Abby Bell is a M.A. student in the International Security program with the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She holds a B.A. in Global Studies with concentrations in international politics and Latin America and minors in Spanish and geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Prior to attending graduate school, Abby worked as a federal contractor with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. She also has experience in the non-profit sector and has lived and worked in Ecuador and Spain. Her academic and research interests include grand strategy, U.S. foreign policy and national security, and international security. After graduating, Abby hopes to pursue a career in foreign policy and national security.
Dharma Bhatt is an MA student in the International Security program at George Mason University. He currently holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County. While his focus is primarily on security matters in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, he has also taken an interest in intelligence, counter-terrorism, and military strategy. He also maintains a personal blog site known as “isecthoughts,” where he shares his opinions on matters about international relations. After graduation, Dharma hopes to pursue a career in national security and foreign affairs.
Chantall Duval is a master’s student in the International Security program. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature with a concentration in sociopolitical issues from the University of Mary Washington. Her current research interests include security relations between the United States and the Korean Peninsula, DPRK grand strategy and international law. She is currently a government contractor with the Department of Justice. After graduation, Chantall hopes to pursue a career in foreign policy and diplomacy.
Alexandra Gerbracht (née Vogel) continues her 22-year career in the Marine Corps as a combat engineer, planner, and logistician. She has studied political science, security studies, and international relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; George Washington University; Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan; and Marine Corps University as both a student, instructor, and curriculum developer. Now several years into her Ph.D. journey, Lexi’s research focuses on military cooperation and civil-military control in democratizing nations.
Aydin Guven is a PhD student in Political Science at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, majoring in International Relations and Comparative Politics. He holds a M.A. in International Relations from Istanbul Medeniyet University. His academic interests are Asia/Indo Pacific security, South Asian Politics, India’s role in the US-China power competition, India’s East Asia Policy.
Meredith Hutchens is currently pursuing her master’s in International Security at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She is also a network member at the Initiative for the Study of a Stable Peace. Her research interests include counterterrorism, intelligence, international relations, and conflict resolution with the goal of addressing today’s pressing security issues informed by economic analysis. Hutchens earned her B.S. in Economics and Mathematics with a concentration in Statistics from the College of Charleston where she was a Market Process Scholar at the Center for Public Choice and Market Process.
Xavier Isaac is a first-year graduate student in the M.A. program in International Security. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from Virginia State University with a concentration on American history. During his tenure as a student at VSU, he studied at the University of Oxford for three months as part of a study abroad semester. His research interests are U.S. foreign policy, counterinsurgency, and intelligence studies. After completing his M.A. program, he hopes to pursue a lifelong career in the U.S. Intelligence Community as an intelligence analyst.
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.
Will Krueger is a M.A. student in the International Security program concentrating in Transnational Challenges. He holds a B.A. in History concentrating in Central Europe and minors in German and international relations from the University of Denver. He currently works in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at the Department of State.
Prior to attending graduate school, Will served four years in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer. He also has private sector experience in Munich, Germany. His academic and research interests include grand strategy , diplomacy, national security, and economics.
Athen LaFoy is a MA student in the International Security program at George Mason University. He currently holds a BA in National Security & Intelligence and Political Science from Fairmont State University. At FSU he was an analyst team lead for the FSU Open Source Exchange Lab. His primary interests are Southern Africa and Southeastern Asia. After graduation, his goal is to be a foreign service officer for the US State Department.
Ian M. MacLeod is an M.A. student in the International Security program with the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies with a concentration in Government and Politics and minors in Economics and Chinese from Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. His interests include international political economy, trilateral relations between China, Japan, and the United States, and strategic competition between the United States and China. After graduating, he hopes to pursue a career in foreign affairs and national security.
Ali Mammadov is a Ph.D. student in Political Science at the Schar School of Policy and Government, specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics. He holds an M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS and a B.S. in Economics and Finance from George Washington University. His research interests focus on international security and military alliances.
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.
Jared Sofia is a first-year graduate student in the Schar School’s International Security Program. He holds a B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in National Security and Foreign Policy and a minor in History from American University. His research interests include U.S.-Russia relations, nuclear non-proliferation, and European politics & security. After earning his degree, he hopes to pursue a career in the federal government working in foreign policy and national security.
Tristan Witzig is a M.A. student in the International Security program with the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He grew up in Switzerland prior to studying in the United States and holds a B.A. (honors) in History from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Academic and research interests include US Foreign Policy and National Security, and how it relates to European and East Asia security. Considering a career as an analyst.