Patel headshot

Leland Fellow

Miti Patel

8th Class, 2015-2017

Policy Placement: Helen Keller International (HKI); Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Miti was an Enhanced Homestead Food Production (EHFP) Policy Analyst with Helen Keller International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO), based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She worked on several projects related to the EHFP model and focused on increasing documentation, information, and advocacy based on successes and lessons learnt. She reviewed data collection mechanisms in country offices and reported on the monitoring and evaluation data related to income generation. She is also designed a regional study to assess the impact of EHFP on sustained household income and resilience, in an effort to build an evidence-base for HKI’s EHFP as a livelihoods model. Additionally, she researched and analyzed national policies supporting smallholder farmers in the seven countries supported by HKI-APRO and helped country offices design and disseminate information briefs and advocacy packages based on her analysis.

Field Placement: Helen Keller International (HKI); Kathmandu, Nepal

Miti was based in Kathmandu, Nepal where she worked on HKI’s Homestead Food Production (HFP) program. She will design and conduct surveys to identify and assess the sustainable elements of the program, particularly income generation activities. Miti is surveying and interviewing past beneficiaries of the program to better understand how the HFP program model provides income for women, how it is used and to what extent this income improves household economic conditions. Additionally, Miti is supporting the creation of a new cross-cutting monitoring and evaluation framework for the country office. She is also helping pilot new ways to monitor field activities and adaption techniques within the HFP model.

Education and Experience:

Miti graduated with an MPH from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health with a focus on global health. Her practicum took place in Jakarta, Indonesia with Helen Keller International, working on their Eye Health program. While at Columbia, Miti also interned with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene where she helped to create a national nutrition database. Before graduate school, Miti worked in Rwanda assisting the Rwanda Biomedical Center with HIV/AIDS programming. She has also worked on community development projects in Cambodia and conflict resolution curriculum in New York City public schools. Originally from western India, Miti received her BA in Political Science and Economics from Fordham University.