GW – Elliott360

August 8, 2023August 16, 2023

Elliott School’s New Data Literacy Initiative: Revolutionizing Policy through Evidence-Based Approaches

Professors making presentation to staff in conference room.

Professors Emmanuel Teitelbaum and Laila Sorurbakhsh discuss data visualizations with Elliott School graduate students and International Affairs practitioners: (left to right) Chris Markiewicz, Chiara Evelti, Uugangerel Bold, and Briana Doyle.

The Elliott School is excited to announce the launch of a new initiative, Data Analytics for Policy Professionals, beginning Fall 2023. Led by Dr. Laila Sorubakhsh and Dr. Emmanuel Teitelbaum, the aim of the initiative is to provide a much-needed bridge between the world of public policy, international affairs, and data analytics. While traditional policy practice may focus more on qualitative or contextual data, the use of quantitative data in reports, presentations, dashboards, and other media are becoming increasingly common in the policy space. Through Data Literacy in International Affairs, our goal is to cross-train both traditional analysts and data scientists to combine their analytic strengths to inform innovative approaches to evidence-based policy.

As part of the initiative, the Elliott School is offering a series of courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive level that provide an understanding of which tools are most useful for both specialized and everyday policy practice. Through partnership with organizations and agencies, we seek to better serve our student body and the greater policy community by upskilling our current and future policymakers to respond to a dynamically changing world. These courses will provide students the opportunity to become empowered with the relevant data tools to improve daily operations, better understand policy, and provide evidence-based recommendations for best policy practice.

At the executive level, students, alumni, and practitioners can sign up to take our 1.5 credit weekend workshops offered both in person and online. Credits can be transferred to an Elliott School Masters program or graduate certificate. Fall 2023 offerings include IAFF 6505 Visualizing and Modeling International Politics with Dr. Emmanuel Teitelbaum (ESIA) and IAFF 6505 Expert Policy Decision Making Using Data with Dr. Leonardo Antenangeli (ESIA) and Dan Spokojny (CEO, fp21). Our hands-on approach combines technical training with guest speakers and networking events to put new technical skill sets into practice. Classes are open to beginners with no-coding experience to seasoned analysts looking to add to their skill set or understanding of its applications to the policy world. Information about the courses can be found in more detail here.

The introductory fall 2023 class will receive a special offer for the Initiative’s launch: $1,500 per 1.5 credit workshop in lieu of the standard non-degree student rate of $2,080 per 1 credit.

To apply, please submit your application here . Applications are considered on a rolling basis depending on workshop timing.

For any questions, please reach out to sorurbakhsh@gwu.edu

For additional information on the course offerings, please visit our website at https://elliott.gwu.edu/data-analytics-policy-professionals

June 8, 2023July 5, 2023

Elliott Student was Awarded the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship

Payton Beaumier, who recently graduated from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University, was awarded a 2023 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship following a highly competitive nationwide contest.

The Pickering Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by Howard University, supports extraordinary individuals who want to pursue careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State. Beaumier was chosen out of 600 outstanding candidates.

Beaumier, who grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, said that since high school, she’s dreamed of having a career that would allow her to work towards advancing human rights on a global scale.

One of her teachers in high school once said, “What makes this country great is little people doing little acts of love.” Beaumier said it is a quote that continuously sticks with her and serves as a source of motivation to dedicate her life to public service.

After completing her graduate program, Payton will become a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. She hopes to serve as a political officer working to address matters of human security and strengthen U.S. relations with countries across the globe. Payton credits her time and experience at GW for setting her on this trajectory.

When Beaumier arrived at GW, she was searching for a way to turn her passions into a career, and GW provided an incomparable sense of direction and an environment for curiosity and growth. She stated, “I had amazing academic and experiential learning opportunities at GW. It is a wonderful place to jumpstart your interests.” Specifically, she expressed her gratitude for the unique courses she took, her engaging and influential professors, the Career Services Center, and her time as part of the Elliott School Dean’s Scholars Program.

While at GW, Payton served as the recruitment officer for the Delta Phi Epsilon Professional Foreign Service Sorority and was president of the Women in International Security Branch at GWU.

She participated in the U.S. Foreign Service Internship Program and interned with the Bureau of Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru, focusing on international narcotics and law enforcement affairs. She has completed internships at the White House with the Gender Policy Council, the U.S. Department of the Treasury with the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Payton became aware of her selection for the Pickering Fellowship during her time as an intern for the White House Gender Policy Council, and she aspires to continue advocating for gender equity and equality in foreign policy during her career.

This fellowship will allow Beaumier to pursue a two-year master’s degree in an area of relevance to the Foreign Service. It will also connect her to extensive professional development opportunities, including internships, mentors, and skills training.

As part of the program, Beaumier will work at the U.S. Department of State for their domestic internship, and the U.S. Department of State will send her overseas to intern in a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to get hands-on experience with U.S. foreign policy and the work of the Foreign Service.

“I am excited for the opportunity to dedicate my future and my career to promoting peace and supporting our citizens abroad while living a life of public service.”

March 4, 2022March 8, 2022

Alumna Learned Important Lessons as Member of GW Debate and Literary Society

As she gathered with her debate teammates at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, where Martin Luther King Jr. once perused the corridors as a student, George Washington University alumna Hailey Knowles, B.S. ’21, realized her ears would be the best asset that day instead of her voice.

She was a member of the GW Debate and Literary Society competing in the Social Justice Debates between the two schools. The topic centered around police brutality. Knowles, who is white, acknowledged that she hadn’t been personally affected the same way people of color have, so listened carefully to others’ lived experience and learned how to gather evidence and make an argument on behalf of others.

“It really taught me to listen to others and understand a perspective that I’m not familiar with, or I haven’t been personally exposed to,” said Knowles, who graduated from the Elliott School of International Affairs last fall with a degree in international affairs with minors in statistics and Arabic and a concentration in the Middle East. “And that was really valuable for me.”

In today’s world where information is constantly flying around from both verified and unverified sources, it’s as important as ever to critically think and understand multiple perspectives, skills Knowles enhanced during her time at GW.

Her time with the Debate and Literary Society opened the door to all kinds of opportunities, including a fellowship at the French Embassy and trips across the United States and Europe.

She was particularly drawn to the society, which is almost 200 years old, because it emphasizes civic debate as a tool for engagement and service. One example, she said, was discussing food waste in Las Vegas, which happens to be her hometown. In addition to debating, they also toured a food bank to get a better understanding.

“Not only is it a competitive debate, but we also do a lot of interaction with the topics that we’re doing,” she said. “I just really liked that.”

She rode off into the sunset with the team when it won the 2021 EU Delegation’s Schuman Challenge, a foreign affairs contest where U.S. students presented and defended transatlantic policy initiatives before judges such as an EU ambassador, president of German Marshall Fund and a CNN national correspondent.

Knowles believes strong rhetoric is crucial when discussing topics that carry as much societal magnitude as police structure and food inequality. Having that combination of knowledge and communication skills is vital in the art of persuasion. She noted that you can have all the right answers, but if the opposition is tailoring the way it speaks to the judge—or equivalent figurehead—it won’t matter (Think of the first Kennedy/Nixon television debate, where TV viewers declared Kennedy the winner because of his poise on camera while radio viewers gave the nod to Nixon for his content).

Thanks to her experiences with the Debate and Literary Society—coupled with a high inner ambition—Knowles has entered the workforce prepared to make a difference. She currently works at the U.S. Institute of Peace, and she’s grateful for opportunities at GW showing her the importance of learning, understanding and speaking.

“It really helped me learn how important listening is and understanding different sides,” Knowles said. “It’s helped me a lot in not only debate, but also in jobs and everything else.”

October 28, 2021June 21, 2023

Youth Observer to the United Nations is Elliott School Senior

Tasked with finding the next Youth Observer to the United Nations, an interviewer asked applicant Cynthia Yue, a George Washington University senior international affairs major, what superpower she possessed.

Growing up in Tennessee as a first-generation American and woman of color, Ms. Yue knew creating a better world for all doesn’t just happen at the snap of a finger. It takes hard work, forging relationships and providing opportunities for people from all representations.

“I don’t have a superpower, but what I can do is see what other people are doing and bring them together by seeing their strengths and amplifying their voices,” Ms. Yue said.

Ms. Yue earned the job and was inaugurated in August as UNA-USA Youth Observer to the United Nations, where she’s tasked with engaging young Americans and bringing their voices to the table at UN events throughout her one-year term.

She has done virtual listening and amplifying tours with hundreds of young people across the country, hearing directly from those who will one day shape the policies and procedures of the world. Ms. Yue created a diversity bloc and has set up a case competition with UNA-USA and UNICEF USA so young citizens from all backgrounds and geographic locations can have their voices directly heard.

“We inherited a broken world and one that was plagued by climate crisis, hunger and systemic inequities,” Ms. Yue said. “What I have seen is that young people are at the forefront of these movements to build back a better world.”

She is doing all of this while balancing coursework at GW, where she is expected to graduate in May. Ms. Yue noted how understanding Elliott School of International Affairs faculty members have been as she lives out GW’s mission of immersion and service education.

Ms. Yue first came to Washington, D.C., in high school, when she served as a Senate page. She fell in love with the city and chose GW because it gave her front-row access to change. Ms. Yue, who spent seven years as a UNICEF volunteer, knew early on she wanted to make a difference. She’s doing just that by listening to and lifting all voices who seek progress.

“We can only make change if the young people are advocating for them, and young people are doing so many great works of activism to make statements and hold our leaders accountable,” Ms. Yue said. “That brings me hope.”

And hope may just be the world’s most influential superpower.

September 11, 2020February 1, 2021

Young Black Professional in International Affairs

Young Black Professionals in International Affairs (YBPIA) is a new and promising student organization committed to enhancing African and African diaspora perspectives, conversation, participation, and scholarship in the field of international relations through mentorship, networking, awareness, and on and off campus events. Read the exclusive interview with Elliott School sophomore and founder, Hannah Jackson.

What made you want to start a student org for young black professionals in IA?

I am a strong believer in the affirming power of representation. Far too often, communities of color, particularly those in the black community, don’t see enough people who look like them in the careers that they aspire to. That reality is glaringly true within the field of international affairs. Only 6 percent of the Elliott student population are black students, and according to Foreign Policy Magazine, only 8 percent of International Relations scholars are black. With so few represented, it can be very easy to internalize the stereotypical representations that are being presented to you.

The goal of YBPIA is to affirm, value, and amplify the voices and concerns of black students in the Elliott School of International Affairs on and off campus, as well as strengthen and encourage one another in what can be an alienating field. We are committed to providing a supportive, enriching environment for fostering an intellectual community and facilitating the development of both African and African diaspora studies and thought.

Our target membership is any student in the Elliott School of International Affairs who is passionate about the purposeful inclusion of African and African perspectives in and outside of the classroom, and who is interested in improving the overall experience for Black students in the Elliott School and upending the current paradigm of who can and cannot excel in the field. This includes not only Black students and young professionals, but other marginalized communities within the field such as that of the Latinx, Middle Eastern, and Asian communities.

What has the interest level been in the organization so far? It’s new, so I realize it is just getting off the ground.

YBPIA was officially registered as a student organization in July 2020, and I have been gratifyingly overwhelmed by the amount of support that we have received from African and African Diaspora undergraduate and graduate students, as well as alumni. In addition, we’ve received support via social media promotion by other student organizations and various schools and departments within the university.

Have you always been an “organizer,” even in high school?

I would not say that I have always been an “organizer,” per se, but I have always been a leader in both my school and community. I was very active in high school as a Student Ambassador, an active member on the Student Diversity Leadership Council, a general Officer of Model United Nations, an Advocacy Director and Vice President of Girl Up United Nations, and a member of the Rho Kappa Social Studies National Honor Society.

However, the most rewarding way that I have made a difference in my community is through the non-profit I started in 2018. I decided to channel my passion for human rights to a nearby community in Clarkston, GA. Clarkston is known as one of the most diverse communities per square mile in the US and is home to thousands of refugees speaking over 60 different languages. I chose to mentor and tutor refugee girls through an after-school program I founded, Because I Am A Girl Inc. Through this program, I had the opportunity to encourage and empower the girls academically and socially, through tutoring, field trips in the community, and mentorship. I received a $1,000 grant from Gas South to jumpstart my project.

Using the same leadership skills I learned in high school, I became the Freshman representative of Girl Up GW and was Vice President of Girl Up GW by my second semester. I also had the opportunity to become an active member of the Elliott School Council on Diversity and Inclusion as a freshman, and I am now on the Leadership, Ethics, and Practice (LEAP) Initiative Student Advisory Council.

What kinds of activities do you hope the student org will engage in?

Young Black Professionals in International Affairs will engage in professional, academic, and community events. We are co-sponsoring two events in the month of September, both on September 23: one with GWU Sigma Iota Rho and the GW Institute for African Studies on “Decolonizing the Narrative of Africa”; and the second with Elliott School Alumni Programs, Columbian College Alumni Programs, GW Athletics, and the LEAP Initiative on sports diplomacy titled, “Sports, Ethics, and Black Lives Matter.”

Anything else you would like to add?

In the words of Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, “if policy is being made in Africa, the Middle East, or in Asia and people from that region or culture are not present in the room, I do not see how that policy wouldn’t be enriched with their perspective.” The field of international affairs can only progress further with the acceptance and understanding of those who might bring new viewpoints into the field’s lexicon.

If you are interested in learning more about YBPIA or getting involved, please reach out to us at ybpia@gwu.edu and check our Linktree for more information, https://linktr.ee/gwuybpia!

February 1, 2019February 1, 2019

Martin Luther King Jr: A Voice and Force in International Affairs

Robert M. Franklin, Council of Foreign Relations member,
and Marcus King, director of GW’s international affairs master’s program, spoke about Martin Luther King Jr.’s international influence at the Elliott School.

Read the full story here (Courtesy of GW Today)

September 5, 2018September 6, 2018

A Message from the Dean…

Dear Elliott School students,

Welcome back! For those of you who are new to the Elliott School, we welcome you and look forward to getting to know you.

Over the past few days, I have been excited to see many of you return to campus. Elliott School students are some of the most talented, enthusiastic and service-oriented students I have met. And I am reminded that international affairs practitioners are a special breed. They are problem solvers, bridge-builders; they care deeply about the state of the world, and seek to find solutions to global challenges.

Many of you chose the Elliott School with the ultimate goal of a career in public service, possibly in the diplomatic corps or in the policy world. Others of you will find fulfillment in the private sector and, hopefully, use your financial success to the benefit of others. This week on Saturday, September 8, the George Washington University will host the tenth annual Freshman Day of Service and Convocation event. I encourage all of you to participate. Find a cause that you feel passionate about and give your time and energy in support of it. Gandhi once said that the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service to others.

You have the power to change the world. We are here to help you figure out how. Have a wonderful academic year and remember that you are part of an inclusive and diverse community of learners. We here to support you, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Good luck and welcome home!

Reuben E. Brigety II, PhD, U.S. Ambassador (ret.)
Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs