For Janina Acevedo-Yates, SIS/MA ’17, a career in service has been defined not by linear steps, but by values-driven choices along the way.  

Called to serve from an early age, Janina always knew her life’s work would focus on supporting communities and expanding opportunity. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies and political science from the University of Arizona, she pursued that calling through the Peace Corps. 

From 2012 to 2015, Janina served both in Botswana and El Salvador, supporting public health outreach and developing vocational projects for at-risk youth. The experience was formative, offering both inspiration and challenge. 

“When I first arrived in Botswana, I had really large goals, but I was assigned to live and work in a very rural community,” she recalls. “I grappled with trying to learn the community’s needs while still achieving the idealistic goals I’d set.” 

Through that work, Janina gained a deeper understanding of how impact is created. While community-level engagement is essential for understanding lived realities, she found that sustainable change often depends on engaging higher-level stakeholders with access to broader resources and influence. That insight shaped her service, particularly through her involvement with the Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) program, where partnerships beyond the local level helped expand reach and long-term impact. 

When she returned to the United States, Janina carried new questions about international development. How do organizations engage responsibly in conflict-affected spaces? And how could she be part of shaping those systems? 

Graduate school became the answer. 

“In my final years of Peace Corps, I was thinking about my next steps,” she says. “I had a number of ‘safe’ schools in mind, but American was my reach school.” Known for its long-standing legacy with the Peace Corps, American University is the second-highest producer of Peace Corps volunteers among medium-sized colleges, launching more than 950 Eagles into the Peace Corps over the last 64 years. 

Janina's reach became possible through the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program, which supports returned Peace Corps volunteers pursuing graduate education. The fellowship not only made American University financially accessible—it also opened the door to Washington, DC. 

“Having grown up in a small Colorado town, moving to a big city like DC was a transformative experience,” Janina says. “It was there that I realized and began to explore dreams I didn’t think were possible.”  

At AU’s School of International Service, Janina enrolled in the international peace and conflict resolution master’s program. The academic frameworks she encountered helped her contextualize the complexity she had witnessed in the field. 

“Peace Corps taught me cultural humility and adaptability,” she explains. “At AU, I could finally put theory names to the dynamics I had been observing in under-resourced environments.” 

She credits faculty, including Hrach Gregorian, practitioner-in-residence and program director for the MA in international peace and conflict resolution, with shaping her understanding of peacebuilding as relational and human-centered. 

“I was struck by the insight that peace isn’t simply the absence of conflict or a purely pacifistic stance,” she explains. “It is actively built by investing in learning, strengthening relationships, and supporting local leadership.”  

While studying global systems, Janina remained grounded in local service. During her time at AU, she worked as a victim’s advocate at the Latin American Youth Center, where she designed and facilitated the Young Parents Program and supported undocumented young parents navigating complex challenges in Washington, DC. The role allowed her to apply conflict analysis and equity frameworks to real-world issues affecting marginalized communities. 

Reflecting on her journey, Janina believes AU transformed her understanding of leadership and social impact. 

“AU helped me consider trauma-informed approaches and human-centered design,” she says. “It taught me to stay mindful of power dynamics and to lead with collaboration and humility.” 

Another lasting benefit was the AU network. 

“The network at AU is unmatched,” Janina says. “Learning from people who have participated in peace talks and applied theory in real-world negotiations made all the difference.” 

That foundation helped her transition from a passion for service into a career focused on sustainable impact. In recognition of her work, Janina was named a National Peace Corps Association 40 Under 40 Honoree in 2025. 

Most recently, she has embraced another nonlinear chapter, launching Kitso Learning Solutions, a consulting practice steeped in learning and leadership development, before stepping into a role as an instructional designer with the Colorado Department of Human Services, Staff Development division. 

Looking back, Janina sees her journey not as a straight line, but as a series of values-driven choices shaped by community and learning.  

“AU gave me the language and frameworks for the work I already felt called to do,” she says. “It taught me to stay rooted in community, curiosity, and humility as those paths unfold.” 

Learn more about AU's long-standing partnership with the Peace Corps.