GRI Student Alumni

Samiksha Bhatnagar

Research Assistant

• Email: sa.bhatnagar@northeastern.edu

Samiksha Bhatnagar is currently a graduate student at Northeastern University pursuing a M.A. in International Affairs. She graduated from Delhi University, India with a B.A in Sociology and has previously conducted research in the field of Sociology and Social Psychology. She joined the Global Resilience Institute team as a co-op research assistant in July 2022 and is excited to continue to explore her passion for research at the GRI.

Rachel Abastillas

Rachel joined the Global Resilience Institute in July 2017 as a Co-op Research Assistant and continued on as a Social Media Assistant until May 2018. She graduated with a BA in International Affairs and minors in Global Social Entrepreneurship, Law and Public Policy, and Political Science. While at GRI she worked on research projects related to energy resilience and disaster resilience. After working closely with the Communications Manager, she discovered her passion for strategic communications and social media. Today, she lives in Washington D.C. working at a creative advertising studio.

Towsif Ahasan

Associate Researcher, Boston Consulting Group

Towsif graduated from Northeastern in 2018 with a combined degree in economics and business with a concentration in marketing, and completed two co-ops while studying. The first was at John Hancock, working in sales operations, and the second was as a Research Assistant at the Global Resilience Institute (GRI). While working at GRI, Towsif contributed to multiple projects related to security and resilience issues including: the launch of the Global Resilience Institute, the GRRN conference, and the Wildfire: A Changing Landscape report. Following graduation, Towsif is working as an Associate Researcher at Boston Consulting Group, with a focus on Private Equity and Venture Capital. Outside of work, Towsif enjoys watching the Baltimore Ravens, listening to podcasts, and reading about World War II.

Mohammed Ilyas Ahmed

Graduate Research Assistant

• Email: m.ahmed@northeastern.edu

Mohammed Ilyas Ahmed is one of our new Graduate Research Assistants, working closely with Rob Knake and the cyber team. He completed his undergrad from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (India) and worked for Avaya for 4 years as a Cyber Security Engineer. This is his second semester at Northeastern University majoring in Information Security. Outside of work, he likes traveling and keeping an eye on technology and its changing trends. His current work focuses on Implementation on-prem SMTP postfix servers with SPF, DKIM and DMARC validation to stop email spoofing and phishing, as well as penetration testing and system hardening of Linux based operating systems to ensure system stability and security.

Saadia Ali

• Email: s.ali@northeastern.edu

Having recently completed a BA in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy at Boston University, Ali is passionate about good policy. Ali has a strong background in non-profit work, especially with anti-hunger organization Project Bread and mentorship agency Big Sister Association of Greater Boston. Before GRI, Ali interned at the Office of Senator Edward J. Markey. Ali has been admitted to Boston University School of Law for Fall 2021.

Harish Ananda Ramanujam

Security Engineer

• Email: h.anandaramanujam@northeastern.edu

Harish joined the Global Resilience Institute in January 2020. He is pursuing his master’s in Telecommunication Networks at Northeastern University. He is a CCNA R&S certified with the ardour for Cyber and Network Security. He worked as Network Engineer with State Street and Network Infrastructure Research Associate with NITK. His current work focuses on Network Security and the use of cloud services for improving scalability and security.

Kendall Avenia

Kendall Avenia joined the Global Resilience Institute in September 2017 as an administrative assistant, and transitioned to the research team in July 2018. She is a third year at Northeastern University pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in international affairs and political science with a minor in global social entrepreneurship. Prior to joining GRI, Kendall worked as a legal assistant for a Kansas City-based law firm.

Aleszu Bajak

Manager, Media Innovation and Media Advocacy Graduate Programs

• Email: a.bajak@northeastern.edu

Joshua Bardwell

Joshua Bardwell worked as GRI’s research assistant in Washington, DC during Fall of 2016. He focused primarily on GRI’s grant project with the MacArthur Foundation, researching the global maritime supply chain, and efforts to make it secure and resilient against the threat of a radiological attack. Josh graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northeastern University in 2017 and today works in high school exchange, assisting in operations and compliance for STS Foundation.

Mohamed Benmakhlouf

Marketing and Communications Assistant

• Email: m.benmakhlouf@northeastern.edu

Mohamed worked at the GRI during between May2021 -July 2022.

Mohamed Benmakhlouf joined the Global Resilience Institute in May 2021. Born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco, Mohamed is in his second year at Northeastern University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, as well as a declared minor in Film Production. Prior to joining the GRI team, Mohamed has had professional experience rebranding an International British School serving as a Graphic Designer and Marketing Manager. Since joining Northeastern, Mohamed joined the Arab Students Association as the Co-Marketing Director, conceptualizing and creating social media content.

Emma Bernstein

Operational Support Analyst

• Email: em.bernstein@northeastern.edu

Emma graduated from Northeastern University in May, 2020 with a Bachelor’s in Political Science and International Affairs. She completed co-ops with a Boston Law firm and with Ashoka in Mexico City. Emma joined GRI’s research team as a post-graduate research associate in June 2020 after graduating, and transitioned into the role of Operational Support Analyst in August where she now serves as the Liaison to the state of Vermont.

Lydia Bird

She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering with a structural concentration and a minor in Material Science Engineering. Prior to working for GRI, Lydia studied ceramic materials and archaeological materials in Belize and Guatemala. At Northeastern, she is involved with the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, and NU Knits.

Julia Borgida

Research Assistant

Julia joined the Global Resilience Institute in June 2019. As a third year student at Northeastern University, she is pursuing a combined degree in Environmental Studies and Economics with a minor in Political Science. She is a member of the Northeastern Alliance of Civically Engaged Students and has worked as a peer mentor and volunteer at the Orchard Gardens Boys & Girls Club.

Erin Bourque

2019 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow

Erin’s first introduction to resilience came in 2016 through her work as a research assistant at the Center for Resilience Studies, GRI’s precursor. There, she focused on watershed management and interdependency challenges following record flooding in South Carolina before leaving the Center to spend a year studying Russian in Kazakhstan. Upon her return, she rejoined the team at GRI and worked on projects ranging from gray zone conflict and cybersecurity to the implementation of the inaugural Global Resilience Research Network Summit in Boston. Now, Erin is in her final semester at Northeastern and will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Affairs with minors in Russian and History. Following graduation, she will attend graduate school and join the 2019 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. U.S. Foreign Service as a Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellow.

Vishvesh Busa

Security Engineer

• Email: v.busa@northeastern.edu

Vishvesh Busa joined the Global Research Institute in September 2019 as a Security Engineer. He is pursuing his master’s in Cybersecurity at Northeastern University and completed his bachelor’s in Computer Science from India. Prior to joining GRI, Vishvesh worked as a Security Controls Monitoring Intern at Salesforce and as a Cyber Security Intern at IDEXX. He has also worked with MFS Investment Management in cloud vendors’ security assessment process

Sarah Caldwell

Graduate Research Assistant

• Email: s.caldwell@northeastern.edu

Sarah relocated from Melbourne, Australia, to pursue a Master of Science in Security and Resilience Studies at Northeastern University. In 2021 she graduated with a Bachelor of International Studies from RMIT University in Melbourne. Previously Sarah interned with the Australian Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, where she co-authored the report: Australia Out of the Loop, why we must not delegate decision making in warfare from man to machine. Sarah is excited to continue exploring her passion for research as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Global Resilience Institute.

Sofia Cardamone

Sofia joined the Global Resilience Institute in July 2018 while she was pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and International Affairs with a minor in Urban Studies at Northeastern University. Prior to joining the GRI, Sofia spent the summer abroad studying climate change science and policy in Brazil and Peru, which focused on climate hazards and city resilience as well as climate adaptation in emerging economies.

Prakhyat Chouta

Marketing and Communications Assistant

• Email: p.chouta@northeastern.edu

Prakhyat is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing, as well as a Bachelor’s in Media and Screen Studies. Prior to working with GRI, Prakhyat was the Public Relations and Marketing co-op for Karl Lagerfeld Paris in New York City, where he worked with stylists and editors from major fashion publications, coordinated celebrity gifting campaigns, and devised promotional events for the brand’s new collections. Prakhyat spent a summer semester studying abroad at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, and most recently served as the Springfest Week Chair on the Council for University Programs.

Ivan Cintron

Operational Support Analyst

• Email: i.cintron@northeastern.edu

Iván is a Master’s student in Northeastern’s Security and Resilience Studies program, recently graduated from his undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Affairs. He currently focuses his research towards disaster management/recovery alongside counter-terrorism studies. He’s worked in a range of places – from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals as a communications co-op, to the Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Israel as a research assistant, to your local skate shop as a “shred specialist.” A Puerto Rican native, his first language is Spanish and he knows all the best places to mountain bike on the island. He’s greatly looking forward to putting his skills to good use with the team at the GRI throughout his Fall co-op.

Celia Conway

Undergraduate Research Co-op

• Email: conway.ce@northeastern.edu

Before joining the GRI team, Celia served as the Science Corps Fellow at the National Council for Science and the Environment. Her work there focused on developing mechanisms to connect local governments and academia to further environmental research-informed policy, as well as supporting fundraising and communications initiatives. On campus, Celia is involved with Northeastern’s Sunrise Movement hub and volunteers with the Northeastern Food Recovery Network. Celia is currently completing her bachelor’s degree at Northeastern University, majoring in Sociology and Environmental Studies with a minor in Political Science.

Robert Croce

Research Assistant

R. Gordon Croce (Gordie) joined the Northeastern Global Resilience Institute in July of 2022. Gordie grew up in Connecticut where he attended the Pomfret School before matriculating to Northeastern University in the Fall of 2020. He is now entering his third year pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs as well as a Law and Public Policy Minor. With an eye toward law school, Gordie is excited to explore government policy as well as analysis and research at GRI this Fall.

Daniela Rincón Reyes

Global Development Coordinator

• Email: d.rincon@northeastern.edu

Daniela Rincón is currently a graduate student pursuing an MS in Media Advocacy at Northeastern. Daniela graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she double-majored in Journalism and Global Studies. She is passionate about international affairs, sustainability, and immigration law.

In the past, Daniela has worked as a Legal Writer for an immigration law firm and collaborated on advocacy and communications campaigns in social justice organizations like the ACLU.

Sarah Davitian-Reiner

Research Assistant

• Email: s.davitian-reiner@northeastern.edu

Sarah Davitian-Reiner has been a Research Assistant Co-op at the Global Resilience Institute since July of 2021. She is currently a fourth-year student at Northeastern University, pursuing a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs with minors in Political Communication and Psychology. Before joining GRI’s research team, she worked as a co-op at Dewey Square Group in Spring of 2020, participating in the firm’s grassroots and grasstops strategies to help clients reach their goals. Sarah has also worked with the Northeastern College of Social Sciences and Humanities as a peer mentor for the Department of Political Science. She is passionate about traveling, environmental justice, and exploring different genres of music, and is the current Vice President of NU Stage Musical Theater Company.

Macy DeCarlo

Undergraduate Research Co-op

• Email: decarlo.ma@northeastern.edu

Macy is a third-year student at Northeastern University studying International Affairs with a concentration in Middle East Studies, and minors in Arabic and International Security Studies. She worked as an International Security Assistant at Harvard University Global Support Services for her last co-op, where she researched potential security threats to travelers abroad.

Shailee Desai

Graduate GRRN Research Assistant

• Email: s.desai@northeastern.edu

Shailee joined the Global Resilience Institute in Fall 2019. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Environmental Science and Policy at Northeastern University. Prior to joining the GRI team, Shailee worked as a research intern for the Helmuth Lab and Scyphers Lab at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center.

Isabella Diaz

Graphic Designer

• Email: diaz.i@northeastern.edu

Isabella is working on her Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Design, with a minor in Music Industry and concentrations in Marketing and Graphic Design. Prior to joining GRI, Isabella was a Creating Services Co-op at Brown Brothers Harriman, where she created original promotional marketing materials, contributed to the design team for specialty clients and large format ads, and maintained the brand. Outside of work, she is a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority and the lead singer of a rock band.

Carlisle Dockery

• Email: c.dockery@northeastern.edu

She joined GRI in September 2017 as the Staff Assistant before being a research coordinator. Prior to starting this position, she served as a FoodCorps service member at GROW Windham in Connecticut, working with elementary schools to bolster nutrition and sustainability initiatives. Carlisle graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in Anthropology.

Charlotte Fall

Marketing & Communications Assistant

• Email: c.fall@northeastern.edu

Charlotte joined the Global Resilience Institute in January 2020. She is currently a third year undergraduate student at Northeastern pursuing a degree in Human Services and International Affairs, and minors in Global Social Entrepreneurship and Business Administration. Prior to working at GRI, Charlotte completed a co-op as a Communications and Marketing Assistant at Root Cause – a nonprofit consulting organization in Boston – managed Northeastern’s Social Enterprise Institute Newsletter, and participated as Co-President to the SEI Student Association.

Alyssa Farkas

Research Assistant

• Email: a.farkas@northeastern.edu

Alyssa joined the Global Resilience Institute in July 2020 as a Co-op Research Assistant. She is currently in her fourth year at Northeastern University, pursuing a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a minor in Spanish. Prior to joining the GRI team, Alyssa was a Program Intern at the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, and has spent many semesters working as an Assistant Teacher at the Russell J. Call Children’s Center at Northeastern. On campus, Alyssa is involved with Northeastern’s Sunrise Movement hub as part of the Research Team.

Timothy Fay

Research Assistant

• Email: fay.t@northeastern.edu

Timothy is currently pursuing his MBA at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business. Before joining GRI, Timothy graduated from Bentley University with a BS in Managerial Economics with a concentration in Economic Analysis and minors in Spanish and Sports Business Management. While at Bentley, Timothy was captain of the Swim and Dive Team, president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and a Resident Assistant.

Sam Fennell

Research Assistant

• Email: Fennell.s@northeastern.edu

Sam Fennell is currently a research assistant at the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern University. He graduated from Western Oregon University with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and is now pursuing a Master of Business Administration at Northeastern. During his time at Western Oregon, he worked on campus managing and volunteering at various LGBTQ+ and Gender equity centers.

Amar Fernald

Amar joined the Global Resilience Institute in January 2019. He is a fourth year student at Northeastern University pursuing a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics with a concentration in International Political Economy. Prior to joining GRI, Amar worked as an intern in the Irish Parliament, the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice.

Daniella Fernandes

Graduate Marketing and Communications Assistant

• Email: fernandes.da@northeastern.edu

Kathleen Fleischauer

Global Development Coordinator

• Email: k.fleischauer@northeastern.edu

Kathleen worked at GRI from Spring 2021- Summer 2022

Kathleen is a first year graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management at Northeastern University. Originally from upstate New York, she moved to Montreal, Quebec to pursue her undergraduate studies. In 2018, she graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor’s degree in International Development and Anthropology. Since receiving her Bachelor’s, she has worked in Montreal, Chicago, and the south of France, and is now very happy to be part of the Global Resilience Institute in Boston.

Emily Foster

Paralegal

Emily cooped at GRI in the summer/fall of 2016 as a fifth year at Northeastern. She graduated in the Spring of May 2017 with a degree in International Affairs and History. While at the Institute, she conducted research on a variety of security and critical infrastructure topics including maritime nuclear smuggling and the electrical industry. She also had a focus on national natural disaster resilience that involved incidents from California wildfires to South Carolina floods. Currently, Emily lives in Seattle where she works as a paralegal at a law firm in their healthcare and business departments. She plans on attending law school in the next couple years to pursue her Juris Doctor.

Daniela Galvez Vidal

Graphic Designer

• Email: d.galvezvidal@northeastern.edu

Daniela Galvez was a  Graphic Designer at the Global Research Institute in Spring 2022. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Mexico City, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Information Design and Data Visualization at Northeastern University. Daniela has a passion for maps, visual design and visual storytelling. She loves languages and cultures different from her own and mostly prefers to work in teams.

Christopher Grasso

• Email: c.grasso@northeastern.edu

Mr. Grasso holds a Master of Science in Security and Resilience Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Security and Resilience Studies from Northeastern University. He also is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree at Northeastern with a focus on the resilience of enterprises to various forms of stress and disruption.

Bhavya Ashwin Haria

Research Assistant

• Email: b.haria@northeastern.edu

Bhavya is a Bachelors of Pharmacy graduate from India. He has 4 years of professional work experience in Pharmaceutical domain. He is currently pursuing his MS in Project Management from Northeastern University. He joined GRI in May 2020 and ever since, he has been a part of multiple projects. Currently, he is a Research Assistant and is working on Maine EDA project.

Madelinn Harmelink

Research Assistant

• Email: m.harmelink@northeastern.edu

Madelinn Harmelink is in her fourth and senior year of the Environmental Studies program as an undergraduate student at Northeastern University. She is a former Global Resilience Institute co-op (Spring 2019) and is happy to be back in a part-time research assistant position for the latter half of 2020. Madelinn is concentrating in sustainability studies and conservation policy and is interested in exploring these topics through the lens of building social and physical resilience.

Sofia Hassan

Events/Administrative Assistant

• Email: s.hassan@northeastern.edu

Sofia joined the Global Resilience Institute in February 2020. She is currently in her first year at Northeastern pursuing her bachelor’s degree in International Business. Prior to joining the GRI team, Sofia did research on Cardiology and clinical trials at Columbia University. At Northeastern, she is involved in Northeastern University’s Alliance of Civically Engaged Students and Women’s Interdisciplinary Society of Entrepreneurship.

Yitzhak Henry

Yitzhak joined the Global Resilience Institute in April 2018. He completed his bachelor’s degree in International Relations at The University of the West Indies and his master’s degree in Security and Resilience Studies at Northeastern. He is currently a PhD student in Political Science at Northeastern. His research focuses are supply chain security and resilience assessment.

Andrew Henson

Operational Support Analyst

• Email: a.henson@northeastern.edu

Andrew is currently a Master’s student in Northeastern’s International Affairs program who focuses his research towards genocide and violence. Having previously graduated with a degree in Political Science, he worked in a diverse set of positions in political campaigns and research. This includes experience at the federal, state, and local levels of politics. A Cape Cod native, Andrew enjoys sailing and seafood. Recently he has taken to board games during the pandemic.

Jules Grelot

Research Assistant

Jules Grelot joined the Global Resilience Institute in August 2022. Born and raised in Paris, France, Jules is entering his second year at Northeastern University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Neuroscience and Bachelor of Science in International Business with a concentration in entrepreneurship & social innovation. Prior to joining the GRI team, Jules has had professional experience building an early stage ethical and sustainable clothing marketplace and is now working on a platform to connect researchers seeking participants to create a statistically viable representative sample. Since joining Northeastern, Jules joined the Entrepreneurs Club as the Director of Partnerships, and Evolve Ventures as Outreach Lead.

Amanda Knightly

Field Organizer, Elizabeth Warren for MA

Amanda’s first introduction to resilience came in 2017-18 through her work as a Research Assistant co-op at the Center for Resilience Studies, GRI’s precursor. There, Amanda notably contributed research to a report on the successful health care response to Hurricane Harvey, as well as helped to facilitate the inaugural Global Resilience Research Network (GRRN) conference. After her tenure with GRI, Amanda completed her final classes in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she studied the impacts of Brexit on International Economics and Financial Markets. Following graduation, Amanda went on to work for Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator and candidate for President of the United States.

Laura Kozuszek

Global Research Coordinator

• Email: l.kozuszek@northeastern.edu

Latifa Al Khalifa

Research Assistant

• Email: l.alkhalifa@northeastern.edu

Latifa Al-Khalifa is a third-year student at Northeastern University pursuing a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in International Security Studies. Born and raised in Bahrain, she joined the Global Resilience Institute team as  research assistant in January 2022. Latifa is passionate about geopolitics, national security, and is excited to continue to explore her passion for research at the GRI.

Rebecca Leeper

Software Engineer, Data Ductus

Rebecca joined the Global Resilience Institute in August 2018 as a Cybersecurity Research Assistant. She graduated from Northeastern in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and a minor in International Security Studies. Prior to her graduation, Rebecca co-opped as a software engineer at Data Ductus, a network consultancy firm, and has previously worked for US Defense contractors. In the summer of 2017, Rebecca pursued research into emerging technologies and their international security implications at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Following graduation, Rebecca went on to work for Data Ductus as a software engineer.

Serena Li

Graphic Designer

• Email: s.li@northeastern.edu

Serena joined the Global Research Institute in April 2021. She is currently a first year student at Northeastern University, pursing a BA in Communication Studies and Graphic Design. Prior to joining the marketing team Serena held internships doing design for local nonprofits, and was also involved in designing for NU Stage.

Jade Lin

Jade joined the Global Resilience Institute in July 2018. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in Marine Science, as well as a minor in Sustainability at Northeastern University. She has previously worked as a research assistant at Northeastern’s Marine Science Center in Nahant.

Jack Lovett

Operational Support Analyst

• Email: j.lovett@northeastern.edu

John (Jack) Lovett is a recent graduate of Northeastern University, where he earned his BA in Political Science & History and a Master of Public Administration. During his time at Northeastern, he completed a number of co-ops and internships, including at the Massachusetts Governor’s Office and most recently at the Boston Municipal Research Bureau. He currently works as an Operational Support Analyst at the Global Resilience Institute, supporting FEMA and COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery efforts in Maine and Rhode Island. Jack is a lifelong Massachusetts resident.