Semone (aka Myat Mon Thu) grew up in Southern California, and graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a major in Economics and a minor in Psychology. After college, she began her career in HR and quickly transitioned into Marketing, a field she enjoys for its analytical and creative aspects. Semone has 10+ years of marketing experience in the financial services and technology sectors, and most recently as the VP of Marketing for Stearns Lending, a top national mortgage lender. She learned of Kiva through Stearns’ philanthropist founder and chairman, Glenn Stearns. Semone will be serving as Kiva Fellow in Myanmar. Born in Myanmar, she is excited to be able to give back and reconnect with the country of her birth. In her free time, Semone can often be found sitting in complete stillness practicing Vipassana meditation, or reading up on the field of cognitive science.