We attempt to assemble some of the brightest young minds from local universities to provide support to our clients and projects. Interested in joining this group? Find out more about our internship program.
Current Fourth Economy Interns
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Claire BissaResearch Associate |
Claire Bissa is a junior in the College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh working on a major in Finance, with minors in Economics and Leadership and Ethics. Her past internship experience has working to develop the business plans of assistive technologies at Human Engineering Research Laboratories in Pittsburgh, as well in developement in her hometown of Detroit.
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Julianne NormanResearch Associate |
Julianne joined Fourth Economy in January 2013 as a grant writing and research intern. Currently, Julianne is a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs where she is pursuing a Masters of Public and International Affairs with a concentration in Human Security. She is the Vice President of the European Union and the World student organization in GSPIA and serves in her program’s student cabinet. Before attending the University of Pittsburgh, Julianne spent ten months in rural France teaching English.
While an undergraduate French and religion major, Julianne successfully wrote and won two competitive grants from her university funding independent research projects in Hanoi, Vietnam and Delhi, India. She spent significant time abroad as well while studying in Paris, France and interning at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. During her senior year, she was accepted to present her senior research thesis at the Cincinnati Conference on Romance Languages and Literatures.
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Nikki WilliamsMarketing Coordinator |
Nikki Williams joins the Fourth Economy team for the Spring 2013 semester as the Marketing Coordinator. She is a Junior at Point Park University, currently working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Multimedia Communications. She has taken classes in Journalism, Desktop Publishing, Information Graphics, and Social Media.
She was a member of the United Student Government for a year and a half where she served as Press Secretary for a semester and focused on social media strategy, writing press releases, and marketing for events.
Nikki also interned at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership where she worked as the Marketing/Communications/Events Intern for the Summer of 2012. She contributed to the weekly e-newsletter as well as updated the Facebook, Twitter, and website for the organization. She also helped with planning and advertising for Downtown events.
Nikki hopes to continue working in the fields of marketing, social media, and graphic design.
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Maia WoluchemResearch Associate |
Maia joins Fourth Economy as a senior at the University of Pittsburgh, working towards a B.S. in Economics and a minor in French. She has also been a student of the School for International Training in Geneva, Switzerland and Rabat, Morocco, where she studied Global Health and Development Policy and presented independent research on interventions for smallholder agriculture. Before joining Fourth Economy, Maia held an internship with the Lawrenceville Corporation and conducted research with both the Department of Economics and the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.
Past Fourth Economy Interns
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Sabrina HaranMarketing Coordinator |
Sabrina will be the Marketing Coordinator for Fourth Economy throughout the summer of 2012. As a senior in the College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh, she studies Marketing, International Business, Economics, and Italian Studies. To further dive into academia, she has studied abroad in Florence, Italy and Augsburg, Germany.
Professionally, Sabrina interned with Fourth Economy conducting research in the spring of 2011 and has returned with a marketing focus. Previous to interning at Fourth Economy the second time around, Sabrina has interned with Fidelity Discount and Deposit Bank as a Marketing Intern, The First Tee of Pittsburgh as a Marketing Communications Intern, as well as being employed by The College of Business Administration to teach freshmen students the basics of business.
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James KimmelResearch Associate |
As an intern with Fourth Economy, James has focused on providing background research for multiple projects, as well as conducting member outreach and recruitment. Before joining Fourth Economy, James had interned with the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, a non-profit economic research firm in Center City Philadelphia that focuses on public policy initiatives. Additionally, he founded the Innovative Economics Initiative at the University of Pittsburgh, where he designed and implemented behavioral economics experiments. Notably, his work with the organization was featured in Fast Company magazine in November of 2011.
Holding a B.A. in Economics, James is heading to New York City to join ideas42, a behavioral and experimental economics organization that focuses on applying behavioral and economic insights into executive education classes, product and service design, government efficiency and poverty alleviation programs.
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Andrea OrtuResearch Associate |
Andrea Ortu joins Fourth Economy as a student at Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III College where she is studying to receive her M.S. in Public Policy and Management with a concentration in policy analysis. She received her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Economics from the College of New Jersey. Her past internship experience includes work in government and legislative affairs, and economic research in the areas of health, finance, and government assistance programs.
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Ying LeeResearch Associate |
Ying Li is a second year graduate student at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh with a major in International Political Economy. She received her bachelor degree in International Politics and a minor in Business Administration in China and was awarded National Undergraduate Scholarship. Her thesis entitled “Political Risk Analysis on China’s OFDI to Developed Countries: the Case of China’s OFDI to the United States” was awarded Outstanding Thesis of Bachelor Degree in Hubei Province in 2011. With international educational background and studying a international-focused major, Ying has a keen sense in looking at community development, economic policy analysis, and regional economic competitiveness from a global perspective. Her past internship experience includes research work in regional investment center in local government in China, managerial assistance and grant development in IMANI HOUSE INC. Liberia program, and oversea volunteering in Cambodia.
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Alison WakefieldResearch Associate |
Alison is a Research Associate at Fourth Economy as she pursues her Masters in Community Planning at the University of Maryland College Park where she is exploring links between economic development approaches and social equity. Prior to her graduate studies, Alison implemented and managed international development programs focused on strengthening the private health sector’s role in the health systems of numerous African and Asian countries. She holds two Bachelors degrees in American Studies and French from the University of Maryland College Park.
