Spring 2022 Young Global Professionals

Atlantic Council Human Resources

Aw is a senior at Georgetown University studying human science. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Aw a was an innovation intern for the Georgetown University Medical School’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She then became director of personnel of the Students of Georgetown, Inc. (known as The Corp) which is an entirely student-run non-profit organization on Georgetown University’s campus. She plans to further her expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion and gain experience in the human capital industry.

Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs

Balla is a rising senior at Virginia Tech where she is double majoring in national security and foreign affairs and international public policy and minoring in Arabic. She is very interested in social, political, and economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly molded by her Sudanese American identity. Her experiences in Sudan, especially following the 2019 revolution, sparked her passion for the socio-economic development of her country, and led her to organize local protests to raise awareness for the revolution. Her primary fields of interest lie in international organizations and global governance, as well as global development. On campus, Balla is heavily involved with the Black Cultural Center and the Coalition for Refugee Resettlement. In her free time, she loves to read, listen to new R&B music, and cook for her friends and family.

GeoEconomics Center

Busch is a recent graduate of the George Washington University where she studied international affairs and Arabic, completing her BA with summa cum laude honors. Prior to participating in the Young Global Professionals program, she worked as an intern for the US embassy in Riyadh in its economic section and researched the progress of the Saudi Vision2030 plan in achieving economic growth and diversification. As an intern with the US Trade Representative’s press office, she developed an interest in the tools and challenges of economic statecraft. Sophia hopes to continue to conduct data-focused research on global economic trends, particularly relating to women’s participation in the labor force. She likes to spend her free time in the dance studio, having danced throughout college as a member of GW Balance.

Global Energy Center

Cassidy is a recent graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he studied science, technology and international affairs with a focus on energy policy. Previously, he interned with the US Department of State and US House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources. A native of upstate New York, his main interests include grid-decarbonization strategies, energy security, and sustainable finance. In his free time, Cassidy enjoys watching films and visiting national parks.

Global China Hub

Chao is a recent graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in international affairs with a concentration in international politics. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, she worked at the Taipei City Government, Mayor’s Office for External Affairs as an international affairs intern. Most recently, she worked at the Brookings Institution, John L. Thornton China Center as a research intern. Chao is originally from Taipei, Taiwan.

Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center

Cuppy is a senior at the University of South Carolina, where she is pursuing degrees in biological sciences and global studies with a concentration in global health. She is particularly interested in researching the relationship between the environment and human health. She completed a summer research fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina where she developed an R package to consolidate geographic social determinant of health data. She also recently returned from a semester in Geneva, Switzerland where she studied global health and development policy. She is an intern with the Sustainable Carolina Leadership Program and a volunteer at a local free medical clinic. Cuppy is currently working on her senior thesis using geographic information system mapping to study the correlation between minority populations, toxic-release site locations, and public-health outcomes in South Carolina. In her free time, Cuppy enjoys crafting, playing soccer, reading, and practicing new languages.

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Dickinson is a graduate student at Georgetown University concentrating in intelligence. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a consultant for the US Department of Homeland Security. More recently, she has worked for Facebook as a security analyst intern, the Center for Security and Emerging Technology as a research assistant studying harmful impacts of artificial intelligence, and for Giant Oak helping to train their machine learning-based software. She received her BA in psychology from Georgetown University in 2019. Ingrid is interested in open-source investigations and the impact of emerging technology on international security and humanitarian conflicts. She is attempting (and struggling) to learn Russian, and in her free time, she enjoys hiking, camping, and playing volleyball.

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Dougall will attend the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs in the fall 2022 to earn a master’s degree in international affairs. She also aims to earn a concentration in international security policy and a specialization in technology, media, and communications. She is currently in the final semester of her master’s degree program in political science at California State University Long Beach. Before joining the Atlantic Council, Dougall completed an internship with the World Affairs Council where she published work on the Biden administration’s foreign-policy agenda and the global rise of illiberal democracies. Recently, she presented one of her graduate papers at the American Political Science Association’s Annual Meeting discussing partisanship, the need for trust in electoral integrity, and social media’s role in exacerbating political division. She was also accepted to present her work at the Western, Southern, and Midwestern Political Science Associations. Dougall deeply values promoting objective research as a foundation for accountable, effective government. Her research focuses on how digital disinformation impacts global democratic processes and its correlation with rising authoritarianism.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security—Scowcroft Strategy Initiative

Elliott is a recent graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned a BA in political science with a concentration in international relations and double minors in Spanish and art history. She also studied Russian and wrote an honors thesis evaluating Chinese and Russian regional foreign policy, and she held several public- and private-sector internships. She is currently pursuing an MA in security studies at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. In her free time, Elliott enjoys hot yoga, cooking, and Scrabble.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security—New American Engagement Initiative

Evans is a recent graduate from Lewis & Clark College, where he double majored in international affairs and German studies. His primary research interests include restraint-based international security, Arctic geopolitics, transatlantic relations, and international trade. Evans previously interned with the Eurasia Group Foundation, where he helped with several projects including public-opinion surveys, the None of the Above podcast, and research and drafting assistance. During this period, he also published an opinion piece with Responsible Statecraft advocating for a reduced US military presence in the Arctic. Evans studied abroad in Munich, Germany, where he attended Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and worked at the Center for Applied Political Research. In this role, he conducted research on key Bavarian social and political issues and facilitated the political education of German students. Before living in Germany, he interned at the Borgen Project, where he lobbied congressional offices in support of increased international aid, led a successful fundraising campaign, and gave presentations on foreign aid to university classes. Evans currently resides in Denver, Colorado, and spends his free time exploring the Rockies.

Cyber Statecraft Initiative

Gambrill is a master’s candidate at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. She recently moved back to the United States after nearly seven years in the United Arab Emirates, where she completed her BS in chemistry at New York University Abu Dhabi. After graduation, Yumi was a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, focusing on defense and security strategy and public administration reform in the Middle East and North Africa region. Her professional interests include doctrine and norms development for cyber and hybrid conflict, US-East Asia policy, and public-sector organizational transformation. In her free time, she is an avid baker and maker of Japanese sweets, violinist, and scuba diver.

Global Energy Center

Gomez is a second-year student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) where he is completing a master’s degree in international relations and economic policy and while doing so, he is focusing on Latin America and energy policy. He received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University in May 2020, majoring in international studies and political science. Previously, Gomez interned at Kroll, a due-diligence firm where he conducted compliance and political-risk reports on a diverse array of medium- and large-sized companies. His other experience includes his work at an infrastructure-development and political-research think tanks. Gomez is from Bradenton, Florida.

Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center

Hundley is finishing a master of public administration at the University of Vermont, with a focus on community resilience and planning. He is interested in disaster planning, long-term mitigation strategies, and evolution in communities impacted by climate issues. Following his undergraduate degree at the University of Kentucky, he lived for several years in Moscow where he worked in education and business consulting. He currently works for the US government in futures planning.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security—Forward Defense

Littlepage is a graduate student at George Washington’s Elliott School where she majors in security policy studies. Last Fall, Madison held an internship at the US Department of State’s Counterterrorism Bureau. She graduated with a BA in international studies from Dickinson College, minored in German, and obtained the security studies certificate. Littlepage was also a research intern at the US Army War College, where she conducted a case study on traditional deterrence applications in outer space. Overall, Littlepage’s security interests range from space to domestic radicalization and climate security.

Europe Center

Merilind is a master’s student of transatlantic affairs at the College of Europe and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Her main areas of focus include European external relations, transatlantic security, NATO, and national security policy-making more generally. At the Fletcher School, she was a teaching assistant on US-EU relations in the twenty-first Century, and at the College of Europe, she was co-director of events at European Horizons. She holds a summa cum laude BA in world politics from Leiden University College and has previously interned at the Estonian embassy in the Hague and the Estonian Ministry of Defense. She is an alumna of the US State Department Exchange Program and a recipient of a scholarship offered by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Merilind is from Tallinn, Estonia.

Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs

Mohamed recently received her BA in political science and Arabic from Georgia State University and is currently pursuing a masters in international and comparative politics at Georgia State. She works as a graduate teaching assistant and leads courses on the United Nations, the Arab League, and the African Union. She was previously a Benjamin A. Gilman scholar of the US Department of State and a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellow where she got the chance to study Arabic in Jordan. She also participated at a political data lab at Georgia State where she analyzed incumbent approval ratings across Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Her research focused on migration, refugees, and democracy with a focus on South Asia, the Horn of Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa region. She recently finished her internship with the Carter Center’s Democracy Program and before that she interned with the International Rescue Committee and other refugee centers in Atlanta, Georgia. She speaks Amharic and is fluent in Arabic. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer and writing on her blog.

Europe Center

Nix is a recent graduate of Boston University, where she majored in international relations and biology. As a senior, she combined her fields to write an honors thesis exploring the threat that a Russian biological-weapons program could pose to NATO’s security. Previously, Nix interned with the Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Global Biological Policy and Programs team. Her academic and professional interests range from US grand strategy and Eastern European politics to biosecurity and emerging technology threats. Outside of international politics, she worked in a genetics laboratory and is a fierce advocate for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Atlantic Council in Turkey

Ozen is a recent graduate from Rutgers University–New Brunswick. He majored in political science and minored in philosophy. His political science studies focused on American politics and international organizations. He was accepted to the National Political Science Honor Society in the United States. Ozen grew up in Istanbul, Turkey, and New Jersey, which encouraged him to engage in transatlantic relations using his experiences and observations from both Turkey and the United States. In 2018, Ozen participated in the Youth Leadership Congress of the Turkish Coalition of America in Washington, DC. He had the opportunity to have conversations and briefings with Turkish policy experts, congressional staffers, and leaders in the Turkish American community. During the pandemic, Ozen aimed to use his time in front of a computer as an opportunity to invest in himself by learning coding and programming. Since February 2021, Ozen has been working as a robotics and coding instructor for kids, social-media content producer, and blog writer, allowing him to take multidimensional methods in approaching tasks. In his free time, Ozen likes to read comic books, listen to music, and play basketball.

Africa Center

Scott is currently a junior at American University in Washington, DC, majoring in public health with a concentration in community and global health, and minoring in French. As an Ethiopian American she has spent the majority of her life in Africa and has been able to work alongside and volunteer with many nongovernmental organizations. Starting in March 2021, she interned with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Rwanda Biomedical Center, where she helped the staff make progress toward their 2021 public health goals. She was also tasked with aiding Ebola surveillance and protocol, drafting the Rwanda Biomedical Center’s COVID-19 response protocol for Rwanda, surveying district facilities, helping to monitor viral-hemorrhagic-fever and influenza surveillance, and improving health-promotion initiatives and campaigns. In particular she cultivated a partnership with a local Senegalese organization called House of Peace and Sharing to help raise awareness of breast cancer within Senegal and West Africa. In addition, she spent time as a volunteer intern with an orphanage in association with SOS Village d’Enfants providing healthcare to handicapped infants. On campus she is currently co-president of the East African Students Association, and she previously interned with American University’s Employer Relations Team. She is proficient in Amharic, French, and English and is expecting to earn her BA in May 2023 and then pursue a master of health and international development. Her passions include promoting public health throughout the African continent to inspire policy that one day helps develop more collaborative and equitable approaches to multinational health issues.

GeoTech Center

Sespico is a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, where she earned her BS in astrophysics and international relations. At the GeoTech Center, Sespico focuses on geopolitical implications of emerging technologies and has a specific interest in international development applications of space data. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Emily worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Office of International and Interagency Relations; the US House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology; the US Mission to International Organizations in Vienna; and Foreign Policy for America. During her time at Carnegie Mellon University, Sespico was a resident assistant to first-year students, as well as the events coordinator of a competitive gravity-racer design team. In her free time, she is an avid runner and rock climber. Sespico ultimately plans to continue her professional career in the field of international space and science diplomacy.

GeoTech Center

Sharma is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania. She is majoring in philosophy, politics, and economics with a concentration in choice and behavior and a minor in neuroscience and health services management through the undergraduate Neuroscience Program and the Health Care Management Department of the Wharton School. She has built an expertise in the intersection of engineering entrepreneurship, public policy, and economics through key internships with Johnson & Johnson, Critical Path Institute, and the Parliament of India. She is eager to research methods in which new technologies and data will empower people and change the face of geopolitics. Her goal is to ultimately leave her impact on law and policy for the future.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security—Forward Defense

Steel is a recent graduate of Durham University, where she earned a BA in international affairs, Arabic, English Literature, and philosophy. Before the Atlantic Council, she interned with the Asymmetric Operations program at the American Security Project, researching hybrid conflict, non-state actors, and future warfare concepts. She has studied Arabic in Beirut at the Institut Français du Proche-Orient, and her academic knowledge revolves around security theories, network analysis, and political psychology, with a particular focus on the Middle East and Eurasia. Steel previously interned with the Maryland Democratic Party and Kuwaiti embassy, as well as several other organizations in a marketing and analytical capacity. She speaks Spanish, Arabic, and some Russian. In her off hours, she works as a web developer and mountain guide.

Global Energy Center

Tobin is a recent graduate of the University of Florida, where he earned a BS in biology with a minor in innovation. Tobin’s interests center at the intersection of science, technology, and international security. William served previously as an intern for the US Department of State at the Regional Environment, Science & Technology, and Health Office based in the US embassy in Budapest, where he received exposure to regional sustainable energy dynamics in Europe and the transatlantic partnership. Tobin also has a background in health and volunteered as an emergency medical technician during his free time in university. Tobin is a fluent Spanish speaker with intermediate proficiency in Portuguese and basic knowledge of Farsi. In his free time, Tobin likes to keep up with current events, exercise, and be outdoors.

Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center

Troconis is a senior at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies where she studies international relations with a regional concentration in Latin America. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Troconis completed an internship with the Inter-American Dialogue’s Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program, and in 2021, Troconis studied abroad in Paris, France, where she conducted a research project on Venezuelan migration and developed her French-language proficiency. On campus, Troconis was a staff writer for the Boston University International Relations Review and published a research article on the illegal gold-mining industry in Venezuela. Pamela grew up in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and is a native Spanish-speaker.