Bianca Palese

Bianca is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer and experienced practitioner passionate about promoting education as a human right and protection mechanism in complex contexts.

During her Peace Corps service in Thailand, Bianca taught primary school English and led capacity-building initiatives for educators across her school district, providing practical training in English instruction, curriculum design, and nonviolent classroom management. She also represented her program on the Small Grants volunteer committee, working closely with the country staff to teach project design management and grant writing to other Volunteers and Thai civil servants. As a returned Volunteer, she remains active in the Peace Corps community as a board member for the non-profit alumni organization Friends of Thailand, helping to mobilize funds to support community-based projects across the country.

Most recently, Bianca worked with the grassroots organization Karen Human Rights Group, supporting local human rights defenders in documenting abuses and strengthening civilian protection in Southeast Burma. In this role, she partnered with local staff and stakeholders to shape organizational strategy and develop a three-year logical framework, while also overseeing the grant portfolio including proposal development. Through field visits to Karen State, she witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by communities living in conflict-affected areas and developed a deep respect for the resilience and leadership of indigenous human rights defenders.

While living on the border of Thailand and Burma, Bianca independently organizes and teaches English classes for children from refugee and migrant communities from Burma. Through these lessons, she supports foundational literacy and language development while creating a supportive learning environment for students navigating cross-border displacement and limited access to formal education.

Bianca graduated summa cum laude from Elmira College with a B.A. in International Studies and B.A. in Human Services. She speaks Thai and holds a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). At Georgetown, Bianca hopes to deepen her expertise in education policy, forced displacement, and culturally responsive programming. In her free time, she loves reading, playing Scrabble, and visiting new places.