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Alla L. Jezmir

Biography

After volunteering in Kenya for a nonprofit that applies business solutions to rural poverty, Alla Jezmir believes there is an enormous amount of untapped entrepreneurial potential in developing countries. "My time in Kenya convinced me that to alleviate poverty, this potential must be converted into sustainable businesses." She plans to dedicate her career to forging public-private partnerships that enable promising entrepreneurs to build successful businesses and help vitalize their communities.

Alla is pursuing a public policy master's and intends to supplement her policy program with an M.B.A. She plans to work as a management consultant and then transition to managing an entrepreneurship development program. "The most effective public sector leaders I know regularly draw on their private sector experience to achieve social objectives." Ultimately, she aims for a leadership role at an international organization such as the World Bank.

Alla says empowerment has been a driving force throughout her life. As a girl, her Jewish-Russian family immigrated to the United States seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity. She has interned at the International Labor Organization in Geneva and was a Coro Public Policy Fellow in St. Louis. Before Alla went to Kenya, she worked at a consulting firm servicing public sector clients. "My experiences as an immigrant, a student, and a worker have culminated in my dedication to helping the disadvantaged."

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