Kathleen Kirsch

Kathleen Kirsch grew up in Cooper City, FL and attended the University of Florida. During her undergraduate studies she interned at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Superfund program and worked as a Climate Change Adaptation intern in the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Kathleen also volunteered as the Engineers Without Borders Design Team Leader, developing a water supply project with a community in Bolivia before graduating in 2014 with her Bachelors of Science in Environmental Engineering. Upon graduation, Kathleen served as a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Cameroon, where she taught math and physics at a local high school and implemented youth health projects focused on HIV prevention, water treatment and hygiene habits. After completing her Peace Corps service, Kathleen accepted a position as the Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist for SEED Madagascar, managing a community-led total sanitation project in Tolagnaro, Madagascar. She will be attending graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, concurrently pursuing a Master’s of Public Policy and a Master’s of Science in Environmental Engineering. Kathleen is thrilled to be selected as a USAID Payne Fellow and to work as a Foreign Service Officer helping to provide clean water and sanitation for communities around the world.