Damai Vergara-Hegi Email & Phone Number

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

The New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) Expanding Health Partnerships—NPI EXPAND Project—is a global five-year (2019-2024), $97 million USAID funded project that supports locally-driven efforts to increase the availability and utilization of high-quality health and education services. NPI EXPAND invests in new and underutilized local partners (NUPs) and strengthens their capacity to strategize, plan, and implement programs with USAID funds. Enhanced participation of capable local organizations to increase demand for and to deliver high-quality, high impact services will enable governments to meet crucial goals equitably and sustainably. As a member of the Project Management Unit, I support the project delivery and financial management of our profiles in 4 countries in accordance with contractual obligations, company policies, and client rules and regulations.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

Energy Peace Partners leverages climate finance solutions to support peace in places affected by violent conflict. We believe that a paradigm shift toward climate-sensitive development can deliver enduring benefits to the planet's most vulnerable populations. The Energy Peace Partners team brings together expertise in international peacebuilding, renewable energy, and climate security. Our efforts create an enabling environment for introducing renewable energy that can serve as the building blocks for peace.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

The Social Protection and Jobs Unit team for the South Pacific division at the World Bank acknowledges the vital role that pacific island migrant workers have in stimulating their local economies. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly reduced employment and hindered regional labor markets. As a co-author to the December 2020 World Bank report "Pacific Island Countries in the Era of COVID 19: Macroeconomic Impacts and Job Prospects", I assisted a team of World Bank economists in analyzing the impacts that COVID-19 had on occupations and industries in the South Pacific, with my work focusing primarily on Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea. Work permit and job vacancy data were collected and analyzed, with data visualizations created to highlight key trends. Further research via local sources was conducted to connect our findings to promote a narrative on the jobs and industries most at risk within migrant and host country partners including Australia and New Zealand, and how this contributes to the macroeconomic state in the region.

Lake Forest, California

Mosaic Laboratories is a leading provider of pre-clinical and clinical trial services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that strives to provide unparalleled quality of analytical services, study design guidance, result interpretation, and client service in order to significantly impact the future of patient therapy.Throughout my role as Project Coordinator, I supported clinical trial studies for oncology patients through transcription and quality control of pathology data, coordinating with fellow project management personnel to improve inspection and output of laboratory services. I received and delegated specimens undergoing histopathological examination in accordance with laboratory regulations while monitoring the completion and documentation of assigned projects determined by client contracts.

Lake Forest, California

Mueda, Mozambique

Jovens Unidos No Trabalho para Oportunidades e Sucessos (JUNTOS) is a youth and HIV health program funded by the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to empower adolescent Mozambicans through artistic expression, community health education, and self-esteem nurturing. As Program Coordinator, I organized and facilitated leadership trainings with youth group leaders in Portuguese, resulting in a 300% increase in quality youth empowerment leaders ultimately reaching over 300 adolescents. I worked alongside local counterparts implementing engaging provincial workshops and communal projects such as malaria murals, theaters, and literacy programs. Our team assessed program effectiveness through monitoring and evaluation methods, and worked with strict budgets to achieve program objectives.As a Youth Group Facilitator, I mentored 30 male and 20 female adolescents in leadership, self-esteem, sexual reproductive health, HIV education, gender empowerment, multi-cultural exchanges, volunteerism, and local public health issues including child marriages, maternal/child health, and domestic abuse. I added to the JUNTOS curriculum integrating ‘motivation’ and ‘goal-setting’ initiatives that I believe to be vital to an adolescent’s personal development. Community health lectures at the local hospital emphasizing prevention and treatment were presented by my youth group to share the objectives of JUNTOS while nurturing leadership development.

Pemba, Mozambique

The Mozambican Provincial Science Fair aims to instill the importance of the scientific method into secondary school participants to better prepare Mozambican youth for STEM career opportunities vital for development, while creating a more scientifically literate populace.Working alongside the Mozambican Ministry of Science and Technology, I collaborated with government officials in multicultural settings to effectively run the Provincial Science Fair through the creation and management of government-funded budgets of up to $4,200USD. I reached out and scouted different regions, amplifying active science club representation within my province five-fold. Locally, I introduced the first Science Fair in my village and trained a coworker to help grow the program, increasing participation by a factor of seven within the year.

Mueda, Mozambique

Understanding the historical context and the role Western influence has had and continues to have in the current Mozambican climate is crucial in developing sustainable solutions to systemic complexities.As someone dedicated to improving the education system in Mozambique, I collaborated closely with the Secretary’s Office at the local secondary school to identify systemic flaws. We discussed applicable solutions to combat corruption, empower women, improve quality of education, and create extracurricular opportunities to enhance student growth. I presented our findings to my 70 teacher colleagues, addressing the hardships students encounter in a Mozambican classroom, and worked to create curricula focused on critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, research, and public speaking. I facilitated the acquisition of local resources including 150 books in Portuguese and local languages to be utilized in early-grade literacy programs, and counseled students in post-secondary school goals and the financial aid process.

Mueda, Mozambique

The U.S. Peace Corps serves to promote world peace and friendship through the fulfillment of three goals:• To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.• To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.• To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.While working in the education sector of the U.S. Peace Corps in Mozambique, I educated 650 students in 8th/12th grade math and 11th grade biology in Portuguese, managing classroom settings averaging 70 students with varying academic abilities while teaching with limited resources. I capacity built with colleagues developing original lesson plans focusing on student-centered teaching techniques and tutored secondary school students daily in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, and English.Emphasizing the importance of integration within my community, I participated regularly in local events including festivals and health trainings. A strong focus was placed in building close relationships with community members, from students and neighbors to teacher colleagues and respected community leaders. I demonstrated a commitment to learning the local language while sharing and promoting cross-cultural exchanges for increased understanding between the U.S. and Mozambique.

Los Angeles, California

The Dubinett Lab in the Department of Medicine at UCLA is a pulmonary oncology laboratory dedicated to both early detection of pre-malignancy tumors through immune profiling and immunotherapeutic strategies for advanced malignancy stage tumors.I aided graduate students in the determination of which transcription factors affected Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition leading toward the pathogenesis of adenocarcinomas while simultaneously being introduced to a variety of biological laboratory techniques including cell culture, PCR, SDS-PAGE/Western Blots, BCA Assays, and ELISAs. I worked extensively collecting, editing, and managing data - developing a keen attention to detail, inputting and managing datasets with Microsoft Excel, accurately interpreting experimental results and summarizing said findings to my health research team.

Department Of Anesthesiology

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is at the forefront of medical research as one of the nation’s top ranked public hospitals devoted to patient wellness and recovery.As a work-study student, I contributed toward a team of 80 anesthesiologists and administrative personnel, organizing conference rooms for medical presentations and assisting with administrative duties. I was responsible for project management: optimizing instated practices, creating manuals, filing, data entry, stocking office supplies, and delivering confidential information both intra-departmentally and between hospital partners

Master Of Arts - Ma, Global Human Development

Activities and Societies: SFS Energy Club Leadership TeamCertificates: Refugee and Humanitarian Emergencies; African Studies.

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Biochemistry

Activities and Societies: Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS) Minors: Mathematics.

Education record

Activities and Societies: National Honor Society; California Scholarship Federation; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County; Cross.