Fellows (Class of 2019)

Each year, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) welcomes a new class of Fellows. Through a highly selective process, Fellows are selected for their expertise and passion for their field, as well as for their ability and desire to deepen their knowledge and share it with a wider community. Fellows publish regularly on the topic of their Fellowship in major online media outlets and participate in a range of professional development programs. 


Cole Baker
Security & Defense Fellow

Cole Baker is the 2019 Security & Defense Fellow at Young Professionals in Foreign Policy and a current Congressional Staffer. Cole has worked previously as a Freelance Contractor writing on terrorism and human trafficking and as a Violent Extremism Fellow for the UN in Turkey. His areas of focus include Gray Zone Warfare, Violent Extremism, and the Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Cole holds an M.A. in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from Middlebury College.

Cole Baker

Security & Defense Fellow


Elizabeth Brandeberry
International Development Fellow

Elizabeth Brandeberry is the 2019 International Development Fellow at Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. Ms. Brandeberry focuses on the societal and economic components of post-conflict reconstruction in developing nations. Her specific interests include the economic activities of war widows and the recovery of post-atrocity societies. Ms. Brandeberry previously served as a program coordinator for a Veterans Treatment Court, where she gained first-hand experience in dealing with the aftermath of war and trauma on the individual, group, and societal levels. Ms. Brandeberry is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, holds a BA from Texas A&M University, an MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention from the University of Oxford, and is currently pursuing an MA in International Development at American University.

Elizabeth Brandeberry

International Development Fellow


Stephen Delaney
Geostrategy & Diplomacy Fellow

Stephen Delaney is an open-source risk and vulnerability analyst working to support the US Department of Defense. Prior to becoming an analyst, he served as a consultant to the intelligence community and in the political office at the US Mission to NATO. He holds a master’s degree from Harvard University, where he also worked as a negotiations teaching fellow and case writer.

Stephen Delaney

Geostrategy & Diplomacy Fellow 


Sam Denney
Europe Fellow

Sam Denney is a Research Assistant in the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. Prior to Brookings, he worked as an intern for the Europe Practice at the Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, DC, for the European Union Affairs unit at the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf, and for the Committee on Affairs of the European Union in the German Bundestag in Berlin. He received an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 2018 and a BA in German and European Studies from Vanderbilt University in 2014.

Sam Denney

Europe Fellow


Claire Downing
Human Rights Fellow

Claire Downing is the YPFP Human Rights Fellow and is a current PhD candidate at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Claire currently serves as a Program Officer in a philanthropic role where she helps support a diverse field of organizations working to address profiling, discrimination, hate crimes, anti-Muslim bigotry and xenophobia through capacity building measures in Muslim, Arab, and South Asian (MASA) communities in the U.S. Prior to this role, Claire worked in international development/legal empowerment and finance, banking, and government contracting, and interned at a watchdog NGO and on the Hill for Senator Patty Murray (D-WA). Claire has a bachelor of arts in Global Affairs (summa cum laude) from George Mason University, and a master of arts in International Affairs, concentration in Conflict and Conflict Resolution from the George Washington University.

Claire Downing

Human Rights Fellow


Cameron Evers
Africa Fellow

Cameron Evers is a Senior Intelligence Analyst at WorldAware, Inc., a global risk firm, where he advises a Fortune 500 financial company on geopolitical risk. Previously, Cameron researched for US and Africa-based consultancies and publications with an emphasis on revolutionary movements, civil-military relations, and regime change. He has given talks on African politics within the US government and universities. He holds a Master's degree in International Policy from the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs.

Cameron Evers

Africa Fellow


Rachel Furlow
Middle East Fellow

Rachel Furlow is a Program Assistant at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) where she specializes in business advocacy and entrepreneurship in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank & Gaza, and Syria. Prior to joining CIPE, Rachel was a David L. Boren Scholar at the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan, and interned at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, the Middle East Peace and Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. She earned her BA in International Affairs from The George Washington University, where she specialized in Middle East Studies. Her writings have appeared in Defense One, the Sada Journal at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, World Politics Review, and the MENA Source at the Atlantic Council.

Rachel Furlow

Middle East Fellow


Michael Galant
Economics and Trade Fellow

Michael Galant (he/him) is a recent graduate of the Master of Public Policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He's interested in building left alternatives to neoliberal models of globalization and development, and writes about such topics as trade, tax avoidance, international financial institutions, corporate accountability, international civil society, the global justice movement, global labor solidarity, and more. Michael has worked at the United Nations, the UN Foundation, and UNICEF USA, and has been involved in organizing with the labor and Palestine solidarity movements. He graduated from Brown University in 2014.

Michael Galant

Economics and Trade Fellow


Naima Green
Asia Pacific Fellow

Naima Green is a PhD candidate at Harvard University's Department of Government, where she studies U.S. and Chinese foreign policy with a focus on public diplomacy. Before beginning her PhD program, Naima served as a US diplomat at the Department of State for five years, working in Egypt during the Arab Spring and China during the Obama administration's "Pivot to Asia." Naima has previously served as an advisor for the Envision International Scholars Laureate Program in China and as an intern and advance associate at the White House. She graduated from Harvard Kennedy School with a Master's in Public Policy and from Stanford University with a BA in International Relations. She is proficient in Mandarin Chinese.

Naima Green

Asia Pacific Fellow


Ashley Johnson
Environment and Energy Fellow

Ashley Johnson is a Project Manager with the Trade, Economic, and Energy Affairs group at the National Bureau of Asian Research where she focuses on environmental sustainability in China and South Asia, energy security, and trade and innovation. Her expertise has been featured in various media outlets, including Nikkei Asian Review, the Guardian, the Associated Press, and BBC World News. Ms. Johnson received her MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, with concentrations in international economics and energy, resources, and the environment. She also holds a graduate certificate in Chinese-American Studies from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and a BA in International Studies from Southwestern University.

Ashley Johnson

Environment and Energy Fellow


Nate Kerkhoff
Asia Pacific Fellow

Nate Kerkhoff completed his Master's degree in Global Affairs from Yonsei Graduate School for International Studies in Seoul, South Korea. The focus of his studies was politics and security in Northeast Asia, particularly the Korean Peninsula. During his time in graduate school, he was involved with the UniKorea Foundation, an NGO that supports organizations that help North Korean defectors, and the DailyNK website. He is currently a Young Leader at the Pacific Forum and a research assistant at Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies. His work has appeared in a variety of publications.

Nate Kerkhoff

Asia Pacific Fellow


Thomas Krasnican
Service Member/National Security Fellow

Thomas Krasnican is an active-duty officer in the U.S. Navy and a master's degree candidate at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. A native of Anchorage, Alaska, Thomas graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy, where he studied Quantitative Economics and History. Thomas is also the creator and co-host of “Thank You For Your Service,” a podcast on American civil-military affairs. After completion of graduate studies, he will train as a nuclear submarine officer.

Thomas Krasnican

Service Member/National Security Fellow


Wanida Lewis
Gender in Foreign Policy Fellow

Wanida Lewis, Ph.D. serves as the Senior Economic Evaluation Program Analyst in the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues at the Department of State. In this role, she focuses her work on evaluating global women's economic programming including the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi). Dr. Lewis has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Saint Augustine's University, Master’s degree in Analytical Chemistry from North Carolina Central University and a doctoral degree in Food Science from North Carolina State University.

Wanida Lewis

Gender in Foreign Policy Fellow


Ishan Mehta
Cybersecurity and Technology Fellow

Ishan is Policy Advisor for the National Security Program at Third Way. Focusing on cybersecurity, he aims to work at the intersection of technology and policy and bring the two worlds closer. He has a double master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Computer Engineering and Public Policy. His work has been featured in outlets like Politico, Axios, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Ishan Mehta

Cybersecurity and Technology Fellow


Nandita Palrecha
South Asia Fellow

Nandita Palrecha is a second-year M.A. student in the Conflict Resolution program at Georgetown University. She is regionally interested in peace and conflict processes in South Asia while her thematic interests include gender, elections monitoring, and transitional justice in postconflict contexts. Presently, she works as a Conflict Resolution Fellow in the Department of Government, assisting with research on the effectiveness of non-western and non-military aid. As part of her capstone project, she is researching Everyday Peace Indicators for a project intended at enabling public engagement and dialogue around the peace process in Myanmar. As a recipient of the Conflict Resolution Fellowship 2018, she spent the past summer in Kathmandu, Nepal assisting Search for Common Ground with evaluations of development programs in different Asian countries. She holds a B.A. in Economics (Honors) from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, India and an M.A. in Geopolitics and International Relations from Manipal University, India.

Nandita Palrecha

South Asia Fellow


Sofia Ramirez
Latin America Fellow

Sofia Alessandra Ramirez is an analyst for Latin America at The Economist Intelligence Unit, where she analyzes political developments and produces economic forecasts for various countries in the region. Previously, she was a research associate in the Latin America Studies program at the Council on Foreign Relations. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of San Diego with a BA in International Relations and Asian Studies. Her research interests include Sino-Latin American relations, trade policy, and international development.

Sofia Ramirez

Latin America Fellow


James Reston
Eastern Europe/Eurasia Fellow

James Reston is the 2019 Eastern Europe/Eurasia Fellow at Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. His work focuses on international security, LGBTI+ rights, corruption, and internet freedom. He is a program associate at the Eurasia Foundation and a part-time research assistant to Dr. Alina Polyakova. James has interned for the Kennan Institute in Kyiv, Ukraine and the Russian LGBT Network in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and holds a BA with High Honors from Wesleyan University in the College of Social Studies and Russian & Eastern European Studies, where he was a Center for the Humanities Student Fellow. James has written for The Diplomat, the Kyiv Post, and Freedom at Issue.

James Reston

Eastern Europe/Eurasia Fellow