Tim Bynion is a PhD student in Political Science at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, majoring in American Government and International Relations. He holds a B.S. in Political Science from Towson University. His research interests include the domestic sources of American foreign policy, specifically issues of public opinion and national identity.
Jordan Cohen is a Ph.D. Candidate in political science at George Mason University. He is a coauthor on the Cato Institute’s annual Arms Sales Risk Index and has published in a wide variety of outlets, including: Strategic Studies Quarterly, the Journal of the Middle East and Africa, NBC News, Defense One, The Hill, and The National Interest.
Dylan Crawford is a full-time graduate student in the International Security Master’s Program. Prior to his graduate studies Dylan was an undergraduate student at GMU majoring in Government & International Politics. His academic interests include terrorism, deterrence, and the respective contemporary regional issues facing East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Dylan’s passion for international security stems from a childhood abroad as the son of a Foreign Service Officer, where he was able to experience living in Australia, Niger, and Zimbabwe while travelling extensively. After graduation Dylan hopes to pursue a career with the government, either as a civil servant or a government contractor.
Leo Field is a MA student in the International Security program at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He holds a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations and minors in History and German from Stonehill College. He has interned with the Eurasian Partnership Foundation in Yerevan, Armenia, and became interested in International Relations and Political Science after participating in the NYLF National Security program in high school. After graduating Leo hopes to pursue a career with the State Department, serving in embassies abroad.
Christine German is a PhD student in political science at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Her work focuses on ideological extremism and its impact on political behavior, gender and extremism, and US and MENA politics. Prior to starting her PhD, Christine spent more than a decade working in international development in the Middle East and North Africa focused on gender and human rights, democracy and governance, and countering extremism.
Brandon Grosch is a full-time graduate student in the Schar School’s International Security program. He holds two B.A. degrees in History and International Studies from Towson University. His research interests include strategic air power, NATO alliance politics, and European security and economic issues. After graduation he hopes to pursue a career in foreign policy.
Jonathan Hoffman is a political science PhD student at George Mason University’s SCHAR School of Policy and Government. He holds an M.A. in Middle East and Islamic Studies and a B.A. in Global Affairs. His work has been featured in Middle East Policy, the Cornell International Affairs Review, The Cipher Brief, and other platforms. His research focuses on Middle East geopolitics and political Islam.
Courtney Kayser is a doctoral candidate in political science at George Mason University. She has a Master’s in political science with a concentration in international security and graduated Summa Cum Laude with Bachelors in both political science and philosophy. Additionally, she has a certificate in Russian and East European Studies. Her research focuses on civil wars, group formation, and nationalist and ethnic conflicts.
Danyale C. Kellogg is a Biodefense PhD student, Presidential Scholar, and graduate research assistant at the Schar School. She is currently Managing Editor of the Pandora Report, a Defense Policy Junior Fellow at the National Defense Industrial Association, Young Professional’s in Foreign Policy’s Global Health Fellow, a Pacific Forum Young Leader, and a member of the US-Japan Next Generation Leaders Initiative. In 2021, she earned her Master of International Affairs on the National Security track with concentrations in China Studies and Biosecurity from the Bush School at Texas A&M University after completing her capstone with US Indo-Pacific Command’s China Strategic Focus Group. She also earned a Global Health Graduate Certificate from the Texas A&M School of Public Health where her research focused on ROK preparedness for an infectious disease outbreak on the Korean Peninsula. In 2019, she earned a BA in History, Paideia with Distinction in Global Health, after completing her senior thesis on US strategic and intelligence failures during the Korean War. She is an alumna Women in Defense Scholar and has studied at Ewha Womans University and Korea University in Seoul as well as Universidad de Los Andes in Santiago. While at Schar, she has completed George Washington University’s Institute for Korean Studies’ North Korea Program as well as the Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties Course, offered by the US Army Medical Research Institutes of Chemical Defense and Infectious Disease. She has interned with the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, among other organizations. Her research interests include East Asia, global health security, defense policy, grand strategy, and the intersection of public health and national security. Her work has appeared in National Defense, Global Security Review, and Geopolitical Monitor.
Ryan Lee is a graduate student in the second year of his MA in International Security program at the Schar School of Policy and Government. He holds a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He currently teaches Spanish, History, Government, and Economics at the high school level. After earning his degree, he hopes to pursue a career in foreign policy and diplomacy.
Connor Monie is a second-year graduate student in the international security program. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government and international politics with a concentration in international relations from George Mason University. His research interests include alliance formation and management dynamics as well as the US-Japan alliance more specifically. After graduation, he hopes to enroll in a PhD program studying political science.
Will Nelson is an International Security M.A. student at George Mason University. He works as the Administrative Coordinator for the Anti-Illicit Trade Institute at the Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption Center with Dr. Louise Shelley and David M. Luna and is a research assistant with the State Department’s Regional China Office, focusing on Chinese Digital Silk Road activities in Southeast Asia. A 2017 graduate of the College of William & Mary with a B.A. in International Relations and minor in economics, his research focuses on intelligence and strategic analysis with an emphasis on the rise of China in the Indo-Pacific and the political structure of authoritarian states. He has lived and worked in China, Japan, Thailand, Spain and Azerbaijan and speaks fluent Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and intermediate French.
Joe Petrucelli is a PhD candidate in political science at the Schar School of Policy and Government and a senior program analyst with the Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from the United States Naval Academy and has two master’s degrees, one in national security affairs from American Military University and one in military history from the George Washington University. He previously served as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy and is currently a naval reserve officer specializing in Theater Anti-Submarine Warfare. Joe’s research interests include U.S. foreign policy, strategic stability, and force posture. His current research focuses on deterrence in the second nuclear age.
Jennifer Swint is a first year International Security master’s student with a concentration in Intelligence at the Schar School of Policy and Government. She holds a BA in Government and International Politics. She is currently a pathways intern at the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Information Resource Management. Her research interests are in strategic stability focusing on the Middle East/North Africa and Baltic Regions.
Kimberly Talley is an International Security M.A. student with two B.A. degrees in Political Science and Geography from Virginia Tech. Her research interests broadly include East Asian studies, Eastern European studies and studying international perception of US actions. Her future goals include working as a public servant for the US federal government, teaching future generations and/or pursuing a PhD in Political Science. When not pursuing her studies, she loves spending time with her australian shepherd, Zeke.
Sarah Wells is a graduate student in the first year of her MA in International Security with a concentration in transnational challenges. She graduated from GMU in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Government and International Politics. Her research interests include international development and its relationship with governance, European security, and U.S. foreign policy more broadly in the contemporary era. She hopes to begin a career in foreign policy in the near future.
Caroline Wesson is a third year PhD student studying Political Science at George Mason University where she is a President’s Scholar and a graduate research assistant. She also holds a bachelor’s and master’s in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Caroline is currently working on research related to the intersection of culture, technology, and economic development. In the security realm Caroline produces research on national innovation systems, strategic trade, and emerging technology. Caroline was a research intern with Center of Strategic and International Studies in 2019 and worked on their China Power Project. In the summer of 2020 Caroline was a Summer Associate at RAND working on issues related to the international scientific research community and security. Caroline also serves as the Managing Editor for the Arts and International Affairs journal.