Julia McNamara is a Program Associate with the trade team, where she assists with projects in Zambia, Malawi and Vietnam. She attended Virginia Tech earning a B.A. in International Relations and a Minor in Spanish. During her time at Virginia Tech, she researched issues relating to humanitarian aid, International Relations (IR) theory, and female economic empowerment. Before joining CIPE, Julia traveled to Kenya with her professor to research how blockchain technology can address market inefficiencies that small-scale farmers face. Previously, she worked at USAID as an intern for the Legislative and Public Affairs Bureau on the Development Outreach and Communication team.