2011-2012 Members

Kaitlyn Hodgman, A14, is a sophomore from Ashland, Massachusetts. She intends to be an International Relations major, concentrating in International Security or International Economics, with a possible double major in Economics or Political Science. Kaitlyn is studying Spanish at Tufts, and is hoping to study abroad in Spain for a semester during her junior year. She is the Vice President of Talent Management for AIESEC Tufts, a student group that facilitates local business internships for international students. Kaitlyn is interested in international security issues, world history, conflict resolution, and Europe and the Middle East.

Katherine Monson, A13 (abroad Fall 2011), is a junior from Iowa City, Iowa. She is an Economics and International Relations (with an International Security concentration) double major. Katherine has just returned from Nanjing, China where she completed an intensive summer of Chinese study on a U.S. State Department Critical Language Scholarship. At Tufts, she is on the executive board for ALLIES (Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services), where she helped plan two national symposiums: one in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Academy, and another focusing on the tension between protecting National Security and Civil Liberties. After Tufts, Katherine is interested in pursuing studies in negotiation and war economies, examining how negotiation can address underlying causes of warfare.

Leslie Ogden, A12, is a senior at Tufts University from Durham, North Carolina majoring in International Relations with a concentration in International Security. Leslie spent the last three summers interning in Washington, D.C. working in the office of U.S. Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC), at the National Security Network, and at the Department of State. At Tufts, Leslie served as the co-President and Policy Center Director of the Roosevelt Institute and previously as the Defense and Diplomacy Policy Director. She has worked as an editor on the Tufts Daily, written for the Tufts Roundtable, and is part of the both the Tufts Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society and the Order of Omega, a national Greek Leadership Honor Society. Her policy interests include international security, the Middle East, South Asia, nuclear proliferation, energy security, and conflict resolution.

Mark Rafferty, A13 (abroad Fall 2011), is a junior majoring in Arabic and International Relations with a concentration in the Middle East and South Asia. Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mark devotes his time at Tufts to studying a wide range of interests, including comparative politics, sociology, US-Arab relations, Middle Eastern history, and comparative religions. He is a member of NIMEP (New Initiatives for Middle East Peace), a Tufts student think tank that facilitates vibrant dialogue on Middle Eastern conflict issues, and he also writes for campus magazines including the Tufts Roundtable. In his freshman year, Mark participated in the EPIIC South Asia colloquium, during which he traveled to Bangladesh with a classmate and conducted an independent field study on rural development NGOs and their community engagement practices. Mark continued exploring South Asia during the summer of 2010, interning with a media organization in Geneva researching humanitarian activity in Afghanistan. In his spare time on campus, Mark is active in the Tufts Christian Fellowship and sings with 'Anchord,' a student a cappella group.

Aparna Ramanan, A13, is a junior from sunny San Jose, California. She is majoring in Arabic and International Relations with a concentration in the Middle East and South Asia. On campus, Aparna is on the executive board for ALLIES (Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services), where she will be planning the International Roundtable as well as FIELDEX (Field Exercise in Peace and Stability Operations). Aparna spent the past summer exploring development economics in South Asia, interning with a microfinance company in South India collecting data from village surveys and studying the various networks in Indian villages that foster economic growth. Aparna hopes to pursue further studies in diplomacy and security, especially with regards to Arab nations. In her spare time, Aparna enjoys writing theater reviews for the Tufts Daily as well as volunteering for the Art of Living Foundation.

Nathalie Schils, A12 (Chair), is a senior from Cleveland, Ohio. She is an International Relations and Environmental Studies double major, concentrating in Global Health, Nutrition and the Environment. She is a member of Tufts University's Varsity Tennis Team and the Marketing Manager of Tufts Student Resources. Nathalie grew up speaking French and English at home because her parents are immigrants from Belgium. She is also studying Spanish at Tufts. She is interested in environmental policy, especially concerning energy security and resource management in the developing world.

Anna Troein, A14, is a sophomore majoring in International Relations and Art History. Anna grew up in Windsor, United Kingdom to Swedish parents. Growing up in an international, bilingual environment, Anna has been always been interested in globalization and how the world works together. During this past summer, Anna interned at Bonhams Auctioneers, seeing with her own eyes how the world interacts in business. During her gap year, Anna volunteered at the Citizens Advice Bureau, a non-profit organization that gives free, confidential and impartial advice to those in need. Anna has been involved in various community service projects, including raising money and working with Romanian orphans, working as an teaching assistant and giving guided tours in Saint Eustache Church, Paris, France. Anna speaks English and Swedish and is currently learning French. At Tufts, Anna is a Synaptic Scholar, the Dialogue Chair of CAFE, a member of Exposure, a model in the Tufts China Care Fashion Show and one of the first members of the IR Core Forum. Anna is particularly interested in how cultures blend together and the difference between a nation and a country. She will be concentrating on Europe and the Former Soviet Union.

Yunmo Ben Wang, A14, is a sophomore majoring in International Relations with a concentration in East and Southeast Asia. Born in Nanjing, China, he grew up in Toronto, Canada before moving back to attend an international school in Shanghai. Ben speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, and has a limited working proficiency in French. He also began studying Japanese at Tufts. Ben has been working as an intern at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s Satellite Sentinel Project, a group initiated by George Clooney to monitor and report on war crimes and threats to security in Sudan. He is also a management associate for Global China Connection, a China-focused 501(c)3 non-profit student organization, and serves as the co-President for its Tufts University Chapter. On campus, Ben participates in the 3Ps theater community and the debate club. His academic interests include international affairs in East Asia and East Africa, Chinese and Japanese history and literature, Chinese domestic politics, and the use of geospatial information systems (GIS) in an international humanitarian context.