Fellowships Staff

Julia Bakes supports the Richard U. Light Fellowship by serving as a first point of contact for students, faculty and staff in processing fellowship application materials.

Kripa is a member of the Office of Fellowships and collaborates with the Study Abroad Office to support students pursuing language studies in China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. Kripa helps manage and advise on the Richard U. Light Fellowship. Prior to Yale, she received her M.A. in Chinese Linguistics from the University of Hawai'i. She has contributed to language education communities by serving as Resident Director of the National Security Language Initiative for Youth Program in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and as an Educational Ambassador in Yiwu, China for the Ameson Year in China program. Kripa also holds a B.A. from Barnard College and has spent time working and learning in language immersion environments.

Alison manages a portfolio of nationally competitive fellowships including the Rhodes, Marshall, and Mitchell competitions, U.K. and Ireland fellowships, and Yale's research-focused summer fellowships. She joins the Office of Fellowships after 10-plus years working in higher education in England, most recently as an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nottingham. She holds a Ph.D. (2015) and an M.Phil. (2011) in English from the University of Cambridge, and a B.A. (2010) in English from Barnard College. She is the author of John Donne's Language of Disease (Routledge, 2023) and articles in leading academic journals. Alison is passionate about helping prospective applicants articulate their career and life goals. She is excited to draw on her own experience as an American studying and living in England as she helps students explore funding opportunities in the U.K. and Ireland.

Jill (she/her) joins the CIPE as Associate Director of Fellowships and Funding after working in Yale Undergraduate Admissions as Director of Recruitment. She completed her B.A. in Theatre Studies at Yale University and worked in administrative theatre in NYC before joining Yale Undergraduate Admissions in 2018. She helps manage and advise students for various fellowships, namely the Fulbright US Student Grants & Henry S. Truman Scholarships, and also oversees the ISA process. For the past two years, Jill served on the FSY Advisory Committee, where she was able to continue cultivating her professional interests in increasing opportunities and engagement amongst students from underrepresented backgrounds She is a first-year advisor and fellow for Jonathan Edwards College and is passionate about helping students reach their own personal goals.

Ruth works closely with advisers on both the Fellowship Programs and Study Abroad teams at the CIPE. She supports administrators and students to facilitate fellowship opportunities and study abroad through the Year, Term, and Non-Yale Summer Abroad programs. Ruth joined CIPE in September 2016 while completing her M.S. in Human Services at Albertus Magnus College. She received her B.A. in Education from Trinity College, Ireland where she worked as a primary school teacher and student teacher supervisor.

Mya joins Yale as Director of the Light Fellowship after more than 20 years successfully developing and launching innovative, international programs for a variety of education, non-profit, and government entities across the U.S. and East Asia. She is passionate about international exchange and bring extensive experience studying and working in Japan notably as founding administrator of the Watanabe Study Abroad Scholarship, and alum of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language studies (IUC). Mya holds degrees from Williams College (B.A. Psychology and Sociology), New York University (M.A., International Education) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (M.S. and PhD, Sociology).

Ivona oversees communication and outreach for the Office of Fellowships and Funding and assists with administrative tasks related to Fellowships Programs. Ivona joined CIPE in April of 2022 from a similar position within the Office of Fellowships at Northwestern University. She holds a B.A. in Global Affairs and East Asian Studies from Yale University (2013) and an MPhil in International Relations and Politics from the University of Cambridge (2018).