Karen Austrian
Associate
Karen Austrian is an associate in the Poverty, Gender, and Youth program in the Population Council’s Nairobi office. Austrian manages a body of work developing and strengthening programs for adolescent girls in urban slum areas. She coordinates the Kenya Brain Trust program, building a network of adolescent girls' program providers and experts to share learning, develop program guidelines, and strengthen the adolescent girls programming in Kenya’s urban areas. She also manages a project that is working with financial institutions in Kenya and Uganda to develop savings accounts for adolescent girls that will be delivered in comprehensive and supportive program platforms.
Prior to coming to the Council, Austrian co-founded the Binti Pamoja Center, a program for adolescent girls in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. There she worked to create a safe space for girls to learn reproductive health information and develop confidence and skills as peer educators and leaders. Since passing on the daily leadership of the center to young Kenyan women, she has continued to work with the program through the Population Council, developing the Safe Spaces program, where the alumni of Binti are supported to start their own girls' groups in the community. She also led the development of a financial literacy curriculum for adolescent girls in Kibera and the continuation of that work into savings product development.
Austrian has an M.P.H. from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health where she was a Sharp Scholar and specialized in reproductive and adolescent health.
Karen Austrian
Associate
Developing Capacity for Targeted, Evidence-based Programming and Asset Building for Adolescent Girls (more)
The Council is helping to build the capacity of NGOs, UN country teams, and government agencies to develop effective health, social, and economic asset-building programs for adolescent girls.
(1/2008 - ongoing)
Topics: Financial literacy/livelihoods; Scaling up interventions; Schooling; Social isolation/support
Countries: Global, Kenya, Liberia
Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (more)
The Council is developing solutions for vulnerable adolescent girls in Zambia, who need tools to help them avoid early marriage, STIs and HIV, and unwanted pregnancy.
(11/2011 - 10/2017)
Topics: Adolescence/transitions to adulthood; Child marriage; Schooling; Sexuality and sexual behavior; Sexuality education
Countries: Zambia
Our Girls, Our Future: Building Synergy to End Violence Against Girls in Zambia (more)
By creating safe spaces for adolescent girls in Lusaka, Zambia, the Council is part of a coalition that is helping to build girls' social, health, and economic assets in order to prevent sexual and gender-based violence.
(2/2010 - 12/2012)
Topics: Adolescence/transitions to adulthood; Financial literacy/livelihoods; Sexual and gender-based violence; Social isolation/support
Countries: Zambia
Safe and Smart Savings Products for Vulnerable Adolescent Girls in Kenya and Uganda (more)
Working with financial institutions and girls' programs in Kenya and Uganda, Council researchers are developing appropriate ways for adolescent girls to gain financial literacy and save money.
(6/2008 - 5/2012)
Topics: Adolescence/transitions to adulthood; Financial literacy/livelihoods
Countries: Kenya, Uganda
Kenya Adolescent Girls' Brain Trust (more)
The Kenya Adolescent Girls' Learning Network brings together adolescent girls' program providers and experts to share learning, develop program guidelines, and strengthen programming for adolescent girls in Kenya’s urban areas.
(6/2007 - 5/2010)
Topics: Schooling; Sexuality education
Countries: Kenya
Karen Austrian
Associate
Girls' leadership and mentoring (PDF)Austrian,Karen
GIRLS FIRST! Perspectives on Girl-Centered Programming
Publication date: 2012
Safe and smart savings for vulnerable girls in Kenya and Uganda: The evolving model, lessons learned, and recommendations (PDF)
Austrian,Karen; Muthengi,Eunice; Wambugu,Angela; Ghati,Dennitah; Kariuki,Elizabeth
Program brief
Publication date: 2012
The cost of reaching the most disadvantaged girls: Programmatic evidence from Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda (PDF)
Sewall-Menon,Jessica; Bruce,Judith; Austrian,Karen; Brown,Raven; Catino,Jennifer; Colom,Alejandra; Del Valle,Angel; Demele,Habtamu; Erulkar,Annabel S.; Hallman,Kelly; Roca,Eva; Zibani,Nadia
Technical report
Publication date: 2012
Conception d'un programme centré sur les filles : Boîte à outils pour l'elaboration, le renforcement et l'expansion de programmes destinés aux adolescentes (PDF)
Austrian,Karen; Ghati,Dennitah
Publication date: 2011
Diseño de un Programa Centrado en las Niñas: Un juego de herramientas para desarrollar, fortalecer y expandir programas para niñas adolescentes (PDF)
Austrian,Karen; Ghati,Dennitah
Publication date: 2011
Élargir l'accès des adolescentes aux espaces sécurisés, à l'éducation financière et aux produits d'épargne au Kenya (PDF)
Austrian,Karen
Promouvoir des transitions vers l'âge adulte saines, sécurisées et productives resumen (no. 29 (Mise à jour janvier 2011))
Publication date: 2011
Expanding safe spaces, financial education, and savings for adolescent girls in Kenya (PDF)
Austrian,Karen
Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief (no. 29)
Publication date: 2011
Girl-centered program design: A toolkit to develop, strengthen and expand adolescent girls programs (HTML)
Austrian,Karen; Ghati,Dennitah
Publication date: 2010
Safe and smart savings products for vulnerable adolescent girls in Kenya and Uganda (PDF)
Austrian,Karen; Ngurukie,Corrinne
Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Case Study (no. 3)
Publication date: 2009
Karen Austrian
Associate
Safe and smart savings products for vulnerable adolescent girls in Kenya and Uganda: Results from the Uganda pilot evaluation (PDF)Presentation at Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference, Washington, DC, 9 September
Austrian,Karen
Publication date: 2011
Integrating financial education and savings opportunities into health interventions for adolescent girls in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya (PDF)
in Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Urban Health, Nairobi, 18-23 October
Austrian,Karen; Ngurukie,Corrinne; Sakwa,Caroline
Publication date: 2009
Contact
E-mail: kaustrian@popcouncil.org
Address:
Karen Austrian
Population Council
General Accident House
Ralph Bunche Road
Nairobi, Kenya
+254 20 271 3480
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