Spring 2022 Fellows

Ian Dumas

Ancient Civilization & Religion Fellow - USA - Carmel, IN

Ian has just recently received his Master’s in Applied Intelligence from Georgetown University and received his BS in International Politics from Ball State University. Ian’s interest in the Middle East and North Africa began with a childhood fascination in Ancient Egypt and archeology and has evolved to cover the ancient history of the whole region. He believes that any attempt to understand the SWANA region must be rooted in understanding the evolution of the region’s culture. His fellowship will focus on the civilizations, cultures, and religions of the ancient past and how they influence the world of today.

Articles: Kizzuwatna 101 | Fall of Civilizations

David Hamilton

Conflict and Diplomacy Fellow – USA – Washington, DC

David graduated with his BA from Clark University in 2021, double majoring in Political Science and History. Many of his classes focused on peace and genocide studies, especially in the MENA region. In early 2020, his interest in this area led him to study abroad in Amman, Jordan. David has continued to pursue issues related to security and Middle East by enrolling in the US Foreign Policy & National Security Program at American University’s School of International Service. He has also attended a class on building arms capacities in the Middle East and participated in the Amman Security Colloquium where he presented on the future of WMDs in the region. In the future, David hopes to continue researching security issues within the region and become involved in peacebuilding.

Sean Kitson

Counterterrorism Fellow - USA - Montana

Sean Kitson is a recent graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey where her received his Masters in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies. Before living in Monterey, Sean received his bachelor of arts in history, as well as Central and Southwest Asian studies, with a minor in Arabic language. Sean is a passionate researcher who focuses on extremism prevention and the radicalization process.

Articles: Buyyid 101

Grace Landsberg

Culture & Archeology Fellow - USA - Beirut, Lebanon

Grace is from the US and currently living in Beirut. She graduated with a BA in Philosophy with minors in Middle Eastern and Human Service Studies. Grace has been working in marketing for about 5 years while studying Arabic online. This year she hopes to enter a Masters program in Middle Eastern studies to examine symbolism in the 2019 Lebanese revolution. As an Al-Fusaic fellow, Grace will be creating educational Levantine Arabic videos on a channel called Yalla Arabee, and content about culture and archeology sites in Lebanon.

Shannon MacColl

Policy & Culture Fellow - USA - New York, NY

Shannon is a Senior Public Policy professional with over six years of evaluating and developing improvements to frameworks, policies, and processes of government agencies. She is relatively new to the immense world of the Middle East and North Africa but is excited for the opportunity to learn and educate others on this diverse and multi-faceted region. She holds a BA in Urban Studies, a Masters in Public Administration, and a Masters in Information Design and Technology. She has also held multiple policy and public service fellowships previously. In her free time, you can find her honing her skills in boxing or sketching digital portraits.

Eelco van Riel

Counterterrorism Fellow – The Netherlands, Warsaw, Poland

Eelco graduated from King’s College London with an MA in Religion with distinction, where he focused on religion and politics in Western societies, issues in contemporary Islamic thinking and the evolution of the global Jihadist movement. He also holds a BA in Religious Studies from Utrecht University. In the capacity of teaching assistant at the latter university, he conducted and coordinated seminars on Middle Eastern affairs and religious polarization in both Europe and the MENA region. His research interests include, but are not limited to the nature of Islamic fundamentalism and the scriptural justification of violence in situations of conflict. His fellowship will focus on the role of militant organizations and the challenge of violent extremism in the MENA region.

Zachary Willis

Geopolitics & East Asia Fellow - USA - Grinnell, IA

Zach will graduate Grinnell College this May with BA in International Relations and a minor in East Asian Studies. His research has centered primarily on the rise of East and Southeast Asian states and how these states engage in diplomacy. He has participated in a State Department internship, spending a summer in the Political Section of Embassy Manila as well as an internship with Congressman Denny Heck. He is an avid writer, and his work can be found in the Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia and his own foreign affairs opinion column in the Grinnell Scarlet and Black. His fellowship will focus on relations between Asia-Pacific nations and the SWANA region and how these ties impact global diplomacy.

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