Meet the Y20 2026 Delegates
- May 8
- 5 min read
Updated: May 31
The 2026 Summit & Hosting
In 2026, the United States holds the G20 Presidency. While the main G20 Summit is hosted in Miami, the Y20 Summit will take place from August 10–14, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) is the official organizing body and hosting partner for the 2026 Y20. In this capacity, YPFP is responsible for selecting the American delegation and managing the summit’s logistics, programming, and policy development in collaboration with international partners.
2026 Policy Tracks
The 2026 negotiations are centered around five critical global pillars:
Global Economy and Job Creation: Focusing on supply chain resilience, trade efficiency, and the future of work.
Energy: Addressing affordable and secure energy supply chains, critical minerals, and resource management.
Innovation and Digital Transformation: Navigating AI governance, digital infrastructure, and online safety.
Fragility, Conflict, and Violence: Strengthening the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda and peace technology.
Food Security and Global Health: Improving food supply systems, healthcare financing, and health tech.
Importance & Legitimacy
Unlike standard youth conferences, the Y20 is a mandated part of the G20 process. It is the only formal channel through which youth voices are integrated into the G20’s official agenda. By hosting this summit, YPFP ensures that young leaders are not just "at the table" but are actively drafting the policies that will govern the global economy and international security for decades to come.
Head Delegate, Food Security and Global Health
Carmen Shaw, Co-Editor of The Pandora Report
Carmen Shaw (she/her) is a global bioeconomy and health security policy specialist. She is currently a PhD student in Biodefense and International Security at George Mason University and Managing Editor of The Pandora Report, GMU’s biodefense policy newsletter. Her research focuses on adaptive governance frameworks for emerging risks at the intersection of biotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI). She previously served as Director of the International Bioeconomy Forum at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), where she led international initiatives on bioeconomy governance, emerging biotechnology, and global health security.
She has co-led major efforts to counter zoonotic spillover of high-consequence pathogens in live animal supply chains in Southeast Asia and supported biotechnology cooperation under the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). Her work has convened hundreds of experts across government, academia, industry, and public-private partnerships to address dual-use biotechnology challenges, pandemic preparedness, and international policy coordination. A 2020-21 Fulbright Scholar to Thailand, she advanced STEM education while partnering with U.S. embassies in Bangkok and Vientiane, Laos. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she holds a Master of Science in Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution from Emory University and a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Georgia State University.
Global Economy and Job Creation
Angela Zhong, Impact Solutions Analyst, TPG Rise
Angela Zhong (she/her) serves as the Global Economy and Job Creation delegate for the US. She covers TPG Rise, one of the largest impact-focused private equity funds in the world. Her previous experience in multilateral fora includes engagements at the World Bank Spring Meetings, UNGA, SXSW, UN Conference on Trade and Development, and more.
Angela has sat on the board for The Climate Initiative, the Houston Chinese Professionals Club, and ClientEarth’s NextGen team. For her work, Angela was recognized as the G20 Indonesia 2022 Youth Sustainable and Livable Planet Champion and a Common Purpose 25 under 25. She earned her BA at Harvard in economics and environmental science public policy.
Energy
Jonathan Blackmon, Assistant Professor, Florida A&M University
Jonathan Blackmon (he/him) is an Assistant Professor at Florida A&M University, where he teaches courses in American government, international relations, and comparative politics. He brings nearly a decade of experience spanning federal land governance, international technical cooperation, and applied policy work in the Global South. His federal career includes two roles with the U.S. Forest Service. As a Resource & Development Manager, he worked on national land acquisition and conservation policy, including oversight of special-use authorizations covering economic activities such as hydropower and pipeline infrastructure on public lands. As a Brazil Operations Specialist, he coordinated technical field visits and executive-level exchanges across a broad network of governmental, NGO, indigenous, and private sector partners in the Amazon region, supporting initiatives related to environmental governance, land use, and sustainable value chains.
He was a Boren Fellow with intensive study in Brazil, an experience that deepened his focus on development, governance, and community-state relations in the Global South. His work centers on the intersection of energy systems and natural resource policy, with particular attention to how subaltern and historically marginalized communities are incorporated into development processes. He is a 2026 Y20 U.S. Delegate in the energy track, contributing to global policy conversations at the intersection of energy, environment, and development.
Innovation and Digital Transformation
Omika Suryawanshi, Consultant, McKinsey & Co.
Angela Zhong (she/her) serves as the Global Economy and Job Creation delegate for the US. She covers TPG Rise, one of the largest impact-focused private equity funds in the world. Her previous experience in multilateral fora includes engagements at the World Bank Spring Meetings, UNGA, SXSW, UN Conference on Trade and Development, and more.
Angela has sat on the board for The Climate Initiative, the Houston Chinese Professionals Club, and ClientEarth’s NextGen team. For her work, Angela was recognized as the G20 Indonesia 2022 Youth Sustainable and Livable Planet Champion and a Common Purpose 25 under 25. She earned her BA at Harvard in economics and environmental science public policy.
Fragility, Conflict, and Violence
Program Associate (MENA/Asia), National Center for State Courts
Courtney Blankenship works as a program associate in the International Programs Division of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), where she has supported the implementation of federally funded access to justice and rule of law programs in Lebanon, Pakistan, the Philippines, Morocco, Tunisia, and North Macedonia. She earned a Master of Arts in International Relations from Syracuse University, with a concentration in Peace, Security, and Conflict, as well as Certificates of Advanced Study in Security Studies and Middle Eastern Affairs. During graduate school, Courtney interned with the Near East Foundation, studied Arabic through the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship program, and received the Downey Scholars Award. She spent a semester in Russia studying at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 2021 and later worked as a Research Analyst in the Ambassador's Office at the Embassy of Bahrain.
After earning bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Communication from Pittsburg State University, Courtney served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco in the Youth and Development sector. She recently completed the Climate Action Leadership course at Tidelines Institute in Alaska, and her professional interests focus on how people-centered justice systems build public trust, reduce corruption, and promote stability, as well as how climate change intensifies state fragility by increasing resource scarcity, disrupting livelihoods, driving displacement, and constraining institutional capacity to deliver critical services. Courtney is proficient in Arabic and is building proficiency in Russian.
