Ms. Aalia holds a Master’s degree in Economics and has more than seven-years experience in the field of capacity building and community development in Pakistan. She has been engaged in various development and capacity building projects for rural communities in the fields of agriculture, vocational skills, micro enterprise development and management, entrepreneurship development, and gender empowerment. She has extensive experience in project planning, management, poverty alleviation, participatory development, and monitoring and evaluation with special attention to intersectional aspects of gender issues. While working in Pakistan, she has been directly involved in rural development projects funded by bi-lateral and multi-lateral organizations and local NGO’s including the UN system and Rural Support programs.

For her yearlong fellowship at the University of California, Davis, her major area of interest is to develop strategies for the inclusion and capacity building of rural women in agri-based enterprise development. She wants to gain hands on experience about post- harvest management and extension services. After completion of the fellowship, she intends to use her newly enhanced theoretical and practical knowledge to address issues of agriculture and rural development by delivering innovative and cost effective models in the agriculture sector in Pakistan with a special focus on the Gilgit Baltistan region.

Last updated: 2016