Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Andrea Volfova Filipi

Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Andrea Volfova Filipi

Author: Harvard College Class of 2000 March 12, 2026 Duration: 1:01:55

Dara talks to Andrea about “life being extraordinary” and “mulling over grand plans for the future.” Andrea discusses moving to the United States to attend Harvard, soon after the end of the cold war. She has always been interested in foreign affairs and dreamed of working at the United Nations (spoiler alert- she did!). After college, she went to the London School of Economics to study Development and then returned to Prague for her dream job at an NGO. An ad in The Economist changed her life- sending her into a career at the UN where she’s been for the past 20 years on and off, at both UN headquarters and many countries in Africa. Writing for Let’s Go was life-changing for Andrea, allowing her to see what war does to a country. Andrea also opens up about her health challenges related to a congenital heart issue.

Andrea lived in Mather House and concentrated in Psychology. She is originally from Prague and now lives in Western Sahara.


What happens after the cap and gown are put away? Harvard College Class of 2000: The Podcast explores that long, winding road. This isn't a formal reunion report but a series of conversations with classmates, catching up on more than two decades of life. You'll hear about careers that took unexpected turns, personal milestones, and the perspectives that only time and distance can provide. We also circle back to our shared origin point, swapping stories about those formative Cambridge years-the moments that stuck, the lessons that mattered, and the quirks of a particular time and place. Each episode is a different story, a unique path stemming from a common starting line. It's a chance to reconnect with voices from the past and discover where they've landed in the present. Tune in for a thoughtful, often surprising, and deeply human look at the journey from then to now, all through the specific lens of this class. This podcast is created by and for the Harvard College Class of 2000, offering a genuine audio chronicle of our group's evolving narrative.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 82

Harvard College Class of 2000: The Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Niki Santo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:48
Niki talks to Dara about her journey in the world of higher ed- from studying at Harvard and the University of Cambridge to working at multiple universities, focusing on innovation and education. Niki recently had a big…
Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Laela Sturdy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:24
Dara talks to Laela Sturdy about Florida, basketball, and working at Let’s Go and liquor crew at reunion. Laela has gotten multiple degrees after college and now is the head of CapitalG, Google's growth fund- investing i…
Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Ben Krefetz [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:56
Ben talks to Dara about data science, visiting breweries all over the U.S., including in every county in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and biking across the U.S. Follow Ben’s adventures via his biking and beer blog and…
Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Matt Levine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:20
Matt started his career as a Latin teacher in Wellesley, using that Classics degree. Matt then pivoted to law school and clerked and worked as a lawyer briefly before pivoting again into investment banking. Matt then wor…
Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Lizzy Ayer Wright [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:37
We start the episode with a non-profit ad from classmate Jonathan Wintrode for the Annapolis Immigration Justice Network. Lizzy worked in government intelligence after graduation, including tracking Bin Laden, later swit…
Harvard 2000 Podcast: Dmitry Sagalovskiy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:35
Dara talks to Dmitriy Sagalovskiy about the Harvard tunnels, sailing, and math education. Dmitry is an engineer who has worked at Google, with classmates as a co-founder of Hudson River Trading, a teacher, co-founder of…
Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Christine Chen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:03
You know and love Christine from her masterful Puns & Punctuation WA group comments- from angry vaginas to creating our beloved pony images, Christine’s sense of humor shines through from the first second of her intervie…
Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Ana Torres [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:29
Eileen interviews Ana Torres, who was one of our speakers at “The Paths We’ve Traveled” event at reunion. Today, Ana continues to share insights from her “life of extremely low probability events.” At Harvard, Ana lived…
Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Kaitlin McGaw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:55
Dara talks to Kaitlin about her Grammy and Emmy-winning career with the Alphabet Rockers and we hear more about the JV women’s hockey team that came up in earlier episodes! Follow Kaitlin on her Instagram. Listen to her…
Harvard College 2000 Podcast: Yayoi Shionoiri [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:29
Dara talks to Yaoi Shionoiri, who is an art lawyer- a career we have not yet seen on the podcast! Yayoi has worked for a museum, art company, artists’ estates, and is now at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn (go visit her!). Y…