Stephanie Hilborn

Stephanie Hilborn is a dynamic and creative trilingual international development professional with over 16 years of expertise in various areas including civic engagement, peacebuilding, youth empowerment, gender equality, and integration of ethnic and religious minorities. She is open to short-term in-country consultancies or short/long-term remote work related to youth design/assessments, conflict mitigation, strategy development, and writing/editing reports.

Stephanie specializes in trauma-informed approaches, do-no-harm methodology, and empowering sustainable change through a decolonization lens, allowing communities to become self-sufficient. She has extensive experience in launching and coordinating workshops, particularly around indigenous wisdom on climate change, seeking to support California's resilience in the face of environmental challenges like wildfires, erosion, and flooding.

Her professional background includes project design, management, and evaluation for USAID initiatives, cross-sectoral project integration, advocating for human rights on an international level, interpretation/translation in Spanish, fundraising, communications, and outreach in various development areas such as health, economic growth, democracy, and humanitarian assistance. Stephanie has also been involved in journalism, photojournalism, and outreach/communications.

Stephanie's educational background includes a Master of Science from the Department of Sociology at LSE, a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and French from Boston University, and studies in Politics and French at Sciences Po. She has held key roles in renowned organizations such as Counterpart International, USAID, Catholic Relief Services, and Asante Africa Foundation, focusing on youth and peacebuilding, conflict resolution, governance, and crisis management, among others.

She has also worked as a crisis, stabilization, and governance officer at USAID, a foreign service officer at USAID, and in various capacities at the Ministry of Education and Science in Georgia. Stephanie's professional interests lie in fostering innovation and societal attitude changes, addressing trauma's role in civic engagement, rebuilding trust within communities, empowering local organizations for sustainable development, gender dynamics, chronic violence, and its societal impacts.

Stephanie Hilborn's experience extends into training and teaching on international affairs, globalization, advocacy, and communications, particularly with young women and men. She is passionate about building resiliency in communities, promoting social cohesion, and advocating for vulnerable populations worldwide.