Meet Our Summer 2025 Intern Class

Charles Alaimo

Program: Asia

Charles is a recent graduate of Brown University with a B.A. in International and Public Affairs. His academic and professional interests include economic statecraft, Chinese industrial policy, and A.I. policy. He is professionally fluent in Mandarin and plans to spend the next year completing a Fulbright English Teaching Fellowship in Taiwan.

Reese Barron

Program: Eurasia

Reese is a rising junior at George Washington University studying International Affairs and International Business with a concentration in Security Policy. She is originally from Malvern, PA and is passionate about defense strategy, global security, and transatlantic relations. She hopes to further develop skills in international policy and conflict studies, aspiring to conduct policy research of her own in the future.

Naia Begashvili

Program: Eurasia

Naia is a Fulbright Scholar and Edmund S. Muskie Fellow pursuing a master’s in public policy and policy Analytics at Georgia State University. Originally from the country of Georgia, Naia has nearly a decade of experience designing and implementing multi-stakeholder programs focused on democratic governance, gender equality, and countering disinformation. She has previously worked with USAID and the National Democratic Institute, supporting inclusive and data-driven policymaking and oversight, evidence-based advocacy, election observation, and parliamentary development in Georgia. Her current research interests center on Kremlin-led disinformation, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and authoritarian influence in the South Caucasus.

Beyond her work, Naia is passionate about bridging design and democracy. She dreams of launching a creative studio rooted in political storytelling and is often found planning future hikes in the Caucasus mountains.

Yen-han Chen

Program: Asia

Yen-han is a research intern with the Foreign Policy Research Institute focusing on East Asia, Taiwan, and the Western Pacific. Yen-han’s areas of interest are Taiwan’s military, Taiwan Strait security, U.S.-Taiwan relations, and cross-Strait security. Before joining the FPRI, he interned with the Coalition Defense of Taiwan at the American Enterprise Institute and the China Power Project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in government and a minor in history. Yen-han manages Taiwan Defense News Tracker on Twitter and is a contributing analyst of PLATracker. He is fluent in English and Mandarin and is proficient in French.

Brandon Fey

Program: National Security

Brandon is a student at Gettysburg College studying History and International Affairs with minors in French and Economics. At Gettysburg, he serves as News Editor of The Gettysburgian student newspaper, is a student fellow at the Civil War Institute, and works as a peer research mentor in the library. As a Philadelphia native, he is a park ambassador at Independence National Historical Park, writes as a local freelance journalist, and has served as a project intern for the United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia. His research interests include U.S. grand strategy, energy security, defense policy, and economic competition.

Layla Gardner

Program: Administration

Layla is a rising junior at UPenn majoring in Philosophy, Politics & Economics with a minor in French and History & Legal Studies. She plans to continue her studies in Paris this upcoming Fall at the Sorbonne. In her free time, Layla spends her evenings dancing with Strictly Funk Dance Co. and debating ethical conundrums with UPenn’s Ethics Bowl Team. Layla plans to attend law school in her future, where she plans to study international law.

Enne Kim

Program: Asia

Enne is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania studying International Relations and East Asian Languages and Civilization. On campus, she’s involved with the AAPI Leadership Initiative, the Sigma Iota Rho (SIR) International Relations Society, and the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education. A previous journalism intern in the Middle East and international arbitration, her interests in foreign policy range from the trilateral relationship between Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, and how nuclear deterrence features into ongoing power struggles. She speaks Korean and intermediate Japanese. 

Sofio Kipiani

Program: Eurasia

Sofio Kipiani is a rising junior at George Washington University, majoring in economics and international affairs with a concentration in security politics. She is very passionate and interested in the Eurasia region, and wants to advance her knowledge on the region’s history as well as current domestic affairs. She is fluent in English and Georgian and proficient in French. 

Sarahelena Marrapodi

Program: Communications

Sarahelena is a rising senior at the College of William and Mary studying International Relations and Italian. As an active member of the Barksdale Treble Chorus and Mortar Board, she dedicates time along with the other members to music, charity, and campus community. Dedicated to helping others, she aspires to work in global migration management and global public health.

Nathan Lee

Program: Asia

Nathan is a graduating senior from Eastvale, California who studied Political Science with a minor in Legal Reasoning & Analysis from Baylor University. Nathan has previously interned with the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Nathan was involved in the Alexander Hamilton Society and the American Enterprise Institute’s Collegiate Network. Nathan intends to pursue a career working in national security and emerging technology for the federal government.

Jiexi (Jessie) Lin

Program: Asia

Jessie is a senior at the College of William & Mary, majoring in Government and Economics. She is passionate about research on U.S.-China relations, China’s overseas investments, and geoeconomics in Asia, and actively works to deepen her understanding of these topics. In her free time, she enjoys playing badminton and learning new languages. Fluent in English, Mandarin, and French, Jessie is also learning Swahili as part of her love for exploring different cultures and languages. In the future, Jessie aspires to pursue a career in policy research and analysis, hoping to support better-informed decisions about U.S. foreign policy in Asia.

Jun-Rong (Grace) Lin

Program: Asia

Jun-Rong (Grace) Lin is a master’s student in Public Affairs at Sciences Po Paris, with a background in Politics and Economics. Her work focuses on China’s geopolitical strategy, combining data analysis and cartography to examine global dynamics. She has experience in policy analysis, government digitalization, and diplomacy, gained through roles in the public sector and think tank industry. Her current research explores China’s development aid and the global impact of the Belt and Road Initiative. Based in France, she is fluent in French, English, Chinese, and Japanese.

Avery Sullivan

Program: Asia

Avery Sullivan is a rising junior at Smith College, double majoring in Government and East Asian Languages and Cultures. Her research interests include PRC military modernization, Chinese nuclear strategy, and U.S. foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific. She has interned with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the U.S. Embassy in Greece, where she analyzed China’s strategic influence and regional security dynamics. An advanced Mandarin speaker, Avery conducts research in both English and Chinese. She was a U.S. State Department NSLI-Y scholar and spent the 2022–2023 academic year living and studying in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Avery intends to pursue a career in national security and foreign policy.

Catherine Tan

Program: Asia

Catherine is a sophomore at Colby College studying Anthropology and Global Studies. Hailing from Lexington, Massachusetts, she is passionate about US – China relations and fostering cross-cultural connections. As a research assistant in Colby’s Global Studies Department, Catherine works on migration issues in the Balkans, gaining valuable experience aligned with her aspiration to conduct policy research in the future. 

Xi Teng (XT) Tay

Program: National Security

XT is a rising senior at Swarthmore College, double majoring in Political Science and Computer Science. Originally from Singapore, he is interested in national security, Indo-Pacific security and US-China relations, and is engaged with the international community at Swarthmore, most recently serving as President of the international students’ club. In his free time, he likes to explore new cities, lift and make terrible dinners.

Grigol (Giga) Usupashvili

Program: Eurasia

Grigol is a Politics major at Bennington College, originally from Tbilisi, Georgia. His academic interests focus on democratic resilience, constitutional design, and the geopolitics of post-Soviet states. Giga has previously worked as a research assistant at the Georgian NGO CIVIC IDEA, contributing to civic education and advocacy projects. He is passionate about the intersection of law, governance, and regional security.