Story from Alumna and Chair of IDS’ External Advisory Committee: Dr. Jennifer Isern
Hello, and welcome to the 2025-26 academic year! I serve as the chair of the UM IDS advisory board since January 2024, and it’s a joy to support the University’s international studies program.
Once people learn that I’m originally from a farming and ranching family outside Lewistown MT, their first question is: How did you ever get interested in international development? That’s still a mystery to me, but from a young age, I knew I wanted to contribute to making the world a better place through international work.
My time at UM helped shape my interests and gave me an excellent foundation for my later career. From 1985 to 1989, I studied political science, history, and as many international courses as I possibly could while a student at UM. Unfortunately the IDS program did not exist at that time, but I helped coordinate the Model UN program for four years and enjoyed many other organizations on campus. As a junior, I was selected for the Leadership America program that included an internship the summer before my senior year. I was fortunate to be selected to intern with USAID in Costa Rica focusing on their reforestation program. As a senior, I received a UM Watkins scholarship to help with costs of returning to Costa Rica in 1988-89 to delve deeper into the USAID reforestation program, which served as the basis for my senior thesis as in the UM Honors Program.
With typical senior angst on what to do with the rest of my life, I applied to the Peace Corps and just one grad school. Then I faced a difficult decision--- as both options accepted me and were compelling. After much thought, I opted to go straight to grad school at the Princeton University School for Public and International Affairs to focus on development economics. As the youngest in my class and wanting to have more international work experience, I decided to pursue internships between the two years of Princeton’s grad program. After a summer contract with USAID Senegal’s agriculture department and a year-long contract with CARE Niger co-launching their village banking program, I was completely hooked--- and knew this was the career for me. The second year of my MPA program at Princeton was a delight, and then I returned to CARE with a position as economic development officer in Togo that later expanded to regional technical advisor on economic development and financial inclusion across Francophone Africa. After four years with CARE based in Togo, I moved to the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation focusing on financial sector development for 23 years based in Washington DC, New Delhi, India, and Hanoi, Vietnam. I currently serve on the boards of investment funds, working with rural development organizations, and promoting new options for small business finance internationally and in the US.
With all that the UM IDS program has to offer, I hope you will have an amazing year ahead! If you have any questions or suggestions for the IDS program, please be in contact with Dr. Phyllis Ngai, myself, and/or others in the IDS Advisory Committee. I’m always interested to meet with IDS students and compare notes on international issues and careers.