Cynthia Joseph was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and immigrated to the United Statesat the age of seven. She was raised in Bradenton, Florida and attended the University ofFlorida, where she majored in Political Science and Francophone studies. During herundergraduate career, she worked for numerous international non-profit organizations. As the Assistant Executive Director of Rural Empowerment Development Innovations (REDI), she assisted in organizing workshops and forums in Kenya to help female business owners improve their business methods. She also interned for Development Outlook Consultancy (DOC), through which she researched devolution in Kenya as well as education policies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, she served as the Vice-President of Love, Period Inc., which provides girls in Kampala, Uganda with sanitary products so they can attend school.

Cynthia then worked as a full-time intern at the Florida House of Representatives, where sheanalyzed various education policy bills. Her passion for education and research inspired herto start Boulevard to Victory Inc., which is a non-profit organization geared towardsempowering high school seniors by providing them with scholarships for college. Upongraduation, Cynthia received a Fulbright grant to teach English in Taiwan for a year. Inaddition to her multiple non-profit and leadership experience, Cynthia also has exceptionallanguage skills. She is fluent in French, Haitian Creole and speaks Swahili, and Mandarin,both at an intermediate level. Cynthia is interested in the intersection of education andpoverty. She hopes to increase her knowledge of international development, while enhancingher leadership and language skills. Cynthia chose to work for the African School ofEconomics due to its emphasis on economic development and research.