Humanitarian Work Empowers 2012 Alumna

9/4/2025

Making the world a better place through actionable work has led Class of 2012 alumna Sylvana Lewin to Paris where she works as an Individual Specialist at the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO).

As an Individual Specialist, her work focuses on developing tools, methods, curriculum and pedagogies for teaching about violent pasts as well as establishing guidelines for and working with policymakers. Additionally, she coordinates with the Ministries of Education, civil society, and NGOs to build and implement contextualized projects that strengthen education for more peaceful and inclusive communities around the world.

Most recently, she has developed a new intersectoral program that UNESCO will be launching in Rwanda to strengthen the capacity of sites of memory of the 1994 genocide for informal and formal education, in close coordination with the Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement of Rwanda. She elaborated that no one day is the same, but each is always interesting as she spends time drafting new publications to coordinating high-level events to managing international projects.

“This work is important because I have a firm belief that the world can be a better place than it is and that people can do better,” said Sylvana. “For the past four years, I've worked on a variety of topics with peacebuilding at the core, in particular, intercultural dialogue, antiracism and anti-discrimination, and violent past education. While pursuing a career in this area is certainly not easy and comes with unique challenges, it was a no brainer for me as it allows me to do work that hopefully helps a few people. I can't imagine doing anything else.”

Sylvana graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2016 with a dual degree in political science and literature with a minor in anthropology. She earned a Princeton in Africa Fellowship, which led her to Ghana where she worked for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO). After three years, she decided to pursue higher education and went on to obtain her master’s degree in International Public Management from the Paris School of International Affairs of Sciences Po.

Sylvana noted that Hamden Hall was the place where she discovered the passion for humanitarian work and human rights. She recalls her interest stemming from her 10th grade English class with English Department Chair and teacher Paul Gustafson as he instructed the class to pick a memoir to read. She chose The Diving Bell and The Butterfly authored by Jean-Dominique Bauby, Down and Out in Paris and London authored by George Orwell, and A Long Way Gone authored by Ishmael Beah. It was A Long Way Gone that kept her attention and ultimately led her to pursue this type of work professionally.

“I already had a vague interest in children' s rights, but Ishmael Beah's memoir of his experience as a child soldier left me absolutely obsessed with this,” said Sylvana. “I kept pursuing this interest and even traveled to work with former girl abductees of the LRA in northern Uganda while I was in my undergrad. Having teachers like Mr. Gustafson, who not only supported this kind of interest, but also let us know about their own interests in human rights by way of the Amnesty International Club, really made a difference in my life.”

Sylvana is the daughter of Board of Trustees member Clement Lewin. As Parisians, she and her fiancé, Antoine, who will marry Sept. 13, 2025, enjoy wandering about the city and finding cafes to sit on the terrasse and enjoy a glass of wine or coffee with friends. She stays active with rock climbing gyms along with hiking, skiing, and other adventures as they live part time in the Alps. Sylvana noted that one can always find her with a book on hand, though the subjects vary between academic or pleasure depending on how she is feeling. The Hamden Hall ties keep strong as she keeps in touch with fellow 2012 classmates Jill Gardner and Nigel Felder, who will be traveling to France for the upcoming wedding along with two other alumni.

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