Julian began her adventurous life roaming the backwoods of rural Pennsylvania on horseback, but discovered the allure of living abroad and international travel as a Rotary high school exchange student in Guayaquil, Ecuador. This formative year enabled her to step back and observe American culture through a different lens, shaping her nascent global view. She studied Economics and International Development at Tulane University, honing a tangible skill-set spanning business development and economic analysis. Wanderlust struck again; she spent a semester abroad in Rio de Janeiro, where she fell in love with all things Brazilian. After graduation, Julian taught English with Fulbright at a federal university in Cuiabá, Western Brazil, and later independently in Rio de Janeiro to young children. She first witnessed the power of microfinance while living in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro; the microcosm of life in a favela reinforced broader economic and development concepts she learned at Tulane. Dedicated to Kiva’s mission to alleviate poverty and improve people’s lives around the world in a sustainable manner, Julian is eager to return to Brazil as a KF28 Fellow. The opportunity to work as a Fellow will allow Julian to further her understanding of small businesses and the intricacies of microfinance in Brazil.