Rachel Townzen
REPORTING FELLOW
Rachel is a Master of Social Work student at the University of Pennsylvania, with a concentration in policy and certificate in Global Human Rights. She is the president of Social Work Advocates for Immigrant Rights, secretary of the AGBU-Young Professionals chapter in Philadelphia, and a contributing member of Penn Law's International Human Rights Advocates. Since earning her bachelor's degree in applied psychology and human development from Boston College in 2014, Rachel has worked in various capacities with refugees and asylees in the US and abroad. She was also a long-term volunteer on the TEDxYerevan team in Armenia. As a student fellow, she will be reporting about issues related to obtaining civil documentation, protecting family identity, and preventing statelessness among refugees in Jordan. She hopes to spend her career serving refugees and others in need of international protection, with a special interest in using data analytics to shape legislative and policy decisions to advance and safeguard human rights.