Katryna Mahoney

Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service

MA in Global Human Development

As a cultural anthropologist by training, and development practitioner in the making, Katryna Mahoney is curious about how individuals and collectives make meaning of lives in an effort to create and sustain inclusive societies.

Inspired by her undergraduate study abroad expedition to Rabat, Morocco in 2013 as a Gilman Scholar, Katryna returned to Morocco for 15 months as a Fulbright researcher to explore the socio-economic participation of West and Central African migrants in Casablanca. Fostering these interests, Katryna worked as a consultant for the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Geneva. She also led communications and advocacy efforts at Civitas Maxima, a Geneva-based legal representation of victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Currently, Katryna works as a Program Associate for Protection on the Humanitarian Policy and Practice Team at InterAction, reducing the risks that people face in humanitarian crises through promoting results-based approaches to protection.

Katryna holds an M.Sc. in Migration Studies from Oxford University and a B.A. in Anthropology & Sociology from Spelman College. She is from Maryland and currently resides in Washington, D.C. In her free time, Katryna can be found tending to her plant garden or giving thanks and sun salutations.

She will pursue graduate studies in international development in preparation for entering the USAID Foreign Service as a Crisis, Stabilization, and Governance Officer. Katryna considers herself privileged to carry out the legacy of the late Congressman Payne as a 2020 USAID Payne Fellow.