Fox Cities News

After graduating from UW Oshkosh in 2015, Caitlin Hopper, of Washington, D.C., leveraged her passion for international development to work with organizations that advance food security and economic growth, especially in developing countries. Hopper will be presented with a 2024 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Outstanding Young Alumni Award on Homecoming weekend this fall.

Hopper, who majored in international studies with a European emphasis, initially attended UW Oshkosh as a nursing major. Her family lived in Waukesha, and she was drawn to the College of Nursing’s reputation.

“When I was a teenager, I got the idea in my head that I was going to be a nurse, but after years of studying and real-life practice as a CNA, I found that it wasn’t a good fit for me,” Hopper said. “It caused a bit of an identity crisis. Still, that failure ended up putting me on the best path possible toward a life I had never imagined for myself.”

She switched to Human Services Leadership before making her final major change to international studies. She discovered the University’s award-winning Model United Nations program and was immediately hooked. Under the mentorship of the late UWO international studies professor Kenneth Grieb, who was then the team’s faculty adviser, Hopper and the team won numerous awards in international competitions. Hopper secured individual awards in 2014 and 2015 for Outstanding Delegation in Committee and Outstanding Position Paper Award in 2015.

Hopper moved to Washington, D.C., after graduation without much of a plan other than wanting to work in international development. She was soon hired at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) as an administrative and events coordinator.

Stacy Roberts, who hired Hopper for that role in 2016, said the UWO alumna quickly became an integral part of the team.

“Caitlin brought together a mix of incredible organization skills with diplomatic skills; the latter involved engaging with individuals such as the Minister of Agriculture from India and the Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships of the World Bank,” Roberts said. “She was a creative problem solver.”

At IFPRI, Hopper worked in many capacities including donor relations and facilitating engagements with large entities such as USAID, the Gates Foundation, World Bank and United Nations agencies.

“She had a knack for building teams from support staff to senior managers to facilitate implementation of governance endeavors and events,” Roberts said.

Since March 2023, Hopper has been the Global Board Affairs Manager for the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research nonprofit that studies and promotes sustainable practices for business, economics, finance and governance.

Despite her heavy workload that includes international travel and engaging with high-level officials, Hopper volunteered extensively with Midwest Model United Nations (MUN) and National Model United Nations (NMUN) and served in multiple leadership roles. She served as Secretary-General for the first session of the 2024 National Model UN-NY conference where she supervised over 80 volunteers simulating committees for thousands of students.

UW Oshkosh alumnus Chase Mitchell ‘15 is well aware of Hopper’s volunteer work and commitment to MUN's mission. They were teammates at UWO MUN and continued their volunteer work post-graduation.

“Her work since graduation with these organizations has helped raise the next generation of global citizens,” Mitchell said.

Michael Eaton, executive director of NMUN said Hopper has contributed significantly to NMUN's success by providing experiential learning opportunities for over 5,000 college students from more than 40 countries.

“From the beginning,” Eaton said,“Caitlin has excelled in working with diverse groups helping create learning opportunities similar to those she received as a student.”

Hopper earned a master’s degree in public policy and administration from Northwestern University in 2023. She thrives on teaching young people about diplomacy.

“The fact that I have been able to help so many people better understand the world around them is something I’m extremely proud of,” she said.

She looks back at her time at UWO with pride crediting Grieb and her MUN team for her successes post-graduation.

“It was hard work but Titans can always rise to occasion," she said."I owe my current life to UWO Model UN.”

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