The Outlook

Anika Mukker ‘26; Daphna Fineberg ‘26; Victor Lago ‘26; and Sophia Sahni ‘28 sit down for a conversation with Geeta Anand. 

Geeta Anand ‘89 is editor-in-chief of VTDigger. A Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, author and former university dean, Anand brings nearly 30 years of experience in investigative and public service journalism to the role. Anand served as dean of the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journali...

Victor Lago ‘26, Sophia Sahni ‘28, Alex Rockmore ‘27, Hannah McGee ‘27, Amber Pascovici ‘29, and Victoria Webb ‘29 sit down for a conversation with Nicholas Opiyo.

Nicholas Opiyo is the Senior Director for Human Rights at the African Middle Eastern Leadership Project, and a Frontline Fellow with the Renew Democracy Initiative. He is an award-winning human rights attorney and democracy and justice advocate from Uganda, where he found...

Pranav Akella ‘27 sits down for a conversation with Rose Gottemoller.

Gottemoeller was the Deputy Secretary General of NATO from 2016 to 2019, where she helped to drive forward NATO’s adaptation to new security challenges in Europe and in the fight against terrorism. Prior to NATO, she served for nearly five years as the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the U.S. Department of State, advising the Secreta...

Daphna Fineberg ‘26, Anika Mukker '26, Hrishik Roy ‘27, and Naomi Franzblau ‘28 sit down for a conversation with Dr. Yael Berda.  

Dr. Yael Berda is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Hebrew University and Academy Scholar for International and Area Studies at Harvard University. Previously, Berda was the Gerard Weinstock Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University and an Academy Scho...

Daphna Fineberg ‘26, Pranav Akella ‘27, Alex Rockmore ‘27, and Sophia Kohmann ‘28 sit down for a conversation with Candace Rondeaux.

Candace Rondeaux directs Future Frontlines at New America. Future Frontlines is a public intelligence service for next generation security and democratic resilience. A journalist and public policy analyst, she is a professor of practice and fellow at the Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian, and East ...

Daphna Fineberg ‘26, Pranav Akella ‘27, Sophia Kohmann ‘28, and Sophia Sahni ‘28 sit down for a conversation with Rania Aziz.

Rania Aziz is Sudanese activist who is deeply enmeshed in Sudan’s transformative landscape. She played a pivotal role in the revolution as a former member of the Sudanese Professional Association. Within the MANSAM Coalition, she championed women’s involvement in the transition government and spearheaded civi...

 Sophia Sahni ‘28, and  Pranav Akella ‘27 sit down for a conversation with Susan Stignant and Michael Woldemariam.

Susan Stigant is the director of Africa Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace that last month established an Africa Center to deepen, elevate, and expand the Institute’s commitment to stem violent conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ms. Stigant oversees the Institute’s programming on strategic regional engagement in the G...

Daphna Fineberg ‘26, Fiona Hood ‘26, Ryder Zufi ‘28, Eli Jacobs ‘28, Pranav Akella ‘27, and Madeleine Shaw ‘25 sit down for a conversation with Henry Wooster.

Henry T. Wooster serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.  He served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from September 2020 to July 2023, and prior to his Ambassadorship, as t...

Brook Mind '26 sits down for a conversation with Shiori Ito.

Shiori Ito is an Oscar and BAFTA nominated documentary filmmaker, journalist, writer, and co-founder of Hanashi Films, focusing on gender-based human rights issues. Named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2020, her voice continues to resonate globally through film, writing, and public speaking

Ito’s earlier work includes documentaries highlight...

Sophia Sahni '28, Pranav Akella '27, and Anika Mukker '26 sit down for a conversation with Wendy Cue.

Ms. Wendy Cue joined the Inter-Agency Standing Committee secretariat at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in January 2018. Prior to this role, she served as Head of the OCHA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean from July 2015. Wendy has more than 25 years of i...

Madeleine Shaw ‘25, Victor Lago ‘26, Amen Salha ‘26, Luke Hilborn ‘27, Ryder Zufi ‘28, Sophia Sahni ‘28 sit down for a conversation with Dr. Khalil Shikaki.

Khalil Shikaki is a professor of political science and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah. He is also a senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. He is a co-founder of the Arab Barometer and ...

Madeine Shaw, Victor Lago. Sophia Sahni, Arian Chimenson, and Pranav Akella sit down for a conversation with Evgenia Kara-Murza, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Tikhon Dzyadko.

Bios: 

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian politician, author, and historian who was imprisoned from 2022 to 2024 for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. He’s a recipient of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for commentary and a longtime advocate for democracy in Russia. ...

Alex Rockmore, Vidhi Piparia,  and Himmat Grewal sit down for a conversation with Justice Tsogt Tsend. Justice Tsend studied law at the National University of Mongolia. Receiving a degree from Willamette University College of Law. He was awarded his degree in administrative law from the Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University in 2017. And in 2023, Justice Tsend was awarded an L.L.M after completing the Master of Judicial Studies ...

Walker Wilson and Parnav Akella sit down for a conversation with Margot Wallström. Today we're excited and honored to be joined by Margot Wallström. Margot Wallström served as the European Commissioner for the environment, European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy, as well as the Vice President of the European Commission from 2004 to 2010. She was also appointed as the first special represent...

Julia Stewed, Prescott Herzog, and Nelson Zhang sit down for a conversation with Dr. Babu Rahman. Dr. Rahman has been a British diplomat since 1998. He is a Research Analyst in the Diplomatic Service, specializing in the UN, with a particular focus on conflict and human rights. As a Research Analyst, he provides objective research, analysis, and advice to support policymaking. He has also performed a number of front-line diplomatic...

 Vidhi Piparia,  Madeleine Shaw, and Adam Saltzman sit down for a conversation with Dahlia Scheindlin. Dahlia Scheindlin is a fellow at Century International, based in Tel Aviv. She is a public opinion expert and an international political and strategic consultant,  as well as a scholar, writer, and columnist aT Haaretz English; she holds a PhD from Tel Aviv University and she is the author of The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Isr...

Madeleine Shaw, Victor Lago, Amen Salha, Pranav Akella, Josephine Kramer, Taanvi Gowdar, and Daniel Park sit down with retired Ambassador Erica Barks-Ruggles. Ambassador Barks-Ruggles served for 32 years in senior leadership and diplomatic positions; most recently leading the successful U.S. effort to rejoin UNESCO, setting up the U.S. Mission from scratch and re-establishing U.S. leadership in the U.N.'s lead institution on A...

Victor Lago, Madeleine Shaw, and Pranav Kela sit down to talk with Captain Omer Rafiq. Captain Omer Rafiq is a Captain in the United States Marine
Corps Reserves, currently serving at Special Operations Central Command in Tampa, FL. He enlisted in the reserve component of the Marine Corps in August 2010. Following initial training, he deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Commission...