Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security — Forward Defense

Aiken is a senior at Columbia University, where she is double majoring in neuroscience and behavior and political science. She is also in the first year of her master’s degree at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs studying international affairs and international security policy with a regional concentration in the Middle East. Aiken is interested in the intersection of neuroscience and security, such as innovations in neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, and decision-making. At Columbia, Aiken is a peer advisor and a Saltzman student scholar. Last summer, she participated in the Hertog War Studies program at the Institute for the Study of War. She also previously interned for the United Nations, working on the Fifth Committee, helping to draft the peacekeeping budget.

Europe Center

Athan is a first-year graduate student at Georgetown University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in European studies with a concentration in international business diplomacy and a specialization in Southeastern Europe. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, where she graduated summa cum laude and studied political science and international affairs with a focus on Greece and the European Union (EU). She completed her senior thesis on European identity conceptualization and public opinion trends in Greece during periods of crisis. Her experiences working in Brussels to track EU environmental regulatory developments and in Athens to advance US-Greek and US-Cypriot relations have solidified her passion to strengthen transatlantic cooperation in the areas of emerging technology, energy, and the environment. She has worked at the US Department of State, the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, and the American Hellenic Institute, which recognized her as an “emerging voice in Greek America” for her work there. During her free time, Athan is an avid Formula 1 fan and enjoys reading, cooking, and biking.

Atlantic Council in Turkey

Baez is a junior at Tufts University pursuing a double major in religious studies and international relations. His passion for Eastern Mediterranean security issues and the modern intersection between religion and state led him to a special interest in Turkey. Most recently, Baez was a research intern at the Istanbul Policy Center in Turkey, where he worked on issues including high-skilled migration and Turkey’s security presence in the Balkans. Out of the office, Baez is an avid cook, concertgoer, and a fan of psychedelic funk, blues, and salsa music.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security — Forward Defense

Cowley is a second-year master’s student at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs. She is concentrating on conflict and conflict resolution, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa. She has completed a short-term study abroad program at the American University in Cairo and is currently researching Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission. Her areas of interest include conflict prevention, deterrence, and the gendered impacts of conflict. In her free time, she enjoys running and hiking.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security — Forward Defense

Franks holds a master’s degree in US foreign policy and national security from American University and a BA in diplomacy and world affairs from Occidental College. With an interest in geopolitical security and military technology, Franks has primarily focused his research and analysis on the Russia-Ukraine conflict from 2014 onward. He is broadly engaged in addressing and defending against geopolitical aggression globally. As part of his MA coursework, Franks contributed to developing an Arctic defense strategy in partnership with the US Department of Defense. Outside of his professional work, he enjoys photography, travel, technology, and following various sports.

Millennium Leadership Program

Gerdzhikova combines her cybersecurity, privacy, and international relations experience to contribute to open-source initiatives and United Nations volunteer projects worldwide. She has a background in youth advocacy in Bulgaria and studied at Pearson College UWC in Canada. She has a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College and studied abroad at Oxford University. Previously, she worked with the State of Washington as a data stewardship and privacy administrator, at the venture capital firm Koa Labs, and the embassy of Bulgaria in Canada. Currently, she works with the nonprofit Paper Airplanes, which teaches coding, web development, and English to people in conflict areas; consulting small business owners as part of SCORE; and is working toward starting a nongovernmental organization with Tatia Bolkvadze.

GeoEconomics Center

Hamilton is a graduate student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where she is pursuing an MA in international relations with concentrations in international economics and Asia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Johns Hopkins University. Her areas of interest include international trade and finance. In her free time, Hamilton enjoys reading, hiking, and running.

Global China Hub

Hu is a first-year master of arts in international relations student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Her focus areas include development, climate, and sustainability, with a regional emphasis on China. Originally from Guangzhou, China, Hu is proficient in both Mandarin and Cantonese. She recently graduated magna cum laude from the American University School of International Service and holds a BA in international studies, a minor in sociology, and a minor in education studies. Hu’s primary concentration was in ethics, justice, and human rights, while her secondary concentration centered on global inequality and development. She is passionate about exploring China’s evolving role and its impacts on the international system. Post-graduation, Hu aspires to pursue a career in governance and development in East Asia. Currently, she serves as the director of marketing and external communications at SAIS Global Women in Leadership, a student-run career club dedicated to empowering individuals passionate about women’s causes.

Europe Center

Jones is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto, where he studied international relations and specialized in the European Union (EU). He has a research background in EU integration, institutions, and member state politics. Jones focuses on transatlantic foreign policy and strategy, and has worked at the Canadian International Council of Toronto. During university, Jones worked at the Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies and served for three years as an executive of the European Studies Students’ Association. Passionate about foreign languages, Jones previously worked as an English teacher in Madrid, Spain, and at the German International School of Toronto. He is proficient in Spanish, German, French, and Italian, having studied abroad in Berlin and Brussels. In his free time, Jones is an avid traveler, photographer, and soccer fan.

Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs

Johnson is a junior at the University of Kansas, where he is majoring in international studies, history, political science, and religious studies. On campus, he is a student ambassador for the university’s Global Awareness Program and senior student advisory board member at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics. As a research assistant to Rami Zeedan, he studies the effects of political systems on Druze religious identity in the Middle East and is currently working to launch the Druze Studies Journal, aiming to advance interdisciplinary scholarship on Druze history, society, and faith. This past summer, Johnson interned with the Council on International Educational Exchange in Morocco, where he facilitated intercultural learning between US and Moroccan high school students. He has also interned with the University of Kansas Trade War Lab, the Army University Press, and the Office of US Representative Sharice Davids. Johnson enjoys reading, running, and hiking in his free time.

Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center

Gonzalez Latorre is a recent graduate of the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, where she earned a master’s degree in international relations with concentrations in Latin American and Caribbean studies and international development. She also holds a Bachelor of education degree with summa cum laude honors from the University of Alberta. She has an extensive international background, having resided in Canada, Spain, the United States, and Chile. Her expertise encompasses a range of issues, including foreign affairs, education, women’s and girls’ issues, immigration, Canada-US relations, US-China relations, and Latin American and Caribbean affairs. In her most recent role as a research specialist at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in Santiago, Chile, she facilitated knowledge exchange between the National Congress of Chile and the European Parliament.

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Lee is a 2023 graduate of National Chengchi University in Taiwan, with a BA in diplomacy. A dual US-Taiwanese citizen raised in Taipei, Lee is fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and English. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, she worked as a research assistant at Academia Sinica (Taiwan’s national research institute) on US policy toward Taiwan and China. Her work has been featured by the US-China Perception Monitor, the American Political Science Association, and the Carter Center. As an undergraduate, Lee also completed a semester-long study abroad program at Sciences Po Lille in France. Her areas of interest include grand strategy, US-China-Taiwan relations, and international development with a focus on gender and economic policy.

GeoEconomics Center

Magazzino recently graduated summa cum laude from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, where she earned a master’s degree in economics and international affairs with a thesis on China’s debt relief programs in developing countries. She arrived in the United States in 2022 to pursue a double degree program at the State University of New York in Albany, where she earned a master’s in public administration and policy. Before participating in the Young Global Professionals program, she was a trainee at the European Union (EU) Delegation to the United Nations (UN) in New York, where she helped coordinate EU member states during UN budget negotiations. Previously, as a legislative aide to the chair of the New York State Assembly’s Banks Committee, she worked on the state’s response to the March 2023 banking crisis, while also contributing to policy initiatives on cryptocurrency regulation and housing. Driven by a passion for multilateral cooperation in the financial sector, Magazzino hopes to continue researching global economic trends, particularly those impacting developing countries, and contribute to reforming the multilateral financial systems to better address their challenges. In her free time, she enjoys strolling around cities, cooking, and seeing live music. Magazzino is from Taranto, Italy.

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security — Forward Defense

Matchett recently graduated magna cum laude with a BA in international relations from American University’s School of International Service. She concentrated on global security, conflict, peace, and comparative governance with a regional focus on Europe and Eurasia. Her main interests are transatlantic security and defense and European affairs. She has studied abroad in Brussels, Belgium with American University’s European Union in Action program, as well as in Bayreuth, Germany with the US Department of State’s CBYX scholarship. Most recently, she interned with the Transatlantic Defense and Security program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), where she conducted research on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Nordic-Baltic maritime security, Black Sea security, and US security assistance to key partners. Prior to CEPA, she was a government affairs intern with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a geoeconomics and security research assistant with the College of International Security Affairs at the National Defense University, and a security and defense researcher at the European Parliament. Matchett has also held internships with the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, the Czech embassy in Washington, DC, and She Saves a Nation. In her free time, she enjoys painting, running, listening to music, maintaining her German and French language skills, and serving at a Michelin-star restaurant.

Global Energy Center

Meadows is a recent graduate of Indiana University, where she majored in international studies concentrating in global health and the environment, while getting a certificate in Jewish studies and a minor in environmental science. Throughout her education, she focused her research on the connection between sustainable food production and climate change, and she attended the twenty-seventh United Nations Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt. During a semester in Denmark, she studied renewable energy systems, green infrastructure, smart cities, and food sustainability. As a research assistant, Meadows coded transcriptions of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors and analyzed Antarctic treaties. She is currently working with her co-research assistant to publish an article on their work. Meadows is a brand and social media fellow for Alt Protein Careers, and In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, rock climbing, hiking, and live music.

Digital Forensic Research Lab — Cyber Statecraft Initiative

Menna recently graduated with honors from Arizona State University, where she majored in philosophy with concentrations in ethics, economics, technology, and law. While at Arizona State, Menna spent two years working as a nonpartisan staffer at the Arizona State Senate and a year interning at a government technology and cybersecurity consulting firm. Her research interests lie in examining and creating human-centered ethical frameworks for emerging technologies, science, and policy. In addition to her academic pursuits, Menna played an active role in Arizona State’s undergraduate student government and co-founded an association supporting women professionals in technology and government in Arizona. Menna is passionate about global initiatives supporting girls’ education and aspires to contribute to the expansion of women’s access to the field of cybersecurity. In her free time, Menna enjoys practicing hot yoga, painting, curating Spotify playlists, and frequenting her favorite local coffee shops.

Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs

Reppeto is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in history and political science and studied under the Plan II Honors Program. His academic interests are US national security policymaking and state and non-state actors in the Middle East. After graduating, he spent two years with a St. Louis-based AmeriCorps program focused on environmental conservation, wildland fire, and disaster relief, serving in both field and programmatic roles. He has also previously interned with the Institute for the Study of War and the Carter Center. As a Young Global professional in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programs, he looks forward to investigating regional issues, such as emerging climate security problems.

Global Energy Center

Sinha is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in the Canfield Business Honors Program, sustainability studies, management information systems, and business and public policy. She has previously worked for Clean Creatives, an environmental nonprofit at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, and has interned at her university’s Global Sustainability Leadership Institute and the Washington Institute for Business, Government and Society. Sinha is an internationally licensed drone pilot and a member of the Archer Fellowship Program. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new restaurants and attending live music events.

GeoTech Center

Smith is a senior at Howard University majoring in international affairs and minoring in computer science. Previously, Smith studied human rights as a United States Holocaust Museum student ambassador. While interning with the International Trade Administration and the US Congress, Smith researched global economic policies and emerging technologies. He organized a program at his university that educated forty historically black college and university (HBCU) students on foreign affairs and diplomacy. He also helped facilitate Howard University’s participation in the US Department of State’s Diplomacy Lab, focusing on Chinese telecommunications investments in Southern Africa. As a 2022 Frederick Douglass global fellow, Smith studied global conflict resolution and peace negotiation in Ireland. He previously engaged in a year of intensive Mandarin study in Taiwan as a 2022 Boren Scholar. Smith was recently selected as a 2024 US Department of State Charles B. Rangel fellow and will work on technology policy abroad as a US Foreign Service Officer after graduate school.

GeoEconomics Center

Wu is a recent graduate of Tufts University, where he studied political science and international relations and minored in economics. Coming from Guangzhou, China, he wrote his undergraduate thesis on state-making in modern China and received the highest honors. Previously, he worked at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the United Nations, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Past research experience solidified his interests in international economics, development theory, and visions of the future of capitalism. After this internship, he is going to pursue a master’s degree in international relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In his free time, Wu enjoys reading literature, watching movies from the Global South, studying world history, and playing with his dog.