20 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST After graduating from Lehigh, Ashley Pritchard ’09 secured a job at the United Nations, where she was involved in large-scale international development planning. After two years there, she sought a firsthand understanding of the communities and issues that she was working on, landing a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in international development at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. “I was eager to move beyond theory to truly understand the realities on the ground,” she said. “I wanted to learn directly from the people I was working to serve.” Driven by the rule of law protections—a set of principles that protect people’s fundamental rights and freedoms—she spent the next eight years in Myanmar, contributing to the country’s efforts to establish democratic processes. That included helping to shepherd the country’s historic democratic election in 2015. Emboldened to address the challenges of hate speech and misinformation she witnessed, Pritchard returned to the United States and currently works for Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and What’s App. Pritchard advises on elections, civil unrest and crises in vulnerable countries, including how to combat hate speech that targets marginalized communities. Pritchard credits Lehigh with her start. “Lehigh’s commitment to international understanding and its network opened doors for me,” she said. “It was the integral starting point that launched my entire career, enabling me to work on issues I deeply care about.” Drawn to Lehigh’s International Focus Originally from San Mateo, California, Pritchard earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and economics at Lehigh and minored in engineering. Her accolades included the University Service Award, Lehigh’s highest honor award. Pritchard said she valued her GLOBAL | ALUMNI ʼ09 Championing Democracy and Human Rights Ashley Pritchard ’09 credits Lehigh’s international focus with helping to launch her career. Pritchard was an NCAA Division I athlete on the women’s rowing team. IMAGES COURTESY OF ASHLEY PRITCHARD ’09
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