Jolena Zabel is a passionate advocate for the advancement of women and girls, currently serving as the Communications and Development Associate at Kakenya’s Dream, an international non-profit leveraging education to empower girls in rural East Africa. Before joining Kakenya’s Dream, Zabel interned at the U.S. State Department in the office of Under Secretary Sarah Sewall, the United Nations Population Fund and Women Winning, all of which provided opportunities for her to lead targeted efforts to promote women’s leadership, security, and empowerment worldwide. She also served as Civic Engagement Fellow at the University of Minnesota Law School’s Human Rights Center, where she spearheaded a project to bring human rights education into the U.S. public school system. Zabel moved to Washington, DC from St. Paul, MN after graduating with honors from Macalester College in May 2016 with majors in International Studies, Political Science and English with a concentration in Human Rights and Humanitarianism.