Adia Armstrong

Adia Armstrong has always been curious about the interconnectivity of the world and passionate about supporting communities to become more self-sufficient, resilient, and equitable.   A proud child of immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago, Adia grew up on the outskirts of both Montreal and Toronto, Canada, before moving to Boston to pursue her undergraduate degree at Boston University (BU).  There, she graduated Cum Laude with a degree in International Relations and minors in History and French.  During her undergraduate studies, Adia s passion for international development and humanitarian assistance grew as she completed various study abroad and research opportunities.  In her junior year, she studied abroad in Morocco, where she focused on regional issues related to security, history, religion, and migration and served as an English Teaching Assistant to asylum-seekers and refugees.  During her senior year, Adia traveled to Lebanon to research with local students at the American University of Beirut on innovative humanitarian engineering interventions to improve the living conditions of Syrian refugees in the area.  She also completed other abroad experiences in Israel/Palestine, Cuba, and France.    Upon graduating from BU, Adia was an Associate Program Officer on the Africa team at the Center for International Private Enterprise, where she worked with the private sector on issues of democratic governance, peacebuilding, digital economy, women s economic empowerment, and security/economic policy development in West Africa, the G5 Sahel, Kenya, and Ethiopia.  After completing a master s degree in International Development, Adia aspires to be a Crisis, Governance, and Stabilization Officer in the USAID Foreign Service.  Adia believes she is extremely privileged to have been allowed to continue Congressman Payne s legacy of promoting cross-cultural understanding, good governance, and human rights.   In her free time, you can catch Adia playing/watching soccer, traveling, trying new restaurants and museums, and going to concerts.