2026 Duke Sanford Graduates: Anastasia Crowley

Crowley is celebrated for her work in rural Uganda with the Women's Microfinance Initiative. As a part of the initiative, women can obtain small loans - a financial boost to help them with an entrepreneurial venture. For example, many of the women Crowley worked with sewed clothes and sold them in local markets.

“These women are extraordinarily talented, especially with the tailoring and the sewing. The dresses and skirts and even shoes that they're able to put together are so beautiful,” she said.

But as skilled as their handiwork is, Crowley noticed that many of the first-time borrowers were defaulting on their loans at a higher rate than expected – and that many of those borrowers were young women. The issue is particularly important because default can disqualify women from obtaining future loans. 

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Crowley developed a theory as to what the issue might be. She hypothesized that while many young women helped their parents with their businesses, they were learning the craft side (beading, or sewing, for example) but they were not learning the business end of the endeavor. They were not learning the business skills needed to succeed on their own. Crowley conducted borrower interviews which confirmed her suspicions.

She quickly pivoted and worked with a team of local coordinators to address the issue. They designed a series of free training workshops. They also set up a mentorship program in which more experienced borrowers could mentor a village girl and teach them business fundamentals in exchange for interest reductions or payment extensions for their own loans.

“I was able to get both programs up and running by the time I left and continue to help virtually,” Crowley says. “While first-year default rates remained stable the quarter following implementation, they decreased in the next, demonstrating an impact which will grow as the programs continue.”

Crowley says her experience changed her perspective on leadership. 

“This experience taught me that effective leadership does not require a title. I gained no new designation for my initiative, yet its impact has been more meaningful than projects where I was an explicit ‘leader.’ More importantly, it taught me that true leadership emerges not from having people work for you, but with you.” For example, she says that if she hadn’t formed such a close working relationship with local coordinators, she wouldn’t have known the true challenges many of the women face, like maintaining stable supplies during the rainy season. 

“Our program is successful because I listened to those who best understood community needs rather than imposing my own vision,” she said, adding that she came to “understand leadership not as a position, but a relationship characterized by reciprocal exchange and mutual respect.”

Reflections from Crowley's professors

Director of Undergraduate Studies Suzanne Katzenstein is impressed with Crowley’s ability to make such progress on the issue, saying that Crowley “has shown herself again and again to be a deep, deep thinker, but also a doer, so even though she thinks so carefully about moral issues and equity issues, she doesn’t let it deter her from doing hard work.”

Faculty member Sarah Bermeo called Crowley’s project in Uganda “inspirational” and notes that research of this nature (seeing an issue, studying the issue and implementing a solution) is exactly the kind of work that is best done as a part of a research institution like Duke. 

Crowley has a special heart for the Global South and issues like hunger and climate vulnerability. She will head back to Africa after graduation, as a Hart Fellow through the Hart Leadership Program. After spending more time in the region, she hopes to attend law school with the goal of designing development policy and programs for an international institution or government agency. 

“Something Terry Sanford embodied was ethical leadership and because I share his value of responsible, moral engagement, it is important to me that I first serve in these communities most vulnerable before drafting policy which affects them,” she says. 

Anastasia's work with the Women’s Microfinance Initiative was supported by the Patman Political Engagement Project through the Hart Leadership Program.