Gina Choquehuanca

Jeanne “Gina” Choquehuanca is an inaugural American Service Fellow and Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, where her work champions inclusive, equitable water governance as the foundation for climate resilience and broader stability. A proud daughter of Quechua Peruvian and Ukrainian immigrants, Gina was instilled with a sense of humility and service that inspired her over 15 years of public service with AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and most recently as a U.S. diplomat with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

With USAID, she directed over $150 million in international aid across 50 countries, expanding access to clean water, sanitation and sustainable energy, protecting globally significant biodiversity, and advancing Indigenous people’s rights and locally-led conservation. In her last role, Gina advised a $100 million global portfolio supporting 15 multilateral governance institutions and agreements to advance the management of 10 critical transboundary watersheds across 35 countries. Trained in community planning and geospatial analytics, she holds a B.A. from Saint Mary’s College and a Master’s from the University of Maryland and was a 2015 Payne Fellow and 2020 Aspen Institute ICAP Fellow. Gina is honored to be a part of the Council of Student Sustainability Leaders (CSSL) and collaborate with a diverse cross-section of Harvard community members committed to living out shared sustainability values and goals in real time right where we are. Outside of Harvard, she loves art, swimming, and dancing, and is a proud mother of a wild toddler and an orange cat named Butternut.