Jennifer Estrada ’08 is a career nonprofit leader, educator, and advocate for social justice and human rights. Currently, Jennifer focuses on creating scalable and sustainable programs, training, and resources to support advocacy and activism for global human rights at Amnesty International.
Jennifer earned her bachelor’s in psychology from Amherst College and her master’s in comparative and international education from Oxford University. She has a background in the use of literacy, social-emotional learning, and positive psychology to promote self-expression, self-advocacy, leadership, and advocacy.
For the past 15 years, Jennifer has worked with global organizations to support young people, families, adult volunteers, and communities in building leadership and advocacy skills and creating sustainable development and community-led advocacy projects. Her work has been showcased at renowned events and platforms like the Global Education Conference, the World Literacy Summit, the NGO Commission on the Status of Women, and the International Literacy Association Conference.
Q4. Tell us about a job you did not get or take. How did this shape your career path?
A. I applied for and did not get a few different positions at the United Nations. Now I’m glad that I spent over a decade working for small nonprofit organizations that worked closely with community-based organizations and nonprofits in almost 30 countries. It built in me a deep respect for different kinds of expertise and the importance of understanding the context you are working within. It also gave me the opportunity to build a much wider range of skills and grow professionally.