Executive Team


Aubrey Cox Ottenstein 
Global Executive Director

Aubrey Cox Ottenstein joined as the Executive Director of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) in September 2019. Prior to joining YPFP, she served as the lead for youth programs at the United States Institute of Peace. In this role, Aubrey elevated the role of youth in peacebuilding and increased the inclusion of young people in peace and security processes.

Aubrey has spent most of her career working on issues of inclusion, peace and security. Prior to joining USIP, Aubrey worked in a double-bottom line impact investment fund focused on financial inclusion at Accion International. Earlier, she conducted field-based monitoring and evaluation research for Operation Smile. Aubrey holds a bachelor's degree from the Beatty Business School at the College of Charleston and a master's degree from the School of International Service at American University. She and her husband live in Washington, DC. 

Aubrey Cox Ottenstein

Global Executive Director


Merritt Ogle
Chief of Staff

Merritt is honored to serve in the role of Chief of Staff for YPFP. Merritt joined YPFP in May 2019 as the Director of Development & Special Projects. Working with the Executive Director and Finance Director, in her role, she worked to identify and build strategic partnerships for YPFP. Additionally, she has managed additional projects such as the U.S.-China Futures Project, the Emerging as a Global Leader Experience (EaGLE) workshop, and youth summits. In her day job, she is a Senior Associate at Markon Solutions where she supports both corporate strategic growth and client project management. She is also the Director of Growth for #NatSecGirlSquad where she leads coalition building for advancing competent diversity in the national security apparatus. Merritt graduated from The Ohio State University in 2017 with degrees in Public Affairs and International Studies. Her professional passions include innovation for national security, building intrinsically inclusive environments, Eurasian studies, and advancement of LGBTQ+ professionals. Outside of work and “adult extracurriculars”, she loves traveling to obscure places, binge watching Somebody Feed Phil, and watching Ohio State football.

Merritt Ogle

Chief of Staff


Andre Ball
Senior Director, Finance

Andre Ball is a Sr. Lead Program Administrator with the Applied Conflict and Transformation (ACT) Center at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). He currently assists in supporting programs with contractual, financial and budgetary responsibilities as well as general logistical and programmatic support. Andre has been with USIP for 6 years and joined after a year of service with AmeriCorps in Austin, Texas where he served as a Program Analyst and High School Admissions coach for a non-profit college access organization called College Forward.

Andre earned an MBA graduate from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Florida. In his free time, Andre enjoys playing sports, including basketball, boxing and table tennis.

Andre Ball

Senior Director, Finance


Colleen Moore
Senior Programs Director

Colleen joined the YPFP team as Communications Director in May 2019, and now serves as Senior Programs Director, leading all events and programming for YPFP. During the day, she is the Digital Engagement Manager for Beyond the Bomb and Global Zero, creating content to promote the message of eliminating nuclear weapons. Colleen has experience in campaigning for justice and peace issues, including ending U.S. support for the war in Yemen, promoting human rights and justice in Indonesia and East Timor, working for a peace treaty between North and South Korea, and ending the occupation of Palestine. Colleen received her Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Relations and Political Science from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from American University's School of International Service.

Colleen Moore

Senior Director, Programs

Headquarters Team


Raven Bellamy
Director, Discussion Group Program

Raven is the Director of the Discussion Group Program and has been a YPFP member since November 2019. She earned a B.A. in Political Science from Arizona State University and spent a year studying International Relations in Italy and France. During the day, she is the Director of Protocol and a Legislative Aide for the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. In her spare time, she loves to read, play video games, and travel.

Raven Bellamy

Director, Discussion Group Program


Tyler L. Cundiff
Director, Special Projects

Tyler L. Cundiff has served on YPFP Staff since March 2020 where he provides strategic guidance and operational support to programs and initiatives across the organization.

Tyler is a special assistant at the George Washington University, where he facilitates senior leadership efforts. He previously served as a policy advisor and delegate for the Republic of Malta to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland, handling a portfolio focused on peace and security issues.

A native of Hawaii, Tyler earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and communication from the University of Southern California while playing volleyball for the Trojans. Having begun graduate studies in international affairs at the Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID), he is currently working toward a master’s degree at the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Tyler L. Cundiff

Director, Special Projects


Ben Goodrich
Director of Communications

Ben Goodrich has been a member of YPFP since August 2018 and been on the Communications team since January 2019. He became Director of Communications in January 2020.

Ben currently works in government affairs and communications at COSSA, an advocacy non-profit focused on social science and research funding in the federal government. He enjoys a wide array of responsibilities including supporting COSSA's federal advocacy efforts, curating COSSA's communications materials, and providing direct support to the Executive Director. Ben joined COSSA following a brief stint with Global Citizen, an international non-profit concerned with poverty alleviation, where he worked as a policy & government affairs assistant.

Born and raised in the Upper Midwest, Ben graduated with a Bachelor's in Political Science and History along with an African Studies minor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018. In his free time, he enjoys playing and listening to music and can play several different instruments including guitar, piano, and saxophone.

Ben Goodrich

Director, Communications


Evelyn Heck
Newsletter Editor

Evelyn Heck joined YPFP summer 2019 when she moved to D.C. after graduating from the University of Notre Dame in May. She works for the Rumsfeld Foundation, a non-profit focused on free economic and political systems within the U.S. and abroad. She assists in facilitating the many activities of the Foundation, including the Central Asia-Caucasus Fellowship Program and the Graduate Fellowship Program, as well as with relations with the Foundation’s network of partners, Fellows, military charities and more. She gained experience in public policy and diplomacy through internships with the U.S. Senate, UK Parliament, and the U.S. Department of State. She loves to run, explore new places in D.C., and has a passion for chocolate chip cookies and football.

Evelyn Heck

Editor, Newsletter


Benjamin Lutz
Co-Membership Director

Ben has volunteered with YPFP since October 2018 and he joined as a member in September 2018. As Membership Manager, he works with all of YPFPs global members by making data-driven decisions. He also is in charge of the technical database, Wild Apricot, which manages all aspects of the membership experience. Ben received his BA in International Politics from Elon University and his MA in Middle East Security and Peace Studies from the University of Bradford. He speaks Arabic and enjoys the vibrant cultural scene of DC.

Benjamin Lutz

Director, Summits


Sean McGuffin
Director & Managing Editor

Sean is the Director & Managing Editor of YPFP’s fellowship program, having started with the fellowship in 2017. During the day he works in finance at Booz Allen and graduated from Old Dominion University in 2016 with a BA in International Studies and Political Science. Sean’s greatest interests are travel and history, and he is determined to always have visited more countries than he is years old.

Sean McGuffin

Director, Fellowship Program


Jeffrey Nahm
Deputy Director, Programs

Jeffrey Nahm

Deputy Director, Programs


Courtney Powell
Head of Special Events

Courtney Powell

Director, Special Events


Paul A. Sherman
Director, Global Operations

Paul A. Sherman is Director of Global Operations at YPFP. Currently, he is the Director of Programs at the Society for International Development, Washington Chapter. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in public policy, focusing on European affairs and French. He served as Co-Managing Photo Editor at The Michigan Daily and Contributing Writer/Online Journal Editor at the Michigan Journal of International Affairs. He also gained experience in diplomacy and American foreign policy through internships with the Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray, the American Embassy in Paris, France, and the Wilson Center.

Paul A. Sherman

Director, Global Operations


Spandana Singh
Chair, Diversity & Inclusion Task Force

Spandana Singh is the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force of YPFP. Currently, Spandana works as a Policy Associate at New America's Open Technology Institute, where she focuses on issues of cybersecurity, content regulation, corporate transparency, AI, privacy and surveillance. Previously, Spandana served as a Millennial Public Policy Fellow at New America, a Public Policy Fellow at Twitter in San Francisco, and as the 2018 Cybersecurity and Technology Fellow at YPFP.  Originally from India, Spandana has spent most of her life living in East Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.

Spandana Singh

Chair, Diversity & Inclusion Task Force


Shane Szarkowski
Editor-in-Chief

Shane Szarkowski is the Editor-in-Chief of Charged Affairs, the in-house foreign policy digital journal of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP). He has four years of editorial experience involving heavy volumes of research and writing around EU institutions, renewable energy and financial policy. Shane is a recently conferred PhD (International Relations) from Oxford Brookes University where he wrote on the convergence of identity and state-building policy in Afghanistan. He is well-traveled, having lived in six countries in the past two decades, and is looking forward to settling somewhat permanently in the DC area to help cultivate the next generation of foreign policy thought leadership.

Shane Szarkowski

Editor-in-Chief, Charged Affairs


Beau Wilcox
Deputy Finance Director

As the Deputy Finance Director, Beau provides a monthly financial & accounting reports to YPFP's global senior leadership both at the chapter and board levels. He became a volunteer in August 2019 because of his interest in developing his financial management and data analysis skills.

Beau is a Training Assistant over at the Foreign Service Institute. Previously, Beau interned at organizations such as the Middle East Institute and the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. In addition, Beau is the current executive intern for Mediators Beyond Border International. His goal is to further his understanding of conflict resolution and data analysis to assist peace building programs in the Middle East and North Africa.

He received a BA in political science with a focus on international relations from Alma College located in Alma, Michigan. In the next two years, Beau hopes to enroll into Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden for their master’s program that focuses on the application of data in peacebuilding.

Beau Wilcox

Deputy Finance Director

Brussels Team


Adrian Garcia-Esteve
Executive Director, Brussels

Adrian has been Managing Director of the Brussels - EU team since January 2020, and is responsible for leading on strategy development, coordination, and team management. Outside of YPFP, Adrian serves as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Res Terrae SRL, a cross-disciplinary consultancy specializing in strategy, social impact, and communications, and is a member of the Advisory Board of Think Film Impact Productions, supporting global advocacy campaigns that seek to create positive social impact through award-winning films, documentaries, and inclusive policy dialogues.

Adrian Garcia-Esteve

Managing Director, Brussels


Cristinia Lavinia-Badulescu
Managing Director, Brussels

Cristiana became co-Managing Director in 2020, having previously held a leadership position within YPFP as part of the Security and Defence team. She has a Ph.D in Political Sciences, a M.A in International Conflict Analysis and Resolution and a B.A. in Law. Cristiana has experience in academic research and policy analysis on peace, conflict, justice and gender and has conducted fieldwork  on the Nagorno-Karabakh and Cyprus conflicts. Her research interests include foreign and security policy, peacebuilding, conflict resolution, intractable conflicts, transitional justice, criminal law. She has published on a wide range of  international peace and security related topics. 

Cristinia Lavinia-Badulescu

Deputy Managing Director, Brussels


Petra Chladkova
Finance Director

As Finance Director of the Brussels branch, Petra is in charge of budgeting, payments and monthly financial reporting of the YPFP’s Brussels branch. Petra holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Management and enjoys working with figures, spreadsheets and statistics. Originally from the Czech Republic, Petra has been living in Brussels since 2014, when she started her job at NATO in the Executive Management Division.

Petra Chladkova

Finance Director, Brussels


Max Castro Antonio
Director of Communications & Marketing

Max leads the promotional strategy for Charged Affairs, YPPF’s global journal on foreign affairs and acts as contact point for YPFP members interested in writing for Charged Affairs. Outside of YPFP, Max is currently pursuing a second Master’s degree in Political Communication at the University of Amsterdam. Besides his native Spanish, he speaks English, French, Hungarian and is learning Dutch.

Max Castro Antonio

Director of Communications & Marketing, Brussels


Franziska Krueger
Director of Programmes

Franziska studied European Studies, with a special focus on Eastern Europe, and International Relations in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Italy. Next to her undergraduate studies, Franziska was a board member of the Model United Nations Association Basel and AIESEC Basel. Furthermore, she has worked in Serbia and Kosovo on the topic of R2P and volunteered in Africa in the areas of poverty reduction and environment. In her spare time Franziska enjoys traveling and learning new languages.

Franziska Krueger

Director of Programmes, Brussels


Nima Hairy
Director of Membership

Nima is part of the Membership team and is tasked with improving the experience of current members and helping increase the visibility and overall membership size of the organization.  Having previously worked as a management consultant, he is also currently active in a Brussels based startup and in local Belgian politics.

Nima Hairy

Director of Membership, Brussels

London Team


Gurjinder Dhaliwal
Managing Director, London

Gurjinder Dhaliwal is Managing Director of YPFP London, where he is responsible for overseeing the growth and sustainability of the location. He was previously Director of Partnerships and has primarily focused on securing and fostering partnerships with embassies, think tanks, politicians and corporates.

Gurjinder is a Growth Manager at Tortoise Media, a slow news startup. He has prior experience working as a management consultant at Deloitte  and is a graduate of International Politics from King’s College London.

Gurjinder Dhaliwal

Managing Director, London

Maria is Director of Communications at YPFP London, responsible for driving the Charter’s communications strategy and public engagement. She works as a Programme Officer at the Centre for Global Mental Health at King’s College London. She’s currently a PhD candidate at KCL’s Centre for Implementation Science, researching the design of exit strategies in international development programming in low- and middle-income countries.  

Maria holds a BSs+MSc in Political Science and Governance from Complutense University of Madrid and the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Sussex, as an EU Erasmus Programme student. Prior to joining King’s College London in 2017, she was a Junior Policy Officer at the Directorate-General for International Development and Cooperation at the European Commission in Brussels where she worked with the EU Council on mainstreaming digital technologies in international development initiatives.

Maria Milenova

Director of Communications, London


Ian Perrin
Director of Programming, London

Ian is the Director of Programming at YPFP London, where he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the events programme. He has a Master’s degree in Latin American Politics, and has extensive experience in International Relations. 

Ian previously worked for the prestigious foreign affairs think tank Chatham House, and currently works for Canning House, one of the world’s leading fora on Latin American politics, economics and business, where he is the head of policy, research and operations.

Ian Perrin

Director of Programming, London

New York Team


Colin Wolfgang
Managing Director, New York

Colin Wolfgang is the Managing Director for the New York branch of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, overseeing staff operations and working to enhance membership experience and increase overall membership.

Colin received his B.A. in International Relations from Boston University. He is an independent political and communications consultant with experience working on issues such as healthcare, gun control, and education, as well as directly on political campaigns. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, cooking and tennis.

Colin Wolfgang

Managing Director, New York


Alexandra Calloway-Nation
Director of Business Development,
New York

Alexandra Calloway-Nation is the YPFP - New York Director of Business Development. She is a financial crimes consultant and has worked at the likes of J.P. Morgan Chase, Société Générale, and KPMG. Alexandra received her M.A. in International Trade and Economic Diplomacy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and B.A. in International Economic Development from Portland State University. Alexandra is originally from Montana, and enjoys reading, spending time in the outdoors, and writing articles on international affairs in her free time. 

Alexandra Calloway-Nation

Director of Business Development, New York


Dylan Johnson
Finance Director, New York

Dylan is a senior at New York University Stern completing his degree in Business and Political Economy. Half of his university education was spent abroad, first studying in London for sophomore year and splitting junior year in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. While in the Middle East, Dylan worked as an analyst intern for Le Beck International, a security risk consulting firm. He has done institutional research on Yemen and Egypt, at research centers in Tel Aviv and Washington D.C.
 
As the Finance Director for YPFP's New York branch, Dylan handles expenses and budgeting, working with the executive team to ensure that YPFP's vision in the city is financially sustainable.
 
In his free time, Dylan enjoys practicing Arabic, watching films, playing music, and cooking new recipes.

Dylan Johnson

Finance Director, New York


Ariana McAuley
Programming Director, New York

Ariana McAuley is the Programming Director for the New York branch of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, where she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the events program, scheduling, and topics with strategic organizational goals. During the day, she works at Mazars in the Business Development & Strategic Marketing department where she supports the global consulting & financial services service lines. Ariana has educational and professional achievements abroad from living in France for 3 years and has skills in French and Spanish. She holds a double Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Schiller International University-Paris and the University of Roehampton- London. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from East Carolina University.

Ariana McAuley

Programming Director, New York


Sepideh Behzadpour
Communications Director,
New York

Sepideh Behzadpour has been a member of the YPFP New York team and has been on the communications team since August 2018. She currently serves as the Director of Communications. Sepideh is a communication professional and had worked in the nonprofit sector helping organizations utilize and leverage social media into their communication and community outreach strategy. She received her BA in Communication/Journalism from the University of Washington and her MS in Global Affairs from NYU. In her spare time, she enjoys playing video games, reading, and baking.

Sepideh Behzadpour

Communications Director, New York

San Francisco Team

Toronto Team


Timothy McGuire
Executive Director, San Francisco

Tim is the Executive Director of YPFP San Francisco, where he is responsible for overseeing the growth and sustainability of YPFP activities in the Bay Area. He is focused on securing partnerships and amplifying public-private sector dialogue. In his day job, he works on data analytics and engagement at the Defense Innovation Unit in Silicon Valley, accelerating commercial technology for national security. Tim is a U.S. Air Force veteran with more than 10 years of experience in the fields of logistics, linguistics, cyber operations, and in offices of inspectors general. Before joining YPFP in 2018, Tim was a fellow with Veterans in Global Leadership.

Timothy McGuire

Managing Director, San Francisco


Reema Bazzi
Executive Director, Toronto

Reema is a Master of Global Affairs and Public Policy graduate from the University of Toronto, where she focused her education on researching and engaging in policy practices that address some the country’s, and the world’s most pressing issues such as climate change and sustainability, and immigration policies. Through work experience, ranging from frontline refugee resettlement, to government, and now consulting for government and public sector clients, she has learned the value of integrating creative and bold solutions with pragmatism. Reema’s repertoire of experience as a young woman having moved through various sectors, has helped her better understand the importance of elevating and supporting fellow youth in achieving their career goals.

Reema Bazzi

Managing Director, Toronto

Dubai Team


Eleanor Berry
Executive Director, Dubai

Eleanor Berry

Managing Director, Dubai

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