LEADERSHIP

Alexander Ely
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Alexander Ely is a second-year MALD student at Fletcher, focusing on International Negotiation & Conflict Resolution and Public International Law. During the summer of 2012, he interned at the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy. Prior to Fletcher, Alex spent two years in New York working at an international communications consulting firm, specializing in political and media strategy for foreign governments and nonprofits. He spent two months in Doha, Qatar working as an advisor to the successful Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Bid. Alex graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2009 with a BA in Government, with Honors.

Jennifer Keene
MANAGING EDITOR
Jennifer Keene studies security and international humanitarian law. Prior to Fletcher, she interned for the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, a unique organization advocating for recognition and remedy for civilians harmed in armed conflict. Additionally, Jennifer has taught in Rwanda, worked as a field organizer for the 2008 campaigns of Senator Mark Warner and President Barack Obama, and interned for US Senator Patrick Leahy and UK Member of Parliament Bob Blizzard. Jennifer holds a BA in Government from the College of William and Mary.  

Jamie Kraut
MANAGING EDITOR FOR THE FORUM ONLINE
Jamie Kraut is a second year student at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy with a focus on International Security and Public International Law. She spent the past summer interning at the U.S. Mission to the EU in Brussels, Belgium. Prior to Fletcher, she worked as the research assistant in the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, conducting research and coordinating program activities on U.S.-European political, security, and economic relations. While living abroad in Paris, she studied at the Sorbonne and worked at the U.S. Embassy Paris in the Office of Defense Cooperation. Jamie graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University with a B.A. in International Relations and French.

Alexander Kaz
BUSINESS DIRECTOR
Alexander Kaz focuses on International Business Relations and International Security Studies. Prior to Fletcher, he spent a significant period of time in Beijing, China; first as the mathematics department head at Tsinghua International School and then as a co-founder of a pilot leadership development program. At Fletcher, he is interested in further exploring business and security issues in China and Russia. Alexander holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics and Mathematics from Columbia University. 

PRINT STAFF

Phoebe Randel
SENIOR EDITOR
Phoebe Randel is a second year candidate for a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy with a focus on International Security Studies and International Organizations. She spent the summer interning for the State Department at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Before attending Fletcher, Phoebe worked for Senator Richard Blumenthal on his policies related to national security, foreign affairs, and veterans’ issues. Phoebe completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a major in Political Science and a certificate in Women’s Studies. She also studied Argentine literature, politics, and history for a semester at the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Leila Seradj
SENIOR EDITOR
Prior to coming to the Fletcher School, Leila worked for the Global Assets Project at the New America Foundation, focusing on issues related to savings and asset-building in microfinance. She also spent a year working for a community development project in St. Lucia. Leila received her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Emily Simon
SENIOR EDITOR
Emily is studying US foreign policy and international communication at Fletcher.  She previously worked for America Abroad Media (AAM), a Washington-based non-profit that produces radio and TV programs on international affairs.  Prior to AAM, Emily worked for Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Communications Coordinator and contributing writer for the Harvard Gazette.  As a graduate student she has held internships with PBS FRONTLINE and the United States Mission to UNESCO in Paris.  Emily is a restaurant critic for The Boston Globe and a freelance copywriter for ETR Tours, a Swiss-based travel company that provides tour programs for international schools.  She received a B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard College.

Timothy Whitteaker
SENIOR EDITOR
Tim is studying International Security Studies and U.S. Foreign Policy. This past summer, he held a State Department internship at the American embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia. Before coming to Fletcher, he spent three years as a research associate for the Manufacturers Alliance, a trade association and think tank in Washington, DC that focuses on international business operations. Tim holds a B.A. in International Relations from the College of William and Mary.

Mari Kenton Wright
SENIOR EDITOR
Mari focuses on global health development and human security. Prior to her graduate work, Mari worked at the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, which develops policy and advocacy tools to end genocide and crimes against humanity in Africa. She also served as the Sudan Program Officer for the Africa Education & Leadership Initiative (Africa ELI) in South Sudan, helping to develop secondary education and health programs for young women.  Mari currently serves on the board of directors of Africa ELI. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Bates College.

Jennifer Ambrose
STAFF EDITOR
Jennifer is a first-year MALD student at Fletcher, focusing on development economics and international aid, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa.  Prior to coming to Fletcher, Jennifer worked as an intern at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., and she served as a Rotary Foundation Cultural Ambassadorial Scholar in France and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Rwanda.  Her work in Rwanda included teaching English, writing grants, and helping to implement two USAID-funded projects.  Jennifer also currently works as a tutor with the Tufts Literacy Corps and as a volunteer with the Tufts University Refugee Assistance Program.  She holds a B.A. in International Relations from Claremont McKenna College.

Madeeha Ansari
STAFF EDITOR
Madeeha Ansari is a first-year MALD student, interested in human security and international development. Before entering Fletcher she worked in an editorial capacity at Jinnah Institute, a public policy think tank in Pakistan. In addition, she has worked in communication-based roles with non-formal schools in urban slum areas, as well as a development consultancy. Madeeha holds a BSc. (Hons) in Economics from the London School of Economics.

Jeremy Beck
STAFF EDITOR
Jeremy Beck is a first-year MALD student at Fletcher, concentrating in security studies and international development.  Prior to beginning at Fletcher, Jeremy spent six years as an Intelligence Officer in the US Navy, then a year as a counter-terrorism analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency.  After being stationed in Japan for two years, he deployed to Iraq and Africa while supporting Special Operations Forces.  Jeremy graduated cum laude with a BA in History and Political Science from Bethany College, KS.

Jasmine Bhatia
STAFF EDITOR
Jasmine is studying Human Security, Political Systems and Theories and Global Political Economy at Fletcher. Before coming to Fletcher, Jasmine worked as a Communications Officer with the United Nations in Lebanon and as a media specialist based in Afghanistan. Jasmine has a background in journalism and holds previous degrees in media and communications from the London School of Economics and the University of Calgary.

David Blázquez
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
David Blázquez is a first-year MALD student at Fletcher, concentrating in Political Systems and Theories and Public International Law, with a special focus on Europe.  He graduated from Complutense University in Madrid with a BA and an M.Phil. in Contemporary Philosophy. He also holds an MA/M.Phil. in Political Science from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Prior to Fletcher, David was a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Government at Harvard University (2011-2012).

Lillian Dang
LEGAL EDITOR
Lillian Dang is an LL.M student at Fletcher concentrating on international law and development.  Prior to Fletcher, Lillian worked for two years with the Asia Foundation in Timor-Leste on an access to justice program. Lillian was also a corruption research officer for Pact Cambodia in Phnom Penh, a special projects coordinator for the Diplomacy Training Program in Sydney, and a research intern at the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Center in New Delhi.  Lillian holds a B.Com and LL.B from the University of New South Wales, Australia.  She was admitted to legal practice in 2009. 

Stephanie Flamenbaum
STAFF EDITOR
Stephanie Flamenbaum is a first-year student focusing on security and political transitions. Prior to attending Fletcher, Stephanie spent two years with the U.S. Institute of Peace where she worked on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Stephanie holds a B.A. in International Relations and History from Boston University. 

Lauren Hall
STAFF EDITOR
Lauren is a first-year MALD student focusing on Development Economics and International Communication and Information. She is especially interested in the role of information technology in international development. She spent the last two years at Google in Silicon Valley working as a legal assistant. This past summer, she worked on Olympic-related legal requests at Google’s European headquarters in Dublin. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Global and International Studies with a Latin American regional emphasis from the University of California at Santa Barbara. 

Joel Hernández
STAFF EDITOR
Joel is a first-year student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, with a focus on Conflict Resolution and Low-Intensity Conflicts and Transnational Crime. Prior to joining Fletcher, Joel worked as a Paralegal on the Texas-Mexico border with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, a non-profit law firm providing free legal services to the indigent. Joel grew up in Spain and France before moving to the United States at age eleven. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in History at Rice University in Houston.

Samantha Lakin
STAFF EDITOR
Samantha Lakin is a MALD student focusing on international conflict and negotiation, humanitarian aid, and Europe.  She recently completed a Fulbright scholarship in Switzerland researching the rescue of Jewish children, as refugees, during World War II.  Samantha has been a teacher with Teach For America in New Orleans, and is passionate about issues of human rights with regard to working with testimonials and oral histories. She holds a B.A. in International Relations, Politics, and French from Brandeis University.

Wah-Kwan Lin
STAFF EDITOR
Wah-Kwan Lin (Kwan) is a first year graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy concentrating on East Asian security. Prior to joining the Fletcher School, Kwan spent several years working with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as a software developer and global mobility consultant. He earned his bachelor of arts degrees from Brown University in International Relations and Business Economics.

Faiqa Mahmood
LEGAL EDITOR
Faiqa Mahmood is a first year MALD student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, focusing on Southwest Asia and Islamic Civilization, and International Organizations. Prior to Fletcher, Faiqa taught a law course to second year law students as part of the University of London’s International Program in Pakistan. She lived for a year in London, where she attended The City University and Lincoln’s Inn as part of her training to become a Barrister. She holds an LLB (Honours) from the University of London, has been called to the Bar of England and Wales, and is a licensed attorney at the Islamabad High Court, Pakistan.

Colin Mahoney
STAFF EDITOR
Colin is a second-year student at Fletcher studying U.S. foreign policy and international organizations. Prior to Fletcher, he spent three years working as an environmental consultant, and a summer getting his hands dirty at a small malnutrition nonprofit in the Rwandan hills. Colin has held internships in the Office of Management and Budget and in the Office of U.S. Senator Kent Conrad. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Brown University.

Estefanía Marchán
STAFF EDITOR
Estefanía Marchán is a first-year MALD student at Fletcher, specializing in Global Political Economy, International Trade and Commercial Policies, and Development Economics. Prior to Fletcher, Estefanía worked as a researcher and writer at Gateway House, a Mumbai-based foreign policy think tank. At Gateway House, she headed the Latin American Studies program and authored a paper, essays and several op-eds on economic and political developments in India and Latin America, global governance, and the role of the BRICS and IBSA groupings in international affairs. Estefanía graduated from the University of Southern California in 2007 with BAs in International Relations and Political Science. She is currently a freelance writer.

Zach Przystup
STAFF EDITOR
Zach studies Pacific Asia and International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. Prior to Fletcher, he worked as the U.S. Program Manager at Atlas Corps, where he managed the Atlas Corps Fellowship, a one-year training program for nonprofit leaders, for 35 participants from 23 countries. Zach holds a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame.

Julia Radice
STAFF EDITOR
Julia is a first-year MALD student at Fletcher, focusing on International Environment & Resource Policy.  Prior to Fletcher, Julia was working in the environmental nonprofit sector in New York.  Additionally, Julia spent a summer at the Department of State where she researched international approaches to overfishing for the creation of Diplomacy Simulations.  Julia graduated from Cornell University with a BA in Government and a minor in Law & Society.  She also studied geography & politics at the Sorbonne in Paris.

John Rennie
STAFF EDITOR
John is a first year MALD focusing on development economics and law and development. Prior to Fletcher, he interned at the Canadian Mission to the Organization of American States. He has also worked with Oxfam Canada and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in Zambia. He is a graduate of the University of Guelph, where he majored in political science. 

WEB STAFF

 

Anubhav Gupta
SENIOR WEB EDITOR
At Fletcher, Anubhav (Andy) is studying International Security Studies and U.S. foreign policy with a specific interest in the geopolitics of South Asia. Before Fletcher, Andy worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Water Program as well as its India Initiative on Climate Change and Energy. He interned at the Department of State after his first year at Fletcher. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he studied political science and international affairs.

Ryan Siewert
SENIOR WEB EDITOR
Ryan comes to Fletcher after serving twelve years in the United States Coast Guard as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, a law enforcement boarding officer and a Military Aide to the President.  At Fletcher, he is focusing on Pacific Asia and the United States.  This past summer, he focused on government spending as an intern at The Comeback America Initiative and traveled in China.  He has prior field experience in Niger, West Africa, where he served as an agroforestry volunteer with the Peace Corps.  Ryan earned his BA from Principia College.

Albert Trithart
SENIOR WEB EDITOR
Albert Trithart is a second-year student at Fletcher focusing on Conflict Resolution and Democratization and Governance. He is also currently a research assistant at Conflict Dynamics International (CDI). Prior to Fletcher, Albert spent three years working at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Washington, DC, where he focused on elections in Africa. Albert holds a Bachelor of Arts in World Politics and Classical Languages from Hamilton College.

Kevin Creighton
STAFF EDITOR
Kevin is a first-year MALD student focusing on development economics and international business.  Prior to his attendance at Fletcher, Kevin worked briefly for the US government and then spent four years as a Marine Officer between Washington, D.C., San Diego, and Helmand Province, Afghanistan.  Kevin Holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University in Political Science and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures.

Sofie Fredlund-Blomst
STAFF EDITOR
Sofie is a first year Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy candidate specializing in international migration and development economics. Prior to Fletcher, she was employed as a legal assistant at Simmons & Ungar, LLP., a full-service immigration law firm located in San Francisco, CA. Sofie graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009 with highest honors in Political Economy and a minor in Global Poverty.

Allison Hutchings
STAFF EDITOR
Allison Hutchings is a first-year MALD student studying development economics and global health.  Prior to coming to Fletcher, she served as a research assistant in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and as a paralegal in the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.  She has traveled throughout the Middle East and is interested in health policy, promotion, and education initiatives in the region.  She graduated with honors from the College of William & Mary with a B.A. in International Relations.

Jessica Kuhn
STAFF EDITOR
Jessica is a first-year MALD student, focusing on International Negotiation & Conflict Resolution and Development Economics.  Prior to Fletcher, she worked as a Foreign Affairs Fellow in the office of Senator Maria Cantwell in Washington, D.C.  Additionally, Jessica worked in Communications for a private foundation in Seattle, Washington, doing grantmaking for international development projects.  She graduated cum laude from the University of Washington with a B.A. in International Studies and a minor in African Studies.

Aaron Melaas
STAFF EDITOR
Aaron is a first-year PhD student focusing on International Political Economy and Development Economics. His main research interests are the evolution of industrial policy and economic integration in Latin America. Prior to coming to Fletcher, he worked for an international strategic advisory firm in Washington, DC, assisting multinational corporations with government relations, regulatory issues, market access, and political and economic risk management. Aaron holds an MA in Latin American Studies and a BSFS in International Politics from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Daniel Orth
STAFF EDITOR
Daniel Orth is a first year MALD candidate focusing on International Development and International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. Having spent the past eight years working in education in New York City and New Orleans, he is now researching the role that educational institutions play in promoting development initiatives and reintegrating post-conflict societies. Recent opportunities allowed him to work with a multifaceted development project in Haiti and explore education, health, and economic projects in western Tanzania. Prior experience included working with GlobalSolutions.org, a Washington, DC organization dedicated to building support for multilateral approaches to addressing global issues. Daniel graduated cum laude from Tulane University with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics.

Ethan Wilson
STAFF EDITOR
Ethan Wilson is a first-year MALD student, focusing on security studies and human security.  Prior to his arrival at Fletcher, he managed warehouse and production operations as a supervisor at a local Kraft Foods manufacturing facility.  Before entering the private sector, he served for four years as an active-duty US Army Officer and worked as a Crew Leader for the 2010 US Census.  His international experience includes three years overseas with the 2d Cavalry Regiment (Stryker), during which time he lived, worked and travelled extensively in Europe and served a 15-month deployment to Iraq.  A Boston-area native, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2006 with a BA in History.

BUSINESS STAFF

 

Mirza Ramic
BUSINESS ASSOCIATE
Mirza Ramic is studying International Information and Communication and Strategic Management and International Consultancy, with a regional focus on Central and Eastern Europe. He graduated from Bowdoin College with an A.B. in Government and Legal Studies & Eurasian and East European Studies. He previously pursued a music career and co-founded the fundraising campaign ‘Music Against Hunger’ through the United Nations World Food Program USA, which raised a little over $9,000 for humanitarian relief efforts in East Africa.

Maddie Thomson
BUSINESS ASSOCIATE
Maddie Thomson is a first year Masters of International Business student interested in microfinance and financial inclusion within forced migration situations. Before coming to Fletcher, she spent two and a half years in Washington D.C. working at the Tahirih Justice Center, a national non-profit organization dedicated to protecting immigrants from gender-based violence through direct legal services and public policy initiatives. Prior to that, she worked in marketing at UBS Wealth Management in New York City. Maddie is originally from Minneapolis and holds a BA from Connecticut College with a double major in International Relations and Latin American Studies.