Biography Alisa Shapiro is a summer 2026 intern with the global policy program at Penn Washington. Originally from South Jersey, she recently completed her third year at the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, Alisa studies international relations and economic policy, and is involved with the executive board for the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project. Her academic…
Biography Sarah Shahed is a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania from South Brunswick, New Jersey. She is majoring in Philosophy, Politics, Economics with a concentration in Public Policy and Governance while pursuing minors in Legal Studies and History and in Science, Technology, and Society. She is interested in the intersection of technology and…
Biography Caitlin Zaloom is a cultural anthropologist, Professor of Social & Cultural Analysis at New York University, and a pioneering scholar of culture, economy, and finance. Her first book, Out of the Pits, analyzed the sweeping impact of technological changes in the financial trading system, and explored how the reorganization of exchange required transformations in the education…
Biography Dr. Alex Noyes is a fellow in the Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the Brookings Institution. He has expertise and senior-level U.S. government policy experience across a range of international security issues, including U.S. defense policy, military assistance, irregular warfare, resilience, total defense, coups, and democratization. From 2021 to 2023 Noyes…
Contact Biography Nicole (Nikki) Hinshaw is the Global Policy Programs Coordinator at Penn Washington. Hinshaw is a global communication and strategic partnerships professional with expertise in public and citizen diplomacy and international education. She is deeply committed to amplifying the role of higher education institutions in shaping global policy and strengthening connections between local and…
Biography Iris joins Penn Washington following a distinguished career spanning the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Senate. Most recently, she served as the inaugural Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience (2022–2025), where she advised the Secretary of Defense on protecting U.S. and allied interests in the…
Biography Dunya Afshar is a junior from San Francisco, California, majoring in Political Science and Consumer Psychology at UPenn. She is interested in innovation, entrepreneurship, and public policy, particularly how institutions and emerging technologies shape economic and healthcare outcomes. At Penn, she serves as social chair of the Penn Persian Society and Sigma Delta Tau.…
Contact Biography Sasha S. Nicholas is the Domestic Policy Programs Coordinator at Penn Washington. Previously, she worked on AI-focused initiatives for small businesses and led early childhood education programs as Manager of Policy and Programs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. In that role, she oversaw a portfolio connecting child care to broader national…
Contact Biography Daniel Schneiderman is the Director of Global Policy Programs at Penn Washington. He also serves as an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. Most recently, Daniel served as the Senior Coordinator for Afghanistan. He reported directly to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy…
Biography Luka Jacobi-Krohn is a sophomore from Edina, Minnesota, studying political science in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Luka’s policy interests include public benefits, national security, government operations, unions, and sustainable energy. He enjoys watching movies, hiking, and visiting museums.
