NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Jessica Wallach is a researcher with specialities in gender and youth issues and a geographic focus on West Africa. In 2018 and 2019, she lead a research project in Dakar, Senegal on urbanization, work opportunities and gender under the Fulbright program. Before that, she worked at the International Center for Research on Women in their Global Health, Youth and Development portfolio. She has also worked for UNICEF West and Central Africa, Pathfinder International Senegal and Burkina Faso, USAID West Africa Regional Agriculture Office and Township Valley Farms in Browns Valley California.

Jessica holds degrees in international relations & politics and in African Studies from Carnegie Mellon University, and is currently working towards a master’s in international agricultural development at the University of California, Davis.