Illuminating the Arts-Policy Nexus 

Eleanor Morgan Albert (WPI, Spring 2010) will graduate from Vassar College with a B.A. in political science and Chinese. She recently finished her political science thesis on the regional applications of Chinese soft power policies, looking at case studies in Asia and Africa, and presenting China's coupling of soft power policy with its foreign policy as a means to disseminate a new development ideology throughout the developing world.  At WPI, she worked on finding key funding prospects, identifying case studies for Susan Benesch’s project on hate speech and genocide, and developing a book project on the use of social media and technology as tools for conflict prevention and reconciliation with Ruthie Ackerman.  After much traveling in both China and throughout Europe, Eleanor plans to return to China following graduation on the Chinese Government Scholarship to study US-China relations and to continue her Mandarin studies.

Richard Armstrong (WPJ, Summer 2012) recently graduated from the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations with an M.A., specializing in international security and foreign policy analysis. Before that he received his B.A. in history and political science from West Virginia University. For his master's research project he looked at the link between military-to-military relations and American influence. Originally from Wales, he's lived in the United States for 7 years, but still doesn't understand the rules of American football. His research interests include the Middle East, defense policy and transnational crime. In his spare time he enjoys reading books on American political history.

Kaitlin Asrow (WPI, Summer 2010) is originally from northern California but currently lives and goes to school in Chicago.  She is interested in international human rights policy and non-profit management.  She did her undergraduate work at Stanford University in International Relations and Art History and is completing her Masters of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.  While at WPI, Kaitlin worked on a variety of research and overall marketing projects.  She worked with Senior Fellow Silvana Paternostro on her work on Fordlandia and South American historical colonization.  Kaitlin also did research for WPI Fellow Susan Benesch with her work on hate speech leading to genocide.  Additionally, she worked on overall marketing and press releases for various WPI events and the World Policy Journal, and started a social media platform using Facebook, Twitter, and other sites to get WPI more involved in the online community.

Audrey Augenbraum (WPI, Summer 2012) is an undergraduate student at Reed College, majoring in International Comparative Policy Studies and History.  Her primary field of interest is water resource management in South Asia.  Previously, Audrey interned with Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO)—an NGO based in Kathmandu, Nepal, which implements community-based initiatives that build and manage sustainable water supply systems in areas with poor access to water.  Audrey is an avid reader, cook, and player of blues music.

Christopher Bartolotta (WPJ, Summer 2012) is a graduate student at the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University where he is specializing in foreign policy analysis and international security. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, the bi-annual academic journal published by the school. His master’s thesis, written this past summer, examined why powerful states fail to win counterinsurgencies. Christopher received his B.A. in history and M.Ed. from Rutgers University. In his spare time he is an avid reader of the classics, and is currently working through the novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Fatima-Zahra Belkady (WPI, Spring 2011). She will graduate in August 2011 with a Masters degree in International Relations from New York University (NYU). Her thesis will be on the International Dimension of the Western Sahara Conflict and its Effects on Moroccan National Security as well as Regional stability. She has specialized in the study of International Security, Peace-building and effects of Domestic Politics on Foreign Policy and Regional Stability in North Africa and the Middle East (MENA). Fatima-Zahra is also President of the Graduate Student Government at NYU and has been actively involved in various committees throughout the university since 2009 to advocate in the interest of Masters and PhD students in the School of Arts and Science. A native of Morocco, she spends her holidays back home. In the past, she has interned in the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Trade and in her spare time as a courtesy continues to translate documents and review presentations that would be used in formal trade negotiations. In the future, Fatima-Zahra hopes to return to her country to use her expertise in service to the Moroccan government.

Dovilas Bukauskas (WPJ, Spring 2012) is an undergraduate Journalism student at Baruch College CUNY with a minor in Anthropology. He hopes to receive his BA this May. He has also served as the News and Opinions editor at The Ticker, Baruch's weekly student-run newspaper. He maintains an interest in a diverse set of media skills, having interned at Premiere Radio and worked as a photographer and videographer for The Ticker. His interest in traveling and working abroad has seen him interning at Lietuvos Žinios as well, a Lithuanian-language national newspaper in Vilnius, Lithuania. His interests include natural photography, computer and environmental sciences, the intersection of anthropology and journalism, music, and new media forms. He is also an avid hiker, traveler, photographer, wood-worker and cook.

Corinne Champilou (WPI, Spring and Summer 2010) hails from France. She holds a BA from the University of Torino (Italy) and is currently completing her Master's Degree in Public Affairs in Sciences Po in Paris. At WPI, she worked with Diana Glassman comparing water consumption across different energy producing technologies. She also collaborated with Susan Benesch on projects aimed at preventing hate speech and genocide in Cote d'Ivoire and Kenya. She has been involved with the organization of several WPI events and coordinated the intern team during media outreach for the World Policy Journal's Summer Issue. She has previous experience with a P.R agency in Montreal and has worked as a trilingual translator.

Tim Chan (WPJ, Fall 2011) will graduate from Columbia University in 2014 and he is intending to major in Political Science-Economics and minor in Philosophy. His areas of interest include comparative politics, human rights, international relations, and economic policies. He is the vice president of academic affairs of Columbia International Relations Council and Association (CIRCA), the biggest non-partisan student group at Columbia University that focuses on international affairs, organizes Model UN conferences, and hosts various speakers’ series. At WPJ, Tim works as an editorial intern and he occasionally writes op-eds on issues related to China, where he originally comes from.

Katherine J. Chen (WPJ, Summer 2009) will graduate from Princeton University in May 2012 with a B.A. in English and a certificate in Creative Writing. Since her editorial internship with WPJ, she has interned with a wide array of national magazines, including Bon Appétit, Poets & Writers, Pilates Style, and Doggie Aficionado. Her work has also appeared on AOL's LemonDrop.com, Yahoo! Shine, Earth911.com, YourTango.com, Web100.com, ChickSpeak.com, Tonic.com, PW.org, The Mantle: A Forum for Progressive Critique, The Beauty Bean, and more. Katherine is currently an editorial intern at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, a poetry reader at The Paris Review, a reader for the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency, and an editor and former Creative Writing Fellow for a growing creative writing organization called PenTales. At Princeton, she is the poetry editor of Nassau Literary Review and co-editor in chief of Prism Magazine, a literary publication devoted to issues of international concern.

Annika Christensen (WPI, Summer 2012) is a rising senior at Barnard College, majoring in American Studies with a minor in Political Science. Her research interests include history, politics, culture, and women's issues in the Western Hemisphere. Annika has interned for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in NYC and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (CA-14) in DC. Annika also studies women's leadership at Barnard's Athena Center. In her free time, she is the manager of a student-run music venue, and enjoys classical singing as well as salsa and swing dancing.      

Samantha Chu (WPJ, Summer 2011) recently graduated Wellesley College with a B.A. in Economics and English. Although her two, seemingly disparate majors have raised many a confused eyebrow, Samantha hopes to apply knowledge of both economics and the written word to the fields of international affairs, communications, and media. She has previously interned with the U.S. Commercial Service and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. After living and studying in China and Denmark, she plans to continue traveling by serving with the Peace Corps in Azerbaijan upon the completion of her editorial internship with World Policy Journal.

J. Max Currier (WPJ, Fall 2009) graduated from Hamilton College (B.A., Government, 2010) where he wrote his senior thesis on economic development in post-war Iraq. Max earned one of the College's research fellowships for summer 2009 to study Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan, and his essay won the College's 2010 social science writing prize. As an editorial assistant at the Journal, Max helped publish the Winter 2010 issue on water scarcity, including developing the new "Up Front" section. Max is especially interested in the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, economic development and trade, civil-military relations, organizational behavior, education policy, and media criticism. He is a member of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy.

Cevat Dargin (WPI, Summer 2011) is a Master's Candidate in the Political Science graduate program at Brooklyn College, CUNY. He is writing his Master's thesis on the relationship between water resources and politics in Turkey and China. His main inquiry in the thesis is to understand how politics shapes natural resources and vice versa. His other areas of interest include comparative politics and political economy; human rights; politics of minorities, gender, and violence; the Middle East, East Asia and Africa. During his studies at Brooklyn College he assisted a research project on women’s representation, decision making and empowerment in democratic governance in the Commonwealth political landscape. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations in 2007 from Bogazici (Bosporus) University, Istanbul, Turkey, he, by law, served in Turkish army and then worked in a private bank as an Assistant Proposition Development Specialist. He speaks English, Turkish and Kurdish. Though he is currently dealing with the most complicated business on earth by running a restaurant in Manhattan; after getting his masters degree in the summer of 2011, he is planning to pursue an academic career in political science. His second option is to work for the UN. If none of these options works, he will go back to his little village in Eastern Turkey to live as a farmer in peace and silence.

Anjali De Zoysa (WPI, Summer 2012) is a rising senior at Bard College, NY pursuing a B.A. in Economics. Her primary areas of interest are macro-economic policy and international finance in South and East Asia. She is presently working as a research advocacy intern and previously interned at UNDP where she contributed to the knowledge management portfolio of the Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Management Unit by developing a video for an "Integrated Strategic Environment Assessment" for post conflict regions in Northern Sri Lanka. Anjali also ran the NY half marathon this spring and raised over $1000 in aid of the National MS society. This summer she was the recipient of a Community Action Award from the Bard College Center for Civic Engagemnt for her internship at WPI. In her spare time she enjoys playing water polo, reading and cooking.

Rory Donnelly (WPI, Fall 2008) did research on climate and environment issues while interning WPI. Rory is interested in Middle Eastern history and politics, especially those of Turkey, where he studied abroad in spring 2008. His interests also include American foreign policy, ethnic conflict and reconciliation, transitional justice, and energy politics. He received his B.A. in History from Columbia University in May 2009.

Elizabeth Dovell  (WPI, Fall 2010) will graduate from SUNY New Paltz in May 2011 with a B.A. in international relations. Her area interests include the Middle East, conflict resolution, women's rights, and refugee resettlement. During her time as an undergraduate, she was founder and president of the New Paltz Human Rights Club, vice-president of the Political Science Club, and president of New Paltz's Amnesty International chapter. In her final semester as Amnesty International president, she met with Congressman Maurice Hinchey to discuss the issue of maternal mortality. She participated in Model European Union for two years, traveling to Limerick, Ireland in January 2010 for the annual conference. She has interned at the Brookhaven Democratic Committee, the offices of Suffolk County Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher, and The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. Elizabeth is currently interning at World Policy Institute while taking night classes as part of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program in New York City. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, reading, and music, and plans to attend graduate school in Europe next year.

Almudena Fernández (WPI, Spring 2008) is a Bachelor in Arts in Economics and Anthropology from the University of Chicago and holds a Masters in Public Affairs from Columbia University. Previously she worked at the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, based in Lima, Peru, where she participated in the diagnosis of the informal economy of various countries such as Guatemala and Tanzania. As an intern with the World Policy Institute, Almudena contributed with the Trade, Equity, and Development: Forging a New Consensus initiative.           

• Almudena is now an economic analyst for the United Nations Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Nathan Frandino (WPJ, Fall 2011) joined the World Policy Journal after reporting in Santiago, Chile, for the summer. There, he reported on the ongoing student protest movement and the first anniversary of the San Jose mine collapse for The Santiago Times. Now back in New York, he's finishing his third and final semester at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism where he will earn an M.A. in journalism in Dec. 2011. He's interested in a variety of regions and topics, including Latin America, immigration, education, and human rights. Nathan is also an avid foodie and hopes to return to South America in 2012.

Yaffa Fredrick (WPJ, Summer 2010) is a senior at Wellesley College, double majoring in Political Science and Cinema/Media Studies. After returning from her junior year abroad at Oxford University, where she studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, she applied her knowledge of a globalized political landscape at WPI. Researching potential magazine contributors from around the world, while working to maintain and write for the daily World Policy Journal news blog, Yaffa put the skills she had acquired in three years of college to work. With one more year left until graduation, Yaffa is trying to soak in the remainder of her undergraduate experience, frolicking about Boston, Starbucks pumpkin spice latte in hand.

Ryan French (WPI, Fall 2010) graduated summa cum laude from the University of Georgia in May 2009 with a degree in International Affairs. French was active in several campus organizations, working as a writer and editor for the student-run news magazine, StandUp, and serving on the executive board of the Georgia-China Alliance. Since graduation, French interned at The Carter Center in Atlanta in early 2010 and traveled to Khartoum in April to assist with the Center's observation mission for the Sudanese elections. He has also worked in refugee resettlement with the International Rescue Committee in Decatur, Georgia. In fall of 2010, French did research for the World Policy Institute on ethnic conflict, U.S. civil-military relations in Afghanistan, and U.S. defense spending while taking night classes in security studies as part of the Bard College Globalization and International Affairs program. He also wrote for the World Policy Blog on new thinking in counter-terrorism strategy and Pakistani geopolitics. In his free time, French enjoys exercise, the outdoors, and studying computer science.

Micheline Frias (WPI, Spring 2010) graduated from Brandeis University in May 2007 with a double major in Anthropology and International & Global Studies and minor in Journalism. During her academic career, Frias served as a community advisor for first year students, supervisor for the Student Information Center, and researcher and translator for an Innocence Project. Frias studied abroad in Morocco where she learned about the culture and politics of the region and cultivated her passion for the Middle East. She was recognized nationally for the prestigious Posse Foundation leadership scholarship, became a Fulbright finalist, and received additional awards for her commitment to service. After graduation, Frias spent more than a year overseas in Dubai, UAE and Rome, Italy working in the fields of public affairs and marketing. Upon returning to the USA in 2009, Frias interned for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom's UN Office and later the World Policy Institute. Frias spends her free time teaching Arabic, helping the homeless, and staying abreast of international issues, and she plans to apply for a Masters in International Affairs in fall 2011 to study international development and human rights in the Middle East.

• Micheline currently works on the multicultural strategy team for Starcom MediaVest, a global media agency.

Joshua Hastey (WPJ, Summer 2012) is a MA candidate at the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University, specializing in International Security and Foreign Policy Analysis. He earned his BA in Political Science and International Relations from William Jewell College. Joshua has studied and worked in the United States, Paraguay, and South Korea, and is currently deputy editor-in-chief at The Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations. His research interests focus on border and resource security, war termination, and causes of war..

Joshua Hedglin (WPI, Spring and Summer 2011). Prior to joining WPI he was conducting research for the Executive Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Washington, DC on Iran's nuclear program and electoral politics in Iraq. His areas of expertise are the Middle East and AFPAK, focusing mainly on conflict resolution. Joshua has an MSc in Political Philosophy from the London School of Economics and a BA in Political Science from Westminster College in Fulton, MO.

Taylor Hom (WPJ, Fall 2011) will graduate from New York University in December of 2012. Taylor is a presidential honors scholar in the College of Arts and Science studying journalism and political economy. Her areas of interest include the Middle East and Africa with a focus on human rights. She is also studying Arabic. This past summer she completed an internship with Amnesty International in New York. During the summer of 2010 she lived in South Africa doing journalism and editorial work for the non-profit Grow South Africa reporting on social justice developments within the country. She is the Vice President of Humanus; the NYU Journal of Human Rights. Taylor also freelances and blogs for online publications and aspires to become a war correspondent or foreign reporter based in the Middle East or Africa. Taylor is currently interning with the World Policy Journal while taking classes at New York University.

Tanushree Dutta Isaacman (WPI, Spring and Summer 2010) is a Master's Candidate in the Graduate Program for International Affairs at the New School writing her Master's thesis on collective ownership of natural resources. At WPI, she led the national media campaign for a new book written by Senior Fellow William Powers. She also worked on two research projects, one comparing water consumption across different energy generating technologies with Diana Glassman, and the second examining microfinance and microequity with Bill Bohnett. Passionate about health and environment issues especially in the context of poverty, she worked as a Community Health Specialist in rural Nicaragua as a Peace Corps Volunteer, designing, implementing and evaluating health programs, all of it in Spanish. She's worked on World Health Organization and Africare projects, and taught English and literacy at the New American Welcome Center in Harlem. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology & Society at Cornell University.

Hinna Jafri (WPI, 2009) graduated from New York University in 2008 with a dual degree in Political Science and Middle Eastern/Islamic Studies. Upon graduating, she began introducing new media technologies to non-profits. In 2009, she joined WPI as a Fundraising and Development intern during which she had the privilege of helping WPI build its own new media efforts and also co-managed a proposal alongside WPI Associate Fellow, Shaun Randol, for push.pull — a project aimed at helping artists facilitate discussion utilizing blogging and social networking. This past summer, she partook in the Digital Methods Research, a program coordinated by the New Media department at the University of Amsterdam which investigates societal/cultural conditions and changes with the internet. Since then, she's shifted her focus towards the arts and is currently a Communications intern at Creative Time, an organization that produces public art and installations.

Mirai Kirsanovs (WPI, Fall 2012) is pursuing an undergraduate of International Studies, majoring in Chinese language at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. She spent much of last year abroad studying and working in China. Her previous internship with Thirst, Beijing, sparked an interest in the intersection between water and economy.  She has a keen involvement with RMIT’s Chinese programs, acting as Vice President in the Australia China Youth Association and led an RMIT team to Tianjin as President of the Young Australian Ambassador Delegation. In her spare time, Mirai enjoys playing & watching live music and her latest outdoor hobby- rock climbing. .  

Ashley Knotts (WPJ, Winter/Spring 2010-2011) has worked as an Editorial Assistant for the World Policy Journal. She graduated from Seton Hall University in May 2011 with a Masters Degree in International Relations. Her specializations include global health policy and conflict management. In 2004, Ashley graduated from the University of North Carolina with a B.S. in Psychology. After graduation she served two years as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in the Republic of Moldova. Since 2009, she has worked as a Senior Editor on the John C. Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy. Last summer Ashley was awarded the Salgo Noren Scholarship to spend the summer in Dakar, Senegal, researching health security indicators in sub-Saharan African countries for the human rights organization, Tostan. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, skiing, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.

Janek Kubik (WPJ, Summer 2012) is a graduate student at the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy at Seton Hall in South Orange, NJ, where he is specializing in conflict resolution and human right's law. He got his BA at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, where he majored in political science. He is also an associate editor for the Whitehead Journal at Seton Hall, and has had other previous internship experience with the Rush Holt for Congress campaign in New Jersey as well as various other political and non-profit organizations. He is currently working on his masters thesis on deciphering the connection between GDP growth and a country's corruption ranking. Aside from the world of politics and international relations, he is also an avid music lover, and you can find him most weekends at your local venues watching the local musical acts on stage.  

Nick Lall (WPI, Summer 2012) recently received his BA in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies from Columbia University. His areas of focus are education policy, sustainability in business and South Asian affairs. Prior to WPI, Nick worked at the Eurasia Center as an event coordinator, bringing together small businesses interested in doing socially responsible work internationally. He also has worked at AMB Consult LLC, assisting a banker in securing funding for a French basketball arena, and as a reporter for Imprint TV. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, making videos and playing sports. 

Harry Won Seok Lee (WPJ, Summer 2011) ill graduate from NYU with a B.A. in Political Sciences. His area of interests include East Asia, the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy in those regions, and political economy of development. Before coming to WPJ, he has reported for Washington Square News, a student-organized press at NYU. He has also been part of a student-organized humanitarian organization called Freedoms 4 North Korea, a club devoted to raising funds and awareness on North Korean refugees, and he will start serving as co-president from September. At WPJ, he is working as an editorial intern. After graduating from NYU, he hopes to  pursue a career in journalism. But if that gig doesn't work out, he will get a dish washing job and climb the culinary ladder. 

Vivian Lee (WPJ, Fall 2010) is a writer, blogger, and photographer. She graduated from the University of California, Irvine in March 2009 with a degree in Literary Journalism and History. Since graduating, Vivian worked at a gallery educating children on the importance of art, freelanced for various Internet publications on music, food, and international fashion, and tutored English literature to low-income high school students. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Non-Fiction) at The New School in New York. She divides her time between Los Angeles, New York, and Hong Kong. Vivian was an editorial intern for the World Policy Journal.

Michael S. Lerner (WPJ, Spring 2012) will graduate from NYU in June 2013 with an M.A. in International Politics and Business, as part of an accelerated BA/MA combined program. He is an avid traveler, and as an undergraduate he spent 5 months studying abroad in Argentina in the Fall of 2010, where he improved his Spanish to an advanced conversational level. He also traveled to Israel on an extended study trip and did environmental volunteering in Portugal and humanitarian volunteering in Jamaica. He is very interested in war, foreign policy, intelligence, political-economic structures, and ideologies. Michael is an enthusiastic reader of history and is a staunch supporter of qualitative studies over quantitative studies. He has studied Russia, Europe during the the two world wars, Argentina, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as the US and its foreign policy. He closely follows world news and is a big fan of contemporary documentaries on warfare, drones, natural resources, and other world events. He did a travel journalism internship for Rollinglobe.com while in Argentina, and in New York he recently worked as a foreign developments intern for the NGO Energy-Vision, writing about alternative energy projects in Canada, Sweden, and Norway. Michael is currently interning at World Policy Journal while taking a full courseload at NYU. He plans on traveling more in the near future.

Mark Loyka (WPI, Spring 2012) is a research, communications and development intern at WPI. He will graduate from the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University in December 2011 with a M.A. in diplomacy and international relations. Mark’s area interests include Latin America and the Caribbean, conflict management, poverty, inequality and foreign policy. His master’s research project examines income inequality in Latin America, specifically the Southern Cone region. He previously interned at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington, DC. Mark received his B.A. in History from Elon University.

Neha Madhusoodanan (WPJ, Summer 2012) is a rising junior at Tufts University (A'14) majoring in International Relations with a concentration in Finance and Economics. Her primary fields of research are labor migration and international macroeconomic policy. Previously, Neha has interned at the Embassy of Uruguay in New Delhi. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Tufts' South Asian literary and arts magazine, SALAAM. Neha will be studying in Barcelona during the upcoming fall semester. Her extracurricular interests include world music, dance, and, of course, food.

José Martínez-Flores (WPJ, Spring 2012) will be graduating in May from the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University, where he specializes in Foreign Policy Analysis and Europe. His research interests include Regionalism, relations within the European Union, Latin American politics, American foreign policy, and nationalism. José received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico. Previously, José interned at Democracy Now! as part of its Social Media and Online Outreach team. He was also an Associate Editor for Content at the Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy. At the moment, he is working on his master's thesis; examining whether or not EU Accession agreements have an effect on political corruption in prospective states. Back when he was enjoying the perpetually warm climate of Puerto Rico, José worked for AIESEC, an international student-led organization that promotes cultural exchanges. In his spare time, José is an avid reader as well as an explorer of the urban landscape of New York City.  

Erin McInerney (WPI) is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU. Her academic concentration focuses on international policy analysis, with particular areas of interest including human rights, immigration, and political development. Erin recently completed a graduate internship program with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. She completed her undergraduate degree at NYU, where she double majored in history and politics. Erin is a member of the Wagner International Public Service Association as well as the Junior Professional League of the International Women's Association. She also enjoys cooking, watching documentaries, and playing tennis.

Betsy Mead graduated with A.B. Hons in History and Literature from Harvard College in May 2010. She focused on France and Russia and produced a magna-plus graded thesis on the influence of French author George Sand on the Russian nineteenth century female writing tradition. Betsy is currently interning at theWorld Policy Journal, taking night classes at New York University in Finance and Economics, and working part time for a tech start up as a Marketing Associate. While at Harvard, Betsy traveled extensively in Eastern Europe and worked with nonprofits in Prague and Moscow. When she has free time, Betsy likes to cook, read obscure Russian literature and write about anything and everything that strikes her fancy.

Julie Mellin (WPJ, Summer 2011) will graduate from The New School with an M.A. in international affairs (concentration in conflict and security) in May 2012. Her interest areas include theories of postnational citizenship and identity, private military and security companies in post-apartheid South Africa, HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, and evaluating the effectiveness of international aid. Before starting graduate school, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana (2008-2010), where she worked to build local organizational capacity and design and implement HIV/AIDS prevention and youth life skills programs. A northern California native, she graduated from Santa Clara University in 2007 with a B.S. in psychology. Julie is currently interning at World Policy Journal, taking summer courses for her graduate program, serving as a volunteer mentor at Urban Assembly Media High School, and working part-time. She enjoys traveling, hot yoga, baking, wine bars, reading, and live music, and plans to figure out what to do with her life at some point in the indefinite future.

Pauline Moullot (WPJ, Fall 2011) is a student at the Institute of Journalism of Bordeaux Aquitaine (Ijba), France. She will graduate in 2013. Before the World Policy Journal she interned at several French newspaper. La Charente Libre, a local newspaper, La Croix and L'Humanite. She's interested in politics and international relations, especially within the European union. She loves literature and will move to California in January 2012. She'll study literary journalism at UCI thanks to an educational abroad program.

Samuel Mueller (WPI, Winter/Spring 2008-2009) is currently obtaining his PhD in politics at the New School for Social Research, and was a research assistant at the World Policy Institute.  His studies and work focus on comparative politics and political theory; Turkish politics and culture; Islam; nationalism; and macro-violence.  He has held researching and teaching positions at Humboldt University, the Social Science Research Center - Berlin and the Berlin Risk Institute, and he obtained his Diplom (equivalent to M.A.) in Social Sciences (politics and sociology) from Humboldt University, Berlin in 2007.

Yelena Niazyan (WPJ, Summer 2012) graduated with honors from Wesleyan University, with a major in Russian & Eastern European Studies, and a certificate in International Relations. Her work experience includes time at Memorial Human Rights Center in Moscow, internships at Russian American Chamber of Commerce in the USA and Ugly Duckling Presse, an independent publisher, as well as editorial work at Wesleyan University Press. She is interested in the former Soviet states, transnationalism, corruption, and wrote her senior year thesis on the post-modern Russian émigré author Vassily Aksyonov. Yelena is an avid reader of fiction and was the editor-in-chief of The Hangman’s Lime, her university’s poetry journal. .

Hannah Oppenheimer (WPJ, Fall 2010) is an undergraduate at New York University, majoring in Cultural Anthropology, and a Reynolds Scholar in social entrepreneurship. In 2010, Hannah was a director for Of Rags NYC, a fair-trade fashion organization that employs women in the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana, and plans to employ homeless women in a new shelter in Queens, NY. Meanwhile, Hannah served as a research assistant for the World Policy Journal and as a writer for Bridge Coaching Institute, specifically working on Dr. Ellen McGrath's upcoming book, CORE 4 For Business. Previously, Hannah has conducted cultural anthropological field work with East Village skateboarders and interned with Millennium Art, an organization that creates art installations in conjunction with the UN Millennium Development Goals. In her free time, Hannah snowboards, bakes, and writes snail mail letters to everyone she misses.

Cameron Parsons (WPJ, Summer 2011) will graduate from Brown University in May 2014 with an A.B in International Relations and Latin American Studies. His areas of study include U.S foreign policy, international human rights law, and political and economic development. He is as an Associate Editor with the Brown Journal of World Affairs (BJWA), a semi-annual publication produced at Brown University and published in over 70 countries, and Managing Editor of the Brown Human Rights Report (BHRR), a start-up online journal of human rights. At WPJ, Cameron is working as an editorial intern. Originally from Boston, Cameron is an avid hiker, runner, and rock-climber who spends much of his time in Vermont. He is conversational in Spanish, and plans to pursue an advanced degree in government after graduation.

Valentine Pasquesoone (WPJ, Fall 2011) will graduate from Sciences Po Graduate School of Journalism (Paris) in July 2012, with a specialization in web journalism. Her areas of interest include society news (immigration, religion, minority issues) in France and the U.S, as well as women’s rights and new media. She studied political science and sociology at the Institute for Political Studies in Lille (France), where she wrote a research thesis on French and American Muslim new media. She also spent a year as an exchange student at American University, in Washington D.C. During her time abroad, she volunteered for the International Affairs Forum, the Center for International Relations’ online journal, studied communication, international relations and journalism. She then interned for a local newspaper, La Voix du Nord, Radio France International and several online publications in France (Libération.fr, Rue89, 20minutes.fr). Valentine is currently interning at the World Policy Journal before finishing her master’s in journalism in Paris. She enjoys visiting new cities, eating ethnic foods and reading.

Anton Petrov (WPI, Summer 2008) is a law student at the Free University of Berlin. Born in Bulgaria, but raised in Germany, he commenced his law studies in Berlin in 2006, and spent the Spring 2008 semester at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Anton's academic focus is on public international law, and aspects of human rights and transitional justice in particular. He has gained practical experience as research assistant for Prof. Gustafson at UConn and at the Social Science Research Council in New York City, as well as an intern at the German Federal Ministry of Justice. In 2009, Anton interned with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

Bharathi Radhakrishnan (WPI, Summer 2008) is a graduate of Brandeis University and holds an MA in Politics with a specialization in International Relations from New York University. After completing her graduate program focusing on conflict studies in South Asia, Bharathi worked in Sri Lanka with a local NGO conducting program development and research. Her work focused on relief, reconstruction, and development projects in Sri Lanka's Northern Province for internally displaced persons both in IDP camps and in resettled villages. Bharathi also served as a foreign observer for the 2010 Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka in the district of Kandy. She is also a contributing author of “Project Palestinian Enterprise,” a report published by New York University discussing the importance of economic development to the Middle East peace process, and has worked at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, Amnesty International USA, and on international development projects in Ecuador and Zambia.

• Bharathi is currently a research assistant for the MARO Project at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.

Saim Saeed (WPI, Winter/Spring 2010-2011) will graduate from Bard College in May 2013 with a B.A in Political Studies and Philosphy. His area of interest includes South Asia, America’s War on Terror and political philosophy. Saim is the leader and Head Delegate of the Bard Model United Nations Club and leads the inter-collegiate team as well, winning multiple awards at conferences in Yale, Georgetown, Northeastern and Five Colleges MUN at Mount Holyoke College. He is also the current Managing Editor of Bard Politik, Bard’s bi-annual journal on politics and international affairs. This summer, he will be working at The News, a leading English language daily in Pakistan. Saim has interned at World Policy Institute while take evening classes as part of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program in New York City.

Adam Scholl (WPJ, Fall 2012) is a junior at Bard College, majoring in politics and international relations. Before working at WPJ, Adam interned at the White House, where he worked as a writer in the First Lady's office. He has also interned for Walter Russell Mead at The American Interest, worked as Field Director on a County Council campaign in Maryland, and spent 17 months running then-Senator Barack Obama’s national high school outreach program in 2007-08. Adam plays banjo in a string band, composes electronic music, and loves reading and mountains.

Pooja Shethji (WPI, Summer 2011) is currently pursuing a Bachelor's in Political Science at Yale University, where her academic interests include migration and diasporic communities, public policy, and international organizations. Outside the classroom, Pooja has been a lobbying captain for the Yale College Democrats, working on statewide issues such as in-state tuition for undocumented students and education reform. Before coming to WPI, she interned with Demos's Economic Opportunity Program and the Eagleton Institute of Politics. Pooja enjoys music, contemporary literature, and coconut water.

Caroline Soussloff (WPJ, Summer 2010) is a junior at Brown University, concentrating in Political Science with a particular focus on international politics, immigration and education. Next semester she will pursue these interests at L’Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris, France. Outside of school, she has worked extensively with the refugee communities of New York City and Providence, RI as an English teacher. At WPJ, Caroline assisted with the Summer 2010 Global Health and the Fall 2010 Global Canon issues. In addition, she contributed daily to World Policy Blog.

Caroline Stauffer (WPI/WPJ, Spring 2009) graduated from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs in May 2010 and spent six months reporting from Mexico City with Reuters. Before graduate school, Caroline worked for the nonprofit Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring Project. She worked on WPI’s Hispaniola Dialogue project and wrote for the World Policy Blog as an intern. She is particularly interested in stories involving migration and refugees, technology and international development, and globalization and emerging markets.

• Caroline works for Thomson Reuters in Lima, Peru, reporting on economic and general news.

Ines Tamaddon (WPJ, Summer 2012) is presently working as an editorial intern. A Spanish major and International Studies minor at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, Ines' areas of interest are Middle Eastern Affairs, government and foreign policy, and Spanish language and literature. She is also an active writer and the Managing Editor for the HerCampus online magazine branch at Rhodes. Recently, Ines spent a semester abroad in Sevilla, Spain, where she studied the Arabic and Islamic influence on Spanish culture. In her spare time, Ines enjoys live music, cooking and making jewelry.

Seth Walder (WPJ, Summer 2010) is a government major and visual arts minor as part of the Class of 2011 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Seth is the co-editor in chief of The Bowdoin Orient, Bowdoin's campus newspaper. For the magazine, Seth mainly worked on finding artists to highlight for the Global Canon issue, though he worked on the Global Health issue as well. Seth also created a podcast for WPI, World Policy On Air. Upon graduation, Seth hopes to pursue a career in journalism -- and sports journalism more specifically if he can have his way.

Alice Wang (WPI, Summer 2013) is pursuing her B.A. in political science at Amherst College and a 5 college certificate in international relations. Her areas of interest are political theory, U.S. foreign policy, U.S.-East Asian relations, and the intersection between art politics. She is researching for her senior thesis applying critical theory to the political dissidence of the Chinese contemporary artist Ai Wei Wei. She plans on pursuing a law degree, with a focus on criminal law and human rights law, and practicing in the public sector. Her work experience includes a research internship at the Center for Governmental Studies, a nonpartisan political thinktank with a focus on governance, and a legal internship at the Office of the San Francisco District Attorney. Alice studied abroad at the University College of London in Fall 2011 and took the opportunity to Couchsurf throughout Europe. She is fluent in Mandarin and enjoys figure drawing, yoga, and dancing.

Bruno Werneck (WPI, Summer 2011) is a member of the Class of 2013 at Amherst College pursuing a B.A. in Political Science. His areas of interest include international relations and political economy, Middle Eastern studies, Latin American studies, and Islamic studies. Bruno is of Brazilian descent, fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and is working glacially towards proficiency in Arabic. He works at the World Policy Institute as a research assistant. 

Eleanor West (WPJ, Spring 2011) graduated with Honors in English Literature from Bowdoin College in May 2010. Her honors project focused on Vladimir Nabokov’s use of space in Lolita, Ada or Ardor, and Pale Fire. While at Bowdoin, Eleanor was a co-editor of Noise, an arts and literary magazine. She also concentrated on photography and continues to take photographs and blog. Since graduating, Eleanor has worked in a contemporary art gallery in Maine and assisted in a digital photography lab in New York. She is currently interning at the World Policy Journal and at a publishing house. Eleanor has traveled extensively in Europe and South America, and took her most recent trip to Iceland narrowly missing the volcanic eruption. 

Carolin Wiedemann (WPI, Fall 2010) studied at Sorbonne University Paris and at the University of Hamburg where she recently graduated with a master's degree in journalism and communication as well as in sociology. During her studies she reported for various media outlets such as the Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin and Der Freitag. She has also worked in AIDS and HIV education in Togo and is a member of the international "Humanity in Action" network. In fall 2010, Carolin interned for the World Policy Institute in New York and for freeDimensional (freedimensional.org) while working on her Ph.D.

Desmond Chi Hang Wong  (WPI, Summer 2011) will graduate from the University of Hong Kong in May 2012 with a Bachelor in Social Science majoring in political science and law. His area interests include political philosophy, human rights, international relations in East Asia, and the interaction Sino-American relations. He actively participates in various movements on advocating students’ political awareness in Hong Kong. As the unique history and political environment in Hong Kong, he hopes to facilitate his expertise in solving the socio-political issues in Hong Kong in service with the government. Beside political science, Desmond is a huge supporter of soccer and field hockey and spends most of his time on them. Desmond is currently working at World Policy Institute in New York City and he plans to attend graduate school in political science in Europe after his graduation. 

Stephanie Yoon (WPJ, Summer 2011) recently graduated from New York University with an M.S. in Global Affairs, with a dual concentration in International Relations and International Law.  She spent her final semester writing her graduate thesis on the steps to reunification between North and South Korea, focusing on liberal and constructivist International Relations theories as methods to implement a successful reconciliation process.  She also participated in the U.N. program in Geneva, Switzerland, where she learned about the intricacies of the roles played by the UNDP, World Trade Organization, and other related NGOs in global development efforts.   Before interning at the World Policy Institute, Stephanie drafted speeches for the Kyrgyz-North America Trade Council, including the one for the Kyrgyz Republic’s first female Head-of-State.  She believes that international efforts are necessary in order to solve world issues, such as environmental sustainability, poverty, and world hunger, and particularly views commerce as a useful tool in the field of diplomacy.  She hopes to be an international trade lawyer someday. 

Alan Yuhas (WPJ, Fall 2011) graduated from Amherst College in May 2011 with a B.A. in English and Russian. His interests range from literature, language, and international relations, particularly Russian/Eurasian, English, and Latin American studies. In 2010 he studied in the U.K. at King’s College London, followed by several months at the Bard-Smolny Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia; he speaks Spanish and Russian. Alan’s thesis was on Pushkin and Nabokov, and he is especially interested in the intersection of media, art, and culture in foreign affairs. He is currently an intern with WPJ and Skyhorse Publishing, and will be interning for Harper’s in the spring of 2012. He enjoys rugby, piano, and good books. 

Lu Yang (WPI, Summer 2011) recently obtained her Master’s Degree of Law in University of Hong Kong in 2011. She holds a LLB from University of Shenzhen and got the lawyer’s qualification in mainland China after graduation.  Her area of study includes legal system of civil law and common law, human rights, animal welfare, intellectual property, corruption in Chinese perspective. After joining the Chinese Communist Party in 2008, she found her interest in international human rights policy and concerns about domestic human rights’ issue. Lulu speaks English, Japanese, Mandarin and Cantonese. Besides, she enjoys travelling, doing calligraphy and playing the piano. After the internship, she will be back to China and pursue a career in legal professions as being a public procurator is her dream. If it doesn’t come true, she will make herself a good housewife and foster her child to do so.

Michael Zelenko (WPJ, Fall 2012) is a freelance writer and editor currently applying to Master's programs in Journalism and International Relations. A recent transplant from San Francisco, Michael holds a BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz  in English and his professional experience includes being the Senior Editorial Assistant and John Wiley & Sons publishing and an Assistant Editor at McSweeney's publishing. His writing has appeared in California Northern, the San Francisco Public Press, The Reykjavik Grapevine, TheRumpus.net, Voice of Witness: Out of Exile and others. His interests include post-Soviet development in Eastern Europe, macroeconomic policy and refugee issues. Outside of work, he is an avid reader and cyclist, having pedaled his way through much of Europe.

Valeria Zhavoronkina (WPI, Winter 2008-2009) graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Economics and French and Francophone Studies in 2009.  Highlights of her undergraduate career include enriching her palette of cultural knowledge with Columbia's core curriculum, studying at Sciences Po and the Sorbonne her junior year, writing for the Columbia Daily Spectator, and assisting with research at the Columbia Business School.  She also worked at the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, the Harriman Institute for Russian Studies, and New York City Councilmember Daniel Garodnick's office.  As an intern at World Policy Institute, she assisted with administrative tasks, research, and events.

• Valeria joined the Eurasia Group's Europe practice as an associate in 2009.

Annie Yang Zhou (WPI, Spring and Summer 2011) brings more than four years of financial services and non-profit experience to WPI to pursue her interest in U.S. foreign and economic policy on East Asia. Most recently she was an associate at a quantitative hedge fund within Neuberger Berman (formerly Lehman Brothers Asset Management) responsible for client services and business development. Prior to Neuberger, she was an analyst at MetLife Investments conducting derivatives research and facilitating trading activities. Annie is actively involved in a number of non-profit organizations relating to U.S.-China relations and development. She is a Director of the Board and Co-Director of Media and Public Relations for the Chinese Finance Association and has planned 4 annual conferences and numerous events connecting professionals, policy makers and academics who are interested in financial and economic progress in China. She is Co-Director of Development for the Rural China Education Foundation, responsible for fundraising and event planning and has traveled to a rural village to teach science and English to grade school students. Annie graduated cum laude from the George Washington University and is currently applying to graduate programs in international relations and public policy.