Meet our Young Global Professionals

Global Energy Center

Burnett earned her Master of Public Affairs and Master of Science in environmental science from Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where she concentrated on energy and climate change solutions. While completing her graduate capstone, she collaborated with the US Department of State on disaster risk reduction and energy security in Central Asia. Most recently, she worked as a congressional intern in the US House of Representatives. Burnett has also done work at the local level as a climate fellow with the City of South Bend, where she conducted a climate risk and vulnerability assessment, and at the state level with the Hoosier Environmental Council. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs from Indiana University in 2024 with a focus on environmental management.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security—Forward Defense

Cheesman recently graduated from Georgetown University with a BS in international politics and a minor in Russian. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, she was a research associate at the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where her research focused on NATO defense policy. Cheesman has previously interned in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Nuclear Threat Reduction program and the US Department of State. She was also a young fellow at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Education and Research Center at KAIST, a research university in South Korea. She is proficient in French and Russian.

Atlantic Council Turkey Program

Erbengi recently graduated from McGill University, with a major in political science and minors in environment and economics. During her time at McGill University, Erbengi studied a multitude of topics, ranging from environmental ethics and political theory to energy supply chains and economic sanctions. She has previously held internships in broadcast journalism and at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focusing respectively on international environmental diplomacy and transatlantic defense partnerships. Erbengi was born in Washington, DC, and raised in Istanbul. For leisure, she enjoys visiting the newest exhibitions at local museums, dining at her favorite restaurants around the city, and taking long walks in nature.

GeoEconomics Center—Economic Statecraft Initiative

Ezratty is a first-year graduate student in Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program, where she concentrates on technology and economic issues. She graduated from the University of Georgia in December in 2024 with degrees in international affairs and economics and a minor in French. Previously, Ezratty was a research associate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Center for Global Security Research, where she published a research paper examining the efficacy of export controls on adversarial defense innovation in semiconductors, liquefied natural gas, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security—Forward Defense

Gillespie is a second year master’s student studying security policy at The George Washington University. Gillespie graduated with a BA in international affairs from The George Washington University in 2024. Previously, Gillespie interned at the Anti-Defamation League, the Kurdish Regional Government, and the Institute for the Study of War. Gillespie is from Austin, Texas, and enjoys reading, the outdoors, travelling, and learning languages.

Eurasia Center

Goedemans recently graduated summa cum laude from Emory University with a BA in international studies and comparative literature, concentrating in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies. He was awarded highest honors for his senior thesis covering Russian dissident journalism in the wake of restrictive “foreign agent” legislation and recently completed a State Department Critical Language Scholarship for Russian in Daugavpils, Latvia. He has previously worked at the Council on Foreign Relations, Carter Center, International Rescue Committee, CDC Foundation, Georgia Department of Economic Development, and the Emory Center for Law and Social Science. Goedemans speaks Dutch, Russian, and Spanish and is interested in global governance, energy, and development. In his free time, he enjoys literary fiction, language learning, playing tennis, and exploring the city.

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Gómez Revelo recently graduated cum laude from Tufts University with degrees in economics and international relations, where he concentrated in international economics and political economy. While studying abroad at the London School of Economics, Gómez Revelo spent time in Ukraine pursuing a photojournalism project and volunteering. He has conducted field research in Colombia on the implementation challenges of the 2016 peace accord and has worked on rural sustainable development projects in conflict-affected regions. Previously, he was a government relations intern with the DGA Group and worked in the Americas Practice at the Albright Stonebridge Group, supporting policy research, stakeholder mapping, and client-facing strategic materials. He is passionate about fostering sustainable development in the Global South and about the political economy of governance and conflict.

GeoTech Center

Hopp is a graduate student at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, studying security policy. There, she is a staff editor for the International Affairs Review, the graduate student-run publication. Hopp also holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. Her interests lie at the nexus of emerging technologies and national security, specifically on digital gray-zone tactics such as cyberwarfare and foreign influence operations. Hopp previously served as a research associate at the Cato Institute, where she focused on social media policy, data privacy, and artificial intelligence. Her other professional experiences include interning at the Consumer Technology Association as well as the Economic Development Administration through the Virtual Student Federal Service program. In her spare time, Hopp enjoys reading, watching movies, and playing the piano.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security—Forward Defense

Klein recently graduated cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis, where she majored in history and double-minored in political science and environmental studies. While at Washington University, she focused on the history of conflict and counterterrorism. Her honors thesis, which examined the strategic evolution of Ayman al-Zawahiri as Osama bin Laden’s second-in-command, was recognized with high distinction. Previously, Klein was an intern at The Cohen Group, where she served clients in a variety of industries, including defense, health, and technology. At The Cohen Group, Klein had the opportunity to contribute to speeches for senior officials focused on strategic competition and the defense industry. Most recently, she completed an internship in the US House of Representatives.

Global Energy Center

Li is a second-year graduate student in the Asian Studies program at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service with a concentration in energy, environment, and transnational issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, where he majored in international politics and minored in history and Japanese. He has also studied abroad at Keio University in Tokyo and Georgetown SFS Asia Pacific in Jakarta. His previous experience includes internships at the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, the US State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources, the Council on Foreign Relations, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Holland & Knight’s Public Policy and Regulation Group, and the US House of Representatives. In his free time, he enjoys swimming, hiking, and competing in triathlons.

GeoEconomics Center—Economic Statecraft Initiative

Phipps is a graduate of Hood College, having recently earned a BA in political science and global studies. His research interests center around illiberal governance models, Eurasian integration, trade policy, and US–China relations. At Hood, his honors thesis explored and compared the use of anticorruption action in China and Vietnam as a tool of political centralization, control, and legitimacy. During a study abroad in Shanghai, he authored a paper on the societal origins, makeup, functions, and state mobilization of China’s private security guards in times of crisis. Phipps has previously interned with the Asia Society Policy Institute, the American Foreign Policy Council, and the US International Trade Administration’s Office of China and Mongolia.

GeoEconomics Center—Economic Statecraft Initiative

Sackie-Mensah is a Master of Public Policy student at The George Washington University, specializing in program evaluation and policy analysis with a focus on AI governance and technology policy. She recently earned her Bachelor of Science in economics, during which she developed a strong foundation in economic analysis and data driven policy research. Sackie-Mensah previously held an internship with the Office of the DC Shadow Representative, where she gained firsthand insight into the political and institutional complexities of Washington, DC. Her academic and professional interests center on evaluating how emerging technologies intersect with public policy, governance, and economic opportunity. Outside of her academic work, Sackie-Mensah enjoys dancing, cooking, exploring new cultural cuisines, and discovering music across a wide range of genres.

Millennium Leadership Program

O’Connell a master of public policy candidate at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. She earned a BA with high honors in political science and history from the University of Michigan in 2025. Passionate about global leadership development and cross-cultural communications, O’Connell is interested in transatlantic policy and US-European Union relations. Prior to the Atlantic Council, O’Connell served as a disability policy intern with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, working with the team of the committee’s ranking member, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Office of Finance and Operations

Sarwana is a junior at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, majoring in business and economics with a minor in data analytics. His interests center on finance, operations, and how data and systems support effective decision making. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, he gained experience across technology consulting at PwC, healthcare administration at Houston Methodist, and financial compliance at Habib Bank Limited. Sarwana also worked as a economics teaching assistant and peer academic mentor, where he has strengthened his communication, organization, and leadership skills. An avid soccer player since the age of three, he credits sports with shaping his discipline, teamwork, and consistency.

Europe Center

Schaefer is a recent graduate of American University (AU), where he earned a BA in international studies with a minor in French and European studies. While at AU, he held several executive positions with Ask A Diplomat, conducted research on subnational legislation as an Olson scholar, and served as a student ambassador. He also studied abroad in Brussels, Belgium, where he focused on the politics, economics, and defense of the European Union (EU) and NATO. His primary interests include EU enlargement, the Francophone world, and countering democratic backsliding. Previously, Schaefer interned with the Democratic National Committee, the US House of Representatives, and two civic engagement organizations in Washington and Brussels. He is originally from Kentucky and enjoys traveling, running, and reading in his free time.

Europe Center

Sharma is a senior undergraduate student at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where she is pursuing a BA in international affairs with a concentration in conflict resolution and a minor in law and society. She has interned with the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Foreign Policy Council, and Aramco Americas. She studied abroad in Paris, where she strengthened her French language skills and focused on European Union politics. Sharma’s academic and professional interests center on European and Middle Eastern affairs. While she is a native Houstonian, she has spent over half her life in Saudi Arabia. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and exploring hidden gems around Washington, DC.

GeoTech Center

Torres is a fourth-year undergraduate at Wellesley College, majoring in international relations–political science and minoring in Latin American studies. Her professional experience includes economic diversification projects across Latin America, research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and efforts to run impact evaluations for Fundación En Vía in Oaxaca, Mexico. As a fellow at the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs, she has worked with the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center since summer 2025 on projects ranging from responsible AI proliferation in ASEAN to research on emerging global space programs. In her free time, Torres enjoys running, reading about Latin American history, watching films, and discovering new frozen yogurt spots.