, I took classes at a local university and volunteered at a public HIV/AIDS clinic. I spent the summer of 2014 as an intern in Jinotepe, Nicaragua, working with a governmental health clinic on the implementation of a maternal health initiative, and I hope to return there in October to conduct research for my senior thesis on the role of health workers in peacebuilding. This experience, along with my time in the HIV clinic, helped me recognize the importance of working with the public sector and accompanying local systems. In addition to global health, I have also had experience in advocacy as a Catholic Relief Services Ambassador, a position through which I organized campaigns for immigration reform and women’s empowerment. I am passionate about accompaniment as both a practice and a mentality and so thrilled to have this opportunity to work with PIH on advocating for this approach! In my spare time, I love playing tennis and spending time outdoors hiking and running.

Hello, I am Ava Stachelski, a senior Biochemistry major with a minor in Science, Technology, and Values at the University of Notre Dame. My studies have taught me much about health from a biomedical perspective, while my activities outside the classroom have taught me about health on a global scale. Health encompasses both the interactions of chemicals in the cell, as well as human rights and social justice. My involvement with the organization GlobeMed is what ignited my passion for global health, and first acquainted me with Partners In Health and its mission of a preferential option for the poor in healthcare. From GlobeMed, I have learned about the importance of partnerships in international development through our close, collaborative relationship with the Population Education and Development Association (PEDA) in Laos, working with them on their malaria prevention and education campaigns. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to practice partnership with the Holy Cross Missions in East Africa through my involvement with the Notre Dame Women’s Boxing Club, fighting (literally) for the betterment of education in Uganda.

For me, the model of accompaniment allows you to experience the everyday struggles, triumphs, and hardships of your partners in service. Accompaniment is a relatively new idea in the field of international development, and it has already been a part of some incredible successes. I believe that education is key in building a movement for a community- and partnership-based method of delivering aid. I am incredibly excited and grateful for this opportunity to work on this project, promoting and raising awareness for an idea I already feel so passionately about, and cannot wait to learn more!

Hello, my name is Ariel Arguelles and I am a graduate student in the Masters of Global Health program at the University of Notre Dame. Originally from Houston, TX, I graduated from Oral Roberts University with two Bachelors of Science degrees in Philosophy and Biology. My Biology senior thesis studied the reproductive and sociological effects of fibroids on women while my Philosophy senior thesis discussed religion and culture in modern America. I hope to get my PhD in global health/medical anthropology and work in health administration and policy with a focus on cultural sensitivity and ethics. I gained experience as an administrator in my role within a student leadership program during

which which focused on academic excellence and servant-leadership. I was a nationally certified tutor, student ambassador, yearbook staff writer, and a contributing member of student government. I am skilled in organization, time management, interpersonal community relations and have a mid-intermediate understanding of French. Though my international experience is limited to service mission trips to Mexico, I am eager to learn and serve wherever I can. Hello, I’m Darlene Kim! Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, I am currently a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame, pursuing a Master of Science degree in Global Health. During my undergraduate education, I majored in Neuroscience and minored in Spanish at Indiana University, where I was an active fundraiser and member of Timmy Global Health. My research experience is primarily in cognitive neuroscience. I completed an administrative internship with the Indiana University School of Medicine, examining communications between physicians, hospital administrators, other practitioners, and patients. I have volunteered with local healthcare facilities, caring for pregnant women and assisting with therapy for children with disabilities. I have also volunteered overseas for missions work. Next summer, I plan to complete my capstone project on river blindness, working with a local public health organization called El Centro Regional de Investigación en Salud Pública (CRISP) in Chiapas, Mexico. I will return to Indiana University next fall to pursue my Doctor of Optometry degree, and I hope to eventually specialize in ocular disease in a global health setting. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, skiing, and playing the piano. I am excited to partner with and learn from an organization that advocates accompaniment as a means of global health and development.

My name is Thomas Rieth and I am a junior at the University of Notre Dame. Originally from Minnesota, I am a premedical and anthropology major with a minor in international development studies. After my time at Notre Dame, I plan on going to medical school, so that I can work internationally as a doctor. I am interested in global medicine and how we can improve the health care systems of developing countries. I want to work on the ground level, and as a doctor, I will have that opportunity. Currently I am working in a malaria lab at Notre Dame. This lab studies different species of mosquitos and performs a series of PCR to analyze the DNA of the mosquitos in order to study the species as vectors of malaria. I spent this last summer working in an imaging lab at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). This lab specialize in creating very precise images of organs by using optical coherence tomography (OCT). This technology, not only creates an sharper and more accurate image,

but also can provide a very cost effective way to screen for diseases. I am also a tutor for grade school children in South Bend. Outside of academics, my interests include playing ultimate Frisbee, swimming, and reading.

My name is Giuliana Carozza and I am a junior at the University of Notre Dame originally from South Bend, Indiana. I am pursuing majors in Economics and Applied and Conceptual Mathematics and Statistics with a concentration in Financial Economics and Econometrics. I have experience with research and quantitative analysis through my work with the Lab for Economic Opportunities,, a research center that rigorously evaluates anti-poverty initiatives for social service providers nationwide to identify innovative, effective, and scalable programs and to improve service delivery and policy design. Additionally, I am working with a professor of development economics at Notre Dame on a research project in rural Nicaragua involving building bridges to improve market access. I hope to visit the project site this coming November to study it more thoroughly. I have also spent time working at an educational project run by the Association for Volunteers in International Service (AVSI) in Pisuli – an impoverished

neighborhood in Quito, Ecuador. AVSI is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization that carries out its mission through the planning and implementation of long-term sustainable projects and emergency relief operations in partnership with local associations and governments in 38 countries. My time at AVSI was my first experience with a model that prioritizes partnership with the local community; I was able to witness first-hand its powerful, successful impact and I am excited about working with an organization that advocates a similar view.