Belfer International and Global Affairs Student Fellowship

Salina Abraham is a Masters candidate in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Belfer IGA Student Fellow. Over the past five years, Salina has been an advocate for holistic approaches to environmental challenges and community-centered programs for climate solutions. Through working with the Global Landscapes Forum, World Bank, and youth organizations, Salina developed several initiatives with stakeholders ranging from the World Economic Forum to local activists. Salina has also served as co-coordinator of the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, a capacity development program for young people across agriculture, agroecology, and the forestry sector.  As a young Eritrean-American, Salina’s passion for green development in Africa has led her to launch programs in Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, as well as her home country Eritrea, where her research examined the role of tri-sectoral partnerships between corporations, government, and local communities in restoring land and securing rural women’s livelihoods. Salina holds a B.S. in Economics and Environmental Science, Honors from the University of Washington.

Nicholas Anway is a joint Juris Doctor and Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School.  After beginning his career on President Obama’s 2012 campaign, Nicholas led digital strategy in roles at Fidelity Investments and several EdTech startups. At HKS, his work focuses on related issues in Public Interest Technology, AI governance, and elections.  Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Philosophy in Politics & Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh Honors College, where he was a Brackenridge Research Fellow.

Hamish Cameron is a Master in Public Policy 2021 candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Before HKS, Hamish was Second Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Beijing managing the Australian Government’s engagement with China on energy, environment, climate change and regional infrastructure initiatives. He joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2012 after completing a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne. He is fluent in Mandarin.

John Michael Cassetta is a joint MBA/MPP candidate at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Previously, John Michael worked as a Graduate Intern in the East Asia office of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as an editor at The New York Times, and as a consultant in Deloitte Consulting’s strategy and operations practice focused on financial institutions, technology and media companies.

Casey Corcoran is a Master in Public Policy 2020 candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Casey graduated from Boston College with a dual BA in International Studies and English Literature. After graduation, he commissioned into the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant. In over four years of military service, Casey led a scout platoon, served as an Executive Officer, obtained the rank of Captain, and graduated from Ranger School – the Army’s premier leadership course. Casey is interested in foreign affairs and national security, in particular, how the United States’ conducts foreign policy in East Asia and its non-violent options for adapting to China’s growing influence in the region.

Justin DeShazor is a Master in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Before attending HKS, Justin served as the Lead Data Scientist for an applied artificial intelligence program at the U.S. Department of Defense, focusing his efforts against foreign military and intelligence organizations. During this time, he crafted DoD “algorithmic intelligence” policy and guest lectured at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Justin previously led research teams at the AidData Center for Development Policy, and his work equipped leading international development organizations with the tools for data-driven investment decisions. Justin earned his BA in Economics and Government summa cum laude from the College of William and Mary. His research interests include artificial intelligence, economic statecraft, and intelligence operations.

Emily Fry is a Master in Public Policy 2021 candidate at Harvard Kennedy School.  Prior to HKS, Emily led Sustainability (Americas) and Social Innovation at Barclays. She worked with United Nations Environment Programme to develop the Principles for Responsible Banking, and led the development and implementation of Barclays' first statement on Energy and Climate Change. Her policy interests include international climate change agreements, business and human rights, and green economic stimulus. Emily holds a BA (Hons) in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford.

Akhil Iyer is a joint Masters in Public Policy and Business Administration candidate at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School.  After receiving his B.A. with honors in International Security Studies from Stanford University, Akhil served as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer and Special Operations Team Commander.  Now transitioning off active duty, Akhil’s deployment experiences have sparked his interest in public-private cooperation on national security, including ways to better connect front-line operators with emerging commercial technologies. 

Stefani Jones is a Master in Public Policy 2022 candidate at Harvard Kennedy School. Before HKS, Stefani worked at Microsoft leading communications for State and Local Government customers and for company programs supporting the U.S. veteran and military community. Stefani previously worked at the White House during the final years of the Obama Administration, first as Media Monitor in the Office of Communications and later as Special Assistant and Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Public Engagement. She directed the White House Champions of Change Program, which honored people doing extraordinary things to make a difference in their communities. Stefani holds a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University.   

Caroline Kim is a Master in Public Policy 2021 candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her research interests include U.S. foreign policy, conflict resolution, and political-military affairs. Prior to her graduate studies, Caroline taught English at a public Islamic high school in Manado, Indonesia, on a U.S. Fulbright grant. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Political Science - International Relations and minors in Asian American Studies and Creative Writing. She speaks Korean, Spanish, and Indonesian. She is from Bakersfield, California.

Allison Lazarus is a joint Master in Public Policy and Master in Business Administration candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School.  Before attending HKS, she served as a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, with a portfolio including science and technology, defense business operations, cross-functional teams, transportation and logistics policy, interagency reform, and financial management, with additional focus areas on cybersecurity organization and security clearance reform.  She previously worked for McKinsey & Company in New York City and Washington, DC, primarily on strategy for national security and defense clients in the public sector.  Allison's policy interests include national security organization and decision-making, and technology innovation in government.  She holds a BA in History from Yale University.

Abigail Mayer is a joint Master in Public Policy and Master in Business Administration candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School.  Before attending HKS, she worked at the Boston Consulting Group, where she did extensive work in global health and global development. Over the next three years, Abigail hopes to explore business and policy solutions to reduce global climate change.  She received her BA in Global Affairs from Yale University.

Mitsuru Mukaigawara is a Master in Public Policy 2021 candidate at Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to HKS, he worked globally both as an infectious disease doctor and a policymaker, from a remote island in southern Japan to the World Health Organization headquarters. He has published widely from general medicine to global health in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the Lancet. Mitsuru’s policy interests include the political and economic consequences of pandemics and the governance and financing of international health organizations. He holds an M.D. from Tokyo Medical and Dental University.

Jamaji C. Nwanaji-Enwerem is an 8th year MD-PhD-MPP candidate at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Kennedy School. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Valedictorian from Morehouse College with a BS in Biology, and earned his PhD in the Harvard University Biological Sciences in Public Health program. He is an NIH National Research Service Award Principal Investigator and a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow. His present research examines the topics of environmental exposures, health biomarkers, and science/health/environmental public policy. 

D'Seanté Parks is pursuing a Master in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School while managing a public affairs consulting business. She has over a decade of experience in communications and political strategy for public, private and non-profit organizations. Her career started at national public affairs firm SKDKNickerbocker and she has since worked on federal, state and local elections, including on U.S. Senate campaigns for Senators Mary Landrieu and Kamala Harris. She holds a Bachelor of Political Communication from the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University where she contributed research for several published works on the roots of propaganda in America.

Amy Robinson is a Master in Public Policy 2020 candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. She received her BA in English summa cum laude from Harvard University in 2015. During the following three years, Amy worked as the Communications Manager at the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, an advocacy nonprofit funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. While with the SHLB Coalition, Amy founded and directed the Advocacy Committee as well as worked closely with schools, libraries, and health providers across the country. These interactions have fueled Amy’s interest in telecommunications, digital inclusion, and community broadband as well as her aspirations to continue a federal public service career. Due to her academic achievements and public service, Amy has been recognized as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a John Harvard scholar, and a recipient of the Carl & Lilly Pforzheimer Fellowship.

Usha Sahay is a Belfer IGA fellow and a first-year MPP candidate at HKS. Prior to Harvard, she was the managing editor of War on the Rocks, where she remains editor-at-large. She has been an editor at the Wall Street Journal and HuffPost, and a Scoville Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Usha is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia University. Her research interests include nuclear strategy, Cold War history, and leadership and decision-making in foreign policy. 

Nicole Thomasian is a joint Master of Public Policy and Medical Degree candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School and Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School. She graduated with honors from Brown University with a BS in Neuroscience. Prior to matriculating at the Warren Alpert Medical School, Nicole studied neural rewiring following stroke as a Fulbright Fellow in Japan. During her time in medical school, Nicole worked on clinical implementation of big data-driven decision support algorithms at the Emergency Digital Health Innovation Program. Nicole’s other research explores the regulation of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and nuclear technologies. Moving forward, she plans to continue taking on projects to optimize technology at the systems interface to promote health security.