Paxton Lambright is a program coordinator for the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

In this role, she supports the American engagement components of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, specifically the Professional Development Experiences and Reciprocal Exchanges. On both components, she assists with selection, placement, grant administration, and partnership development along with day-to-day program management and support for Mandela Washington Fellows and Reciprocal Exchange Awardees.

Prior to joining IREX, Paxton worked at the Women’s Foreign Policy Group as a communications assistant where she promoted the role of women in foreign policy. During her sophomore year of college, she studied abroad in Jerusalem where she studied Arabic and worked to develop workshops about the Israeli Palestinian Conflict.

Paxton graduated from the University of Southern California with Bachelor’s degrees in global studies (with honors) and Middle East studies, and a minor in Arabic. She is an avid learner of languages including Spanish, Arabic, French, and Hebrew.