Thamesha Tennakoon is a second-year student from Sri Lanka, currently concentrating in International Development with a focus on the nexus of conflict and governance. She’s a graduate of the University of Colombo.

She was a part of the United Nations Development Programme in Sri Lanka with the Peacebuilding, Access to Justice and Rule of Law team focusing on good governance. She also has experience with the Fragility, Conflict and Violence unit at the World Bank. Currently as a Graduate Fellow at the Global Network Initiative, Thamesha supports issues related to freedom of expression, privacy, business and human rights. She is skilled in program design, monitoring and evaluation, knowledge management,and communications. Her interests include peacebuilding, strengthening equitable governance, and public-private sector partnerships for development.

"MSFS was a perfect fit for what I was looking for in a graduate program. It is designed to develop students to become global leaders and practitioners. Located in D.C., with its world-class faculty, the experience MSFS offers is unparalleled. With its concentration in international development and the other co-curricular activities, MSFS will be a springboard to reach the next steps in my career."