Where our Alumni Work

Hannah Akuiyibo

Education:

B.A. in Political Science, Bob Jones University

Interests: 

African Politics, U.S.-Africa Policy, Subnational Democratization, Elections, and Public-Private Partnerships

Languages:

English, German, Swahili

Henry Atem

Education:

M.A. Electoral Policy and Administration, School of Advanced Studies, Pisa – Italy

Graduate Certificate, Election Administration, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota 

Interests:

Strengthening the integrity of election administration

Languages:

English, French

Chris Comer

Education:

B.A. Political Science and Entrepreneurship, Miami University

Interests:

Southeast Asia, Civic Education, Social Entrepreneurship

Languages:

English, Indonesian

William Condon

Education:

B.A. Political Science, Sonoma State University, USMC The Basic School, USMC Ground Supply Officer Course, USMC Marine Corps Advisor Course

Interests:

Latin America, Corruption, Military Support for Democratic Institutions  

Languages:

English, Spanish

Asma Ghribi

Education:

Faculté des Lettres, des Arts et des Humanités- Manouba University

Interests:

Democratic transitions, Human rights and religious freedom in the Middle East and North Africa region

Languages:

Arabic, French, English, Farsi

Yuchu He

Education:

B.A. Government and International Relations, BNU-HKBU United International College

Interests:

Asia and the Middle East; Democratization; Foreign Policy; Public Opinion and Civil Society 

Language:

English, Chinese

Joe Cho-Han Hsiung

Education:

B.A. Political Science, National ChengChi University

Interests:

East Asian politics, Cross-strait relations, Democratization, Political parties 

Languages: 

Chinese, English, Japanese 

Matison Hearn-Desautels

Education:

B.A. Political Science & International Studies, Bryn Mawr College  

Interests:

Middle East and African politics, States and Human Rights 

Languages:

English, French, Arabic

Grayson Lewis

Education:

B.A. Political Science, Certificate in History, Minor in War and Society, Virginia Tech

Interests:

US National Security Process, Disinformation, Political Parties

Languages:

English, French, Latin

Ben Lynch

Education: 

B.A. Philosophy & Political Science, concentration in International Relations, Rice University

Interests:

Technology and Governance, Democratic Transitions, Post-Conflict and Failed States, Political Theory

Languages:

English, Spanish, Sesotho

Hashim Pasha

Education:

B.A. International Relations & Arabic, Tufts University

Interests:

Diplomacy, Negotiation, Anti-Corruption, Elections, South Asia, Middle East

Languages:

English, Urdu, Arabic, Punjabi, Hindi, Bahasa Malay

James Placius

Education:

B.A. In International Politics, Penn State University

Interests:

International Security, U.S. foreign and defense policy, Democracy and Post-conflict reconstruction policies

Languages:

French, English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole.

Habiba Shebita

Education:

B.A. Political Science & Middle Eastern Studies, Minor in International Relations, Rutgers University 

Interests:

Middle East, U.S. Foreign Policy, Transitional Governments, Democratization, and Human Rights 

Languages: 

English, Arabic 

Riaz Akbar

Education:

Forman Christian College

Interests:

Democracy promotion and the politics of South Asia and Middle East.

Languages:

English, Urdu, Burushaski, Shina, Persian

Rick Ferreira

Education:

B.A. Political Science, University of Florida, Certificate of specialization in International Relations.

Interests:

International Relations, Political Theory, Security, Sino-Russian Politics, Russo-Japanese Politics, Historical Evolution, Democratic Diffusion, Populism.

Languages:

English, Spanish

Han Wool Jung

Education:

B.A. International Political Economy, Pennsylvania State University

Interests:

Effect of corruption on the process of international democracy. Future of political relationship between Asia and the Western world.

Languages:

Korean, English, Indonesian

Abby Parish

Education:

B.S. in Political Science and Cultural and Global Studies; Middle East and Islamic Studies, Central Michigan University.

Interests:

Democratization of the Middle East, Authoritarianism, Rule of Law, Elections, and Human Rights.

Languages:

English and Spanish

Abby now works as a Contracts Associate at DAI (Development Alternatives International) backstopping on contractual matters to support the Africa and Global regions’ project implementation. 

Avram Reisman

Education: 

Colby College 2013- political philosophy.

Interests:

Democratic stability, democracy as development, civil strife.

Languages:

English, Spanish, Arabic.

Allison Schlossberg

Education:

B.A. International Affairs from The George Washington University.

Interests:

Corruption, Electoral Reform, Political Parties/Institutions, Latin America.

Languages:

English, Spanish, Portuguese

Katie LaRoque

Education:

B.A. Political Science & Government, Mount Holyoke College

Interests:

International development, business development, democratic transitions, Eurasia, elections, competitive authoritarianism

Languages:

English, Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian

Katie is the Business Development Manager for the International Republican Institute (IRI), where she oversees new business capture strategies and proposal development for the Institute. Prior to assuming this role, Katie worked in IRI’s Eurasia Division as a Senior Program Manager, where she managed US- and foreign-funded development programs throughout the region. Katie was also a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine, where she organized anti-human trafficking and HIV prevention campaigns. 

Manuel Ayulo

Education: 

B.A. Political Science and Government, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

Interests:

Contentious Politics, Corruption, Natural Resources, Institutionalization

Languages: 

Spanish, English

Manuel is back in Peru working as Social Risk Manager for Cia de Minas Buenaventura. His job consistis of designing and implementing tools to identify, monitor and evalute social risks as well as to propose solutions to enhance the level of cooperation and trust with local communities and governments. Before graduating, he was an Associate at Chemonics International in Washington DC. He also worked as Buenventura´s Social Responsability and Development Coordinator where he was responsable of proposing and implementing public-private projects for $16 millions in humanitarian infrastructure. 

Ryan Bennet

Education:

B.A. Political Science/ International Relations, UC San Diego

Areas of interest:

Elections, civic engagement, conflict resolution, disinformation, regions: Asia-Pacific, Europe and Eurasia.

Languages:

English, French, dabbling in Spanish, Hindi, Nepali, Armenian, Georgian.

Ryan is the Program Officer for the South Caucasus at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, where he manages programs that improve the credibility of electoral and political processes. He previously supported programming throughout South Asia as well as Papua New Guinea.

Evan Chiacchiaro

Education: 

BA in International Relations, Tufts University

Interests: 

American democracy, democratic transitions in the Middle East, global authoritarianism and populism

Languages: English, Arabic

Kate Kizer

Education:
B.A. Middle Eastern and North African Studies, UCLA

M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University

Interests:
Accountability and Justice, Intersection of Political Violence and Governance, U.S. Foreign Policy

Languages:
English, Spanish, Arabic

Kate is the Policy Director at Win Without War, a national grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to establishing a progressive U.S. foreign policy. She is an expert on democratization and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and has previously held leadership roles on political campaigns and in the private sector.

Dessy Raufiana Pramit 

Education: Bachelor of Political Science, Universitas Indonesia, MA in Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University

Research Interests: Asian Politics, Election, Political Parties, Ethnic Politics, Corruption

Languages: English, Indonesian, Javanese

Dessy is an expert staffer for the GOPAC (Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption) office in the Indonesian Parliament. She also works for the Center for International Private Enterprise as an anti-corruption consultant in their ongoing project in Indonesia. 

Emerald Litke

Education: B.A. Poltical Science, Minors: French and German, University of Mississippi

Interests:  U.S. Foreign policy, International Government Relations, Democratic and Authoritarian Processes, Human Rights, U.S. Military Relations

Languages:  English, French, German

Emerald is part of the policy team at Competitive Carriers Association, working on behalf of competitive wireless carriers and stakeholders through advocacy and policy work.

Monica O’Hearn

Education: B.A., Romance Languages and Literature, University of Notre Dame
M.A., Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2016)

Interests: Transparency and Anti-corruption, advocacy, Civil society strengthening, Social accountability

Languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic

Monica is a Program Manager at Counterpart International, where she manages US-funded democracy and governance programs worldwide. Prior to her current position, she was a research analyst for political and corporate investigations, as well as held positions supporting elections and civil society programs in Africa at IFES and political party programming in the MENA region at NDI. From 2013-2014, Monica was a Fulbright scholar in Morocco, where she taught literature and media studies at Abdelmalek Essaadi University.  

Sundar Ramanujam

Education: B. Tech in Electrical Engineering, Shiv Nadar University, India (2015), M.A. in Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2017)

Interests: Role of constitutions and courts in shaping rule of law and the political economy, political institutions, immigration.

Languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Spanish, French

Sundar is currently a research assistant at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His current research focuses on the impact of innovation on the institutions of emerging markets, role of private sector in international development, and issues of global access to infrastructure development. Prior to this role, he had worked for the renowned political scientist, Prof. Donald L. Horowitz, at the National Endowment for Democracy. He was also associated with the CSIS through the India Chair, where he interned during the summer of 2016.

Yufei Zhang

Education: B.A. Theatre Arts and Filmmaking, Hainan University, China (2010) M.A. Media, City University of Hong Kong (2011)                                                            M.A. Government, Georgetown University (2017)

Interests: Political Institutions, Quantitative Data Analysis, Macro-economics

Languages: English, Chinese Mandarin, Cantonese

Yufei works for Thomson Reuters, responsible for political and financial risk analysis. Prior to joining Thomson Reuters, He has held experience at the News Department of Asia Television, The Voice of America and National Endowment for Democracy.

Lauren Burke

Education: 
B.A. Political Science, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL

Interests:
Entrepreneurship, Local democracy

Languages:
English

Lauren Burke is a program coordinator for the GMF Cities program. She previously worked as a program assistant on the Middle East and North Africa team at the Center for International Private Enterprise. Projects in her portfolio included business association development in Jordan and Palestine, business advocacy in Lebanon, and promoting enterprise ecosystems in Syria. Prior to her work at CIPE, she interned at Management Systems International, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and the Irish Parliament.

Tyler Knarr

Education: 
B.A. Government, Arabic and a Certificate in Arab Studies, Georgetown University

Interests:
Democratization, political transitions and development, politics in the Middle East.

Languages:
English, Arabic

Sam Maynard

Education: 
B.A. Political Science (Honors), Manmouth University, New Jersey

Interests:
Argentine politics and party institutionalization, democratic transitions, and authoritarianism.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Javier Pena

Education: 
B.S. International Politics, Georgetown University

Interests:
Human Rights, Latin America, and Religion

Languages:
English, Spanish

Sibghat Ullah

Education: 
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.), University of The Punjab, Certificate in Policy and Program Development, Johns Hopkins University

Interests:
Democratization of sub-national level governance bodies, formal recognition and modernization of existing traditional civil society institutions.

Languages:
English, Farsi, Pushtu, Urdu, Arabic, Punjabi

Cabell Willis

Education:
B.A. History, minors in Writing, French, and Philosophy, Virginia Military Institute.

Interests:
Education and democratic development, religion and government, freedom of press, speech, and thought; political parties; civil society

Languages:
English, French

Ugur Altundal

Education:
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2015) 
Political Science and Public Administration, Middle East Technical University,

Interests:
Democratic theory, political legitimacy, and multiculturalism

Languages:
Turkish, English

Ugur is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Political Science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His primary research interests include Political Theory and Comparative Politics.

Matthew Mainuli

Education: 
B.A. English Literature and French, Trinity College
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2015)

Interests:
Democratic transitions, Middle East and North Africa, political philosophy.

Languages:
English, French

Matthew works as an Analyst, AML Compliance at Western Union Business Solutions.

Kellen McClure

Education: 
Political Science, University of Vermont
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2015)

Interests:
Africa, civil society development, U.S. democracy and governance policy, ethical leadership

Languages: English, French

Kellen works at Freedom House.

Maria Regina Reis

Education: 
Law – UnB, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2015)

Interests:
Corruption

Languages:
English, Portuguese, Italian

Maria is a Senior Specialist in Criminal Law at the Office of Legislative Counsel in the Brazilian House of Representatives.

Weiyi Wang

Education: 
B.A. Politics and Administration, China University of Political Science and Law
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2015)

Interests:
Civil society in China and Sino-EU relations

Languages:
Chinese, English

Weiyi is a Consultant at the World Bank.

Jonathan Evans

Education:
B.A. Music, Brigham Young University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2014)

Interests:
European Integration, United Kingdom, Democracy and Governance 

Languages:
English, French

Jonathan is a Survey Specialist at RTI.

Kaitlyn Creegan

Education:  
B.A. Rutgers University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2014)

Languages:
English

Kaitlyn is currently the Deputy Campaign Manager for Edward “Smitty” Smith, Candidate for Attorney General of the District of Columbia.

Claire Robertson

Education:
B.A. Political Science & International Relations, University of Pennsylvania
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2014)

Interests:
Civil Society, Political Parties, Local Government 

Languages:
English, French

Claire is a Program Officer at Democracy International (DI).

Kate Krueger

Education:
B.A. Political Science, International Affairs & Italian Studies, Saint Louis University (2012)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2014)

Languages:
English

Kate is a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the International Republican Institute (IRI).

Meagan Moody

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Wellsley University (2012)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2014)

Interests:
National Security, Women’s Leadership, Education Reform

Languages:
English, French

Meagan is an Analyst at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Adam Peterson

Education:
B.A. Anthropology, St. Mary’s University (2006)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2014)

Languages:
English, Spanish

Adam is a Technical Associate at Management Systems International (MSI). 

Erika Hernandez

Education:
B.A. International Relations, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City (2006)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2014)
ICPSR program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research (2014)

Interests:
Democracy Promotion, Civil Society, Research Methods  

Languages:
Spanish, French, English

Erika is a Consultant at the World Bank where she performs policy analysis in education and citizen security. Before graduate school, she was an analyst at Mexico’s transparency agency (IFAI) where she coordinated international cooperation on transparency issues. Erika also worked at Jorge Castañeda’s office (former Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Minister) where she organized dialogues with civil society organizations that would help to improve Mexico’s quality of democracy.

Josh Linden

Education:  
B.A. International Affairs, James Madison University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
Elections and electoral systems, transitional states, Africa, innovative tools for social organizing and citizen advocacy.

Languages:
English, Hebrew

Josh Linden currently serves as a Program Officer for Democracy International. Before attending Georgetown, he worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Project for Middle East Democracy, and the American Prospect Magazine. He has also worked for Somali Family Services in Kenya and Somalia, as well as Amnesty International in Israel.

Eli Lovely

Education:
B.A. International Relations, Wheaton College (MA)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
Political risk analysis, economic and political development, US-Turkey relations.

Languages:
English, Turkish

Eli Lovely (’14) is currently working as an international Trade Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce where he investigates unfair foreign trade practices pertaining to foreign subsidies and the selling of products in the United States at less than fair value. He was formerly Communications Director at the American-Turkish Council (ATC), a business organization devoted to promoting U.S.-Turkey commercial relations, where he developed program content and implemented communications campaigns in line with the organization’s goals and objectives. His writings have been published in The National Interest, The Diplomatic Courier, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, and Hürriyet Daily News, among others.

Andrea Murta

Education:  
Social Communications and Journalism, Federal University of Minas Gerais
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
U.S. foreign relations, Middle Eastern politics, political science, journalism.

Languages:
English, Portuguese, Spanish

Andrea is Senior Associate at the Risk Advisory Group, and was previously an Anti-Corruption Specialist at PwC. 

Rachel Santos

Education:  
B.A. International Relations, African Studies, University of California – Davis
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
Post-conflict reconstruction, institution-building and civil society, Africa.

Languages:
English, Kiswahili

Rachel is the Director of Conflict Mitigation at the Engagement Group.

Patrick Sell

Education:  
B.A. Political Science, University of Florida (2007)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Languages: English

Patrick is the Director of Program Management at the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University. 

Stephany Warner

Education:  

B.A. Political Science, English, SUNY Binghamton

M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
The impact of religion on civil society and governance.

Languages:
Arabic, English, Spanish

Stephany is an analyst at the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Trishna Velamoor

Education:  
B.A. Political Science (Law, Societies, and Justice), University of Washington
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
Governmental transitions, electoral systems, rule of law in the Middle East / South Asia.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Ms. Velamoor is a third year law student and currently a Summer Associate at David Polk and Wardwell, LLP.

Genève Bergeron

Education: 
B.A. Government, Georgetown University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Internet freedom, authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes, censorship, technology for conflict resolution, democracy promotion, innovation for global social good.

Languages:
Arabic, English

Geneve is Project Coordinator at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, where she works with the Internet Robustness project. She was formerly a Program Assistant with the Center of Innovation for Science, Technology & Peacebuilding at the United States Institute of Peace.

Shuang Bin

Education:  
B.A. Philosophy, Wuhan University, China
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Dynamic between private sector development and public sector reform. Regional Focus is Sub-Sahara Africa, Burma and China

Languages:
Chinese, English

Currently works at as an Associate at Institutional Shareholder Services, and previously as a consultant at the IFC (World Bank).

Ayesha Chugh

Education:  
B.A. Political Science, Scripps College
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Political and institutional development, civil society and democracy in South Asia. The intersections of race, religion, class and gender in contexts of political and institutional change, development, and democratization.

Languages:
English, French, Hindi

Ayesha is a facilitator for the ACE Practitioner Network. Previously she was a Research Coordinator at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). 

Robert Colvin

Education:  
B.A. Political Science, History, Washington University in St. Louis
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Middle East and North Africa, political transition in post-conflict states, public sector capacity building.

Languages:
Arabic, English, French

Robert is a Senior Specialist-Economic Governance & Trade at Crown Agents.

Linsey Crisler

Education:  
B.A. Political Science, Brigham Young University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Religion and developing countries.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Mrs. Crisler currently works for the Department of State in the Political Section of the Embassy of the United States in Beijing, China.

Imara Crooms

Education:  
B.A. Political Science, Rutgers
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Political institutions and economy, impact of technology on governance, democratic development and transition.

Languages:
English, Mandarin, Spanish

Imara is an Evaluation Officer at the International Republican Institute (IRI).

Kevin Dunlevy-Wilson

Education:  
B.A. Political Science, Philosophy, Colorado State University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Emerging systems of federalism, diplomacy, critical infrastructure development, poverty reduction, political science, Northern Iraq, Latin America.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Kevin J.D. Wilson serves as an Associate Researcher for the Center for Kirkuk Referendum Operations, an international electoral rights and public policy think tank.  Wilson is a longtime Congressional observer and frequently provides analysis of Function 150 (International Affairs) appropriations measures.  Prior to attending Georgetown, he served as chief of staff to a senior member of the Colorado General Assembly where he worked on legislative initiatives ranging from public health and safety to business development.

Santiago Edwards

Education:  
B.A. Political Science, Public Policy, Universidad Diego Portales
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Institutions for development, Latin-American democracy.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Santiago is a consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).

Drew Gripp

Education:  
B.A. International Relations, History, University of Delaware
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Religion, U.S. foreign policy, democracy promotion, the Middle East.

Languages:
Arabic, English, German

Andrew is a journalist at the Independent Voter Network.

Chris Jackson

Education:  
B.A. Government and Politics, University of Maryland – College Park
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Asia-world relations, China.

Languages:
English, Italian

Chris works at the International Republican Institute (IRI).

Sookyung Koo

Education:  
Political Science, Ewha Womans University (Korea); American University in Washington, D.C.
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Democracy promotion, peace-building, and media; democratization in China.

Languages:
English, Korean, Chinese

As the Communications Director of Governor Larry Hogan’s Office of Community Initiatives, Soo Kyung Koo is in charge of connecting Marylanders with the state resources, listening to the unique needs of diverse communities in Maryland, and strategically messaging the priorities of the Administration for state residents.Prior to joining the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, Soo executed fundraising, policy and leadership training, and program development for a national nonprofit in Washington D.C. with the mission of cultivating next generations of ethnic leaders across sectors, coordinating with federal and congressional partners. She also worked at think tanks and had extensive media and political experience in Washington D.C. and South Korea.Soo has been appointed to serve on the Montgomery County Community Development Advisory Committee in the position of Public Representative. She completed Emerging Leaders, an executive education program at Harvard Kennedy School.

Jungmin Lee

Education:  
Political Science and Diplomacy, Pukyong National University (Korea)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Social welfare systems, democratization.

Languages:
English, Korean

Yuan Li

Education:  
TV Production, Communication University of China
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Democratic transition, media and popular culture, civil society, ethnic equality.

Languages:
English, German, Mandarin

Mr. Li serves as radio host/producer at China Radio International based in Beijing. Before joining CRI, Yuan Li worked as Center Manager for the Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy at the Brookings Institution. He is currently also a music critic and session/tour drummer.

John Morrill

Education:  
B.A. Political Science, University of California-Irvine (2006)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Languages:
English, Thai

John is a Content Creator at Agoda. Previously he was Project Assistant at the National Democratic Institute (NDI). 

Liza Prendergast

Education:
B.A. History, The George Washington University (2005)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Democratic transitions, civic education, human rights, foreign assistance, legislative strengthening, constitutions, and youth empowerment.

Languages:
English, French.

Liza currently serves as Deputy Director of Strategy and Business Development at Democracy International. Previously, she served as a Technical Specialist in the Civil Society and Governance Division at World Learning and as Assistant Director of the Washington D.C. office at the Center for Civic Education. She is on the Board of Friends of European Humanities University, a Belarusian university in exile in Lithuania.

Daniel Steiman

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Bucknell University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Israeli-Arab Conflict, Middle Eastern politics.

Languages:
English, Hebrew, Spanish

Daniel works at Shatil, an Israeli NGO for social change. 

Colleen Bickel

Education:
B.A. Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
African development, refugee and humanitarian emergencies.

Languages: English

Colleen is a Democracy Program Officer and Human Resources Associate at FHI360. Previously she was an Assistant Program Officer at the International Republican Institute. 

Deborah Brown

Education:
B.A. Political Science/Human Rights, Barnard College, Columbia University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Electoral systems, civil society in the Middle East.

Languages:
Arabic, English, French

Deborah is currently the first Leo Nevas Human Rights Fellow of the UNA-USA, a program of the United Nations Foundation. In this position she advocates for constructive American engagement with the UN and its UN human rights mechanisms. Before attending Georgetown, she was a Program Reporting Officer for the National Democratic Institute in Beirut, Lebanon and a Program Associate for the International Foundation for Electoral System supporting programs in Europe and Asia. She has served as an international election observer in South Sudan in 2010 and Lebanon in 2009.

Maggie Brown

Education:
B.A. Politics, The Catholic University of America
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Theory, comparative systems, religion and democracy, government and culture.

Languages:
English, French

Maggie is a Program Associate at the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA).

Marcelo Buitron

Education:
B.A. Political Science and Economics, Vassar College
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Transitions from authoritarian rule, political economy, electoral systems and Latin America.

Languages:
English, Italian, Spanish

Marcelo currently works on issues of international development for the World Bank.

Elizabeth Cutler

Education:
B.A. Politics, Occidental College
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Civil society, U.S. foreign policy, foreign aid and democracy assistance, media and politics, campaigns and elections.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Elizabeth is a Project Associate at the Asia Team at DAI.

Osama Eisa

Education:
B.A. Political Science and History, Rochester Institute of Technology
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Advocacy of a proper Islamic democracy and understanding where abstract political theories meet practical reality.

Languages:
Arabic, English, Japanese

Osama is a chaplain at Marymount University.

David Jandura

Education:
B.A. Political Science, North Carolina State University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Electoral institutions, political party systems, the Middle East and North Africa.

Languages:
Arabic, English, French

David Jandura has more than seven years of experience in electoral campaign management, elections research, programming, and observation in conflict-affected environments, including Afghanistan, Libya, and Somaliland. In his current role as Technical Manager for Creative Associates International, he is providing direct technical assistance to Libyan civil society in advocating citizen demands in their country’s constitution drafting process. He served as a core team member in Creative’s observation mission of the Afghanistan 2014 Presidential election audit, rapidly deploying to co-manage a team of 37 observers and drafting the final report for USAID. David has extensive experience with public opinion surveys, research methodology, and project monitoring and evaluation (M&E). David Jandura is currently based in Tunis, Tunisia, providing direct technical assistance to Libyan civil society and constitution drafters, in Libya’s constitution drafting process.  

Mariel McKone Leonard

Education:
B.A. International Relations and Religion, College of William & Mary
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
state-civil society interaction, technology, economic development, sub-Saharan Africa.

Languages:
English, French

Mariel is a Research Assistant, Instrument Design, Evaluation and Analysis (IDEA) Services at Westat.

Zvisinei Sandi

Education:
Political Philosophy, University of Zimbabwe
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
African development and politics, human rights, journalism, democracy promotion.

Languages:
Arabic, English, French, Shona

A Zimbabwean political activist, Zvisinei has been exiled to the United States where she continues to take an interest in African politics and to write widely about on the topic of human rights. She is an independent consultant. 

Meghan Stringer

Education:
B.A. Sociology, Hamilton College (2007)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Women’s empowerment/leadership and behavior change.

Languages:
English, French, Japanese

Meghan serves as a Communication and Development Officer for the European Foundation for Democracy.  Among her previous positions in Brussels, she has worked for PDCI (Partners for Democratic Change International).

Samuel Tadros

Education:
B.A. Political Science, International Relations, The American University in Cairo
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Middle East, Islamism, religious freedom.

Languages:
Arabic, English

Samuel serves as a Research Fellow at the Hudson Institute and is a Professorial Lecturer at SAIS.

Guillermo Vallejo

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Loyola University Chicago
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Human rights and constitutional frameworks.

Languages:
English, Italian, Spanish

From 2007 to 2012, Guillermo worked as a Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He is currently pursuing a JD at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

Lara Alameh

Education:
B.A. Middle East Studies, George Washington University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Interests:
Middle East, accountability, and alternation of power.

Languages:
Arabic, English

Lara is a Senior Fellow at Fundação Luso-Americana (FLAD). Previously she served as the Executive Director of the Safadi Foundation USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a national and strategic vision for Lebanon’s development. She has previously worked as a consultant for a government relations and foreign policy firm whose clients included the United Nations, Middle East NGOs and governments. She has also served as a staffer for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on International Relations.

Deborah Alimi

Education:
B.A. Humanities Studies, Sorbonne (2007)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Languages:
English, French, Spanish

Deborah is a PhD Candidate at the Universite Paris I. Prior to that she was a junior policy analyst at the OECD-DAC Network on Governance (GOVNET).

Denis Cosgrove

Education:
B.A. Politics, The Catholic University of America (2004)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Languages:
English, Italian, Spanish

Denis is a Senior Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton. 

Dylan Diggs

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Johns Hopkins University (2008)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Areas of interest: Program monitoring and evaluation in DRG

Languages: English

Dylan is currently a M&E specialist working as a contractor for pro-telligent/Tetra Tech in the State Department’s Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) bureau. Beforehand, he worked as a M&E professional from 2009-2018 at the International Republican Institute.

Melinda Haring

Education:  
B.A. Political Science, Grove City College
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Interests:
The effectiveness of democracy assistance, the former Soviet Union, US foreign policy, elections, regression, international religious freedom.

Languages:
English, Russian

Melinda Haring is an Associate Scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. A longtime observer of political developments in the Eurasia region, Melinda has worked for Eurasia Foundation, Freedom House, and the National Democratic Institute, where she managed democracy assistance programs in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia. She has served as an international election observer in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. She is a regular contributor to  Foreign Policy’s Democracy Lab and is currently writing a book on the Cold War.

Kitty Kaletsky

Education:
English Literature, Oxford University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Interests:
Political journalism and government.

Languages:
English, French

Kitty works in the film industry in the United Kingdom.

Christopher Knox

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Stetson University (2006)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Languages: English

Christopher is a Payroll Manager at Georgetown University.

Danielle Pearl

Education:
B.A. International Affairs, University of Georgia (2006)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Interests:
State development and political organization in non-state spaces; critical views on state failure; political economy of finance and financial crises; monitoring and evaluation methodologies for development and stabilization programs.

Languages:
English, French, German

Danielle currently serves as a Monitoring & Evaluation Officer for USAID/ASI-East, Kabul/Jalalabad, Afghanistan. She has previouly worked in project management support for USAID governance contracts at DAI and analytical services contracts at Democracy International; election observations with Democracy International (in Afghanistan 2009 as a short term observer), SHARE Foundation (El Salvador 2009, short term observer) and OSCE/ODIHR (United States 2008, administrative support). Danielle has also been a program development volunteer with Amani Africa (in Rwanda 2008), and a Project Assistant for Elections and Political Processes for the National Democratic Institute.

Lindsay Robinson

Education:
B.A. Political Science and International Relations, Dickinson College (2008)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Interests:
African Politics

Languages: English

Lindsay is a Program Officer at the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

Andrea Salerno

Education:
B.A. Management of Public Administrations, Università Commerciale ‘Luigi Bocconi’ (2004)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Languages:
English, Spanish

Andrea is an Operations Officer at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Previously he was a Senior Portfolio Monitoring Associate at the African Development Bank.

Emily Siedlak

Education:
B.A. Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs, Miami University (2008)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Languages:
English, Spanish

Emily is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. Previously she was a Presidential Management Fellow.

Mohammed Al-Ghanim

Education:
B.A. Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies, Tufts University (2008)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Languages:
English, Arabic

Mohammed is a Political Communications and Public Perception Manager in the Office of the Prime Minister of Kuwait.

Ellen Magnarelli

Education:
B.A. Political Science and Government, Le Moyne College (2006)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Languages:
Enlish, French, Italian, Spanish

Ellen is a Management & Program Analyst with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Previously she was a Presidential Management Fellow.

Austan Mogharabi

Education:
B.A. Political Science and Government, Claremont McKenna College (2007)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Languages: English

Austan is a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Ieva Notturno

Education:
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Languages:English

Ieva is a Fellow at the Interactivity Foundation.

Ruici Tio

Education:
B.A. Political Science, The University of Chicago (2005)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Interests:
Social Change Campaigns, Marketing and Communication

Languages:
English, German, Spanish, Indonesian

Ruici is a Director at Kroll South-East Asia. 

Anand Varghese

Education:
B.A. English Literature, Media Studies & Psychology, Christ College, Bangalore, India (2005)
B.A. Journalism & Mass Communication, Arizona State University (2007)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Interests:
Nationalism, ethnic conflict, technological innovation.

Languages:
English, Hindi, Malayalam

Anand Varghese is a Senior Program Specialist in the Center of Innovation: Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). The Center develops strategies for applying science and technology to the challenge of peacebuilding in fragile states, active conflict and post-conflict societies.

Andrew Vasile

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Boston College (2006)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Languages:
English, Spanish

Andrew is a Contracts Specialist at DAI.

Miki Wilkins

Education:
B.A. Government, Georgetown University (2001)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Languages:
English, Arabic, Greek, Spanish, French, Turkish

Miki is a Country Coordinator for South and Central Asia at the U.S. Department of State. Previously, she was a Program Analyst at USAID and a Program Officer at Democracy International. 

Johanna Womer Benjamin

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Boston University (2005)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Languages: English

Johanna is a Senior Business Recruiter for MENA at DAI. Previously she was a Stability Recrutment Team Lead/ International Recruiter, Stability Sector at DAI.

Daniel Adams

Education:
B.A. International Development & Political Science, UC Davis
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2008)

Interests:
Africa, Former Soviet Union, institutional reform, decentralization, economic growth.

Languages:
English, Russian

Danny is currently Deputy Chief of Party at DAI. Prior he served as a Project Manager in the Africa sector at DAI where he originally started in 2010 in the new business team. He has previously worked for ABA Rule of Law Initiative, Open Society Institute, Democracy International, and the California State Assembly. His work currently focuses on projects based in East Africa that support economic growth through institutional reform and private sector capacity building.

Caitlin Helfrich

Education:
B.A. History, Political Science, University of New Hampshire
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2008)

Languages:
English, French

Caitlin is a Foreign Affairs Officer, Office of International Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

Jennifer Hollinger

Education:
B.A. History, Bryn Mawr (2000)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2008)

Languages:
English, Spanish, Portugese

Jennifer is a Senior Transition Advisor for South Sudan and Program Manager at FH 360

Kyle Layman

Education:
B.A. Religion, Wake Forest University (2005)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2008)

Languages: English

Kyle is Chief of Staff for Rep. Dr. Raul Ruiz (California 36th District)

Andrew Mandelbuam

Education:
B.A. Public Policy Studies, Duke University (2003)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2008)

Languages:
English, Arabic, French

Andrew is a Senior Program Officer (Governance) at the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

Christopher Neu 

Education:
B.A. Political Science, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (2005)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2008)

Languages:
English, German, French, Arabic, Hebrew

Christopher is Chief Operating Officer at TechChange: The Institute for Technology & Social Change.

Evan Smith

Education:
B.A. Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia (2005)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2008)

Languages: English

Evan is Director of Operations and Strategy at Democracy International (DI).

Erin Spitzer

Education:
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2008)

Languages: English

Erin is a Grants Manager at the United States Agency for International Development, DRL.