US Staff
Kjerstin Erickson - Executive Director
Kjerstin Erickson is the founder and Executive Director of FORGE. Kjerstin started FORGE in 2003, while a junior at Stanford University. Now 26, she continues to manage FORGE's operations, growth and development. She has developed partnerships with UN agencies and has worked with multiple African governments to bring FORGE's work to over 60,000 refugees per year. An avid blogger and pioneer of ‘radical transparency,’ Kjerstin’s social media efforts have been profiled in outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle, and in 2009 FORGE was honored with the Jenzabar Foundation's "Social Media Leadership Award." Kjerstin has also been named a Haas Public Service Fellow at Stanford University, one of America's "Top 40 Leaders Under 40" by the New Leaders Council, a "Top 10 College Woman" by Glamour Magazine, and a "Person You Should Know" by CNN. Ms. Erickson holds a degree in Public Policy from Stanford University, with a concentration in Global Development Solutions.
Abby Speight - Programming Director
Abby Speight began working with FORGE in 2006 as a Project Facilitator in Mwange Refugee Camp. She partnered with the community to found Journal Mwange, a monthly newspaper written by a refugee staff and about the refugee community. Upon her return to the states, Abby took on the role of one of FORGE's Northern California Hub Coordinators, overseeing the recruitment and training of the 2007 Mwange Project Facilitator team. From 2007 to 2008, she was a FORGE Program Associate, working mainly to create a manual to facilitate the refugee-led project planning and implementation process, before stepping into the Programming Director role in mid-2008. Before working with FORGE, Abby served as first the Director of International Health and then the President of the Children's Public Health Initiative at Stanford, organizing events that raised funds and awareness for Public Health Issues that affect young people around the world. Abby graduated from Stanford University in 2008 with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. In 2009, Abby completed the six-day Advanced Certificate Program Peacebuilding, Conflict Transformation, & Post-War Recovery, Reconciliation, and Healing organized by the International Peace and Development Training Center and the Romanian Peace Institute. She has also received a Certificate in Strengthening Local Capacity: Training, Mentoring, and Advising from the United States Institute of Peace as well as a Certificate in International Perspectives in Participatory Research from the joint continuing education units of the University of Victoria and the Society for Participatory Research in Asia.
Hitasha Bhatia - Graphic Designer
Hitasha Bhatia began working with FORGE as a graphic designer in September 2009. Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Hitasha graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006 with an undergraduate degree in Architecture. Influenced from an early age by the tradition of community organization of her home state, Hitasha worked as a fundraiser and grassroots organizer for the Democratic National Committee in 2004 and has coordinated the outreach and fundraising efforts of five political campaigns in California and Minnesota on city, state and national levels. Moreover, in her primary occupation she has worked as a designer and researcher for architecture firms in San Francisco, Minneapolis and New York. In November 2009, Hitasha began a research appointment in solar energy and building technology at the National University of Singapore and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore.
