2004 International Fellows
Hyacinth Alvaran - 2005, Internationl Relations - The World Bank, East Timor
Hyacinth Alvaran sees development as a narrative. Effective development aid, she argues, must attend to the historical and sociological aspects of this narrative as well as the economic. Hyacinth has personal experience with research on development narratives. Born and raised in the Philippines, she returned to the country of her birth on a 2003 Beagle II Fellowship from the Anthropological Sciences Department; there, she studied government policies that encourage the deployment of overseas Filipino workers and the effect of these politics on families. On campus, Hyacinth researches collective action for the Sociology Department and works as a Banking Associate for Stanford Student Enterprises. Hyacinth, who speaks Spanish as well as Tagalog, serves with Barrio Assistance and performs with the music group Taiko.
Erin Brizius - 2006, undeclared - Institute for Democracy, South Africa
Erin Brizius was excited to learn more about how South Africans are building support for democracy in the face of challenges like a fractured society, economic hardship and the threat of HIV. Erin wants to spend the rest of her life studying human rights, especially the evolution of human rights norms in society and democracy's effect on this transition. To that end, this New York City native plans to major in International Relations and minor in African Studies. Erin, who speaks French, recently has been conducting research on Rwandan reconciliation and the war crimes trials with the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She has previously worked as a canvasser for Greenpeace and a research assistant at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. At Stanford, she is active in the campus chapter of Amnesty International and practices yoga. Erin plans to pursue a degree in international law and hopes to work for a human rights NGO after law school.
Lauren Casey - 2005, Earth Systems - Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden
Born to an environmentally-conscious family in Montana, Lauren Casey wants to help drive a worldwide transition toward sustainable energy practice and policy. "Energy use from fossil fuel-based sources and its direct effects on the climate are the reasons I am at Stanford," she writes. Lauren has already started her campaign for environmental responsibility: on campus, she champions the Green Dorm Project, a student group organizing the funding, design and construction of Stanford's first environmentally-neutral row house. Lauren, who speaks Spanish, has studied electricity reform in Santiago. She has also served as a camp counselor and naturalist at Stanford's Sierra Camp. During the school year, Lauren works as the Map Assistant at the Branner Earth Sciences Library, where she helps to keep Stanford's extensive collection organized and up-to-date. A member of the Stanford Women's Ultimate Frisbee Team, she helped the team win the collegiate national championship in 2003. For the past two years, she has also served as Tournament Director for the 600 person Stanford Invitational Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.
Albert Chang - 2006, undeclared - Institute for National Policy Research, Taiwan
Albert Chang says that since his freshman year of high school, his "life's passion has been dedicated to promoting positive relations between the U.S. and China." Albert transferred to Stanford from Brown in 2003. This Danville, CA native is recognized for his scholarship at both schools and has been awarded grants for independent research on Sino-American relations, including both Stanford's Chappell-Lougee and Brown's Freeman. His impressive research record includes his current position as Asia Program Research Analyst for the Nathan Hale Foreign Policy Society, an Oxford-run foreign policy think tank that publishes his bimonthly policy option papers. Albert has also worked in cross-cultural marketing strategy, product design and business translation, facilitating the work of Asian companies in the U.S. and American companies in China. On campus, Albert serves as Vice President for Development for the Forum for American/Chinese Exchange at Stanford (FACES), where he spearheaded a campaign to raise $100,000 in six months. Albert intends a major in Political Science and a minor in East Asian Studies.
Sheena Chestnut - 2005, Political Science; English minor - International Institute for Strategic Studies, United Kingdom
At Stanford in Oxford, Sheena Chestnut requested a tutorial that focused on her passion, international security studies, with special attention to failed states and post-conflict resolution. Sheena, who has also studied in Seoul and Washington D.C., is already well on her way to making international security her vocation. Sheena's work on this topic has appeared in the highly regarded Stanford Undergraduate Research Journal, and she has authored a chapter for a forthcoming book on North Korea. A former intern at the Brookings Institution in the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, Sheena has also worked for Stanford Magazine, where she wrote the student voice column. A recipient of both the Stanford President's Award for Excellence in the Freshman Year and the Boothe Prize for Excellence in Writing, Sheena now serves as Publicity Director for the Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs. She also tutors at Hope House, a residential substance abuse program for female former inmates. This Spokane, WA native is an accomplished, nationally ranked Scottish Highland dancer who competed internationally before attending Stanford.
Jeremy Goldberg - 2005, History; Political Science minor - Center for Democratic Development, Ghana
History isn't just the domain of texts and records for Jeremy Kasile Goldberg. After visiting more than two dozen countries, he's come to the conclusion that, "True understanding requires you to see a place and its people with your own eyes.to cope, persevere and triumph in new situations." Jeremy's Stanford in Government Fellowship at the Center for Democratic development in Accra, Ghana was an opportunity to experience the intricacies of governance in Africa first hand. He put his study of African history to good use at CDD: working extensively with Ghana's National Reconciliation Council on reparations measures for human rights abuses, designing a curriculum on the importance of civil rights and democracy for Ghana's military, and authoring or editing numerous publications. A native of Menlo Park, California, Jeremy attended the University of California-Santa Cruz for two years before transferring to Stanford. He wrote a campus newspaper cover story on Turkey's position in the second Iraqi conflict, was a founding member of UCSC Circle K community service, and was the first student ever appointed to the Stevenson College Academic Advisory Council. At Stanford, he is a R.A. in Lantana, the President of Stanford Circle K, edits the Journal of African Studies, and tutors through Stanford Youth Project. Jeremy plans to attend law school and pursue a career focused on foreign direct investment in the developing world. He enjoys cooking, film photography, soccer, and travel in his free time.
Justin Kitzes - 2005, Earth Systems; M.S. Earth Systems - World Wide Fund for Nature, Belize
Justin Kitzes wants to understand and design policies that address both environmental and social goals simultaneously. "How can a country develop economically without sacrificing its natural resource base? How can we make policies to capture the maximum environmental benefits for the least social costs?" he asks. Originally from Florida, Justin has extensive experience in conservation research and policy. He investigated ecotourism for the Virginia RARE Earth Center, algae for Hopkins Marine Station and human-environment interactions at Stanford's Santiago campus. Justin has also done volunteer work in rural Costa Rica, where he designed and built an outdoor composting toilet. This summer, Justin's SIG fellowship experience was featured on Stanford's Campaign for Undergraduate Education (CUE) website in the form of an online journal updated regularly from the field. Justin speaks near-fluent Spanish and sings with Mixed Company a cappella.
Julie Kozitsyna - 2006, International Relations, Russian concentration - Carnegie Center Moscow, Russia
Julie Kozitsyna has always wanted to conduct research in the city of her birth, Moscow. Julie is most interested in Russia's last decade of transition; she observes that the cultural pillars that support democracy and free market capitalism in the Western world are not yet well-established there, and she wants to learn more about how these pillars can be strengthened. Julie, who lived in Moscow until age 9, is a native speaker of Russian and is also conversant in French and Spanish. Her recent internships include a stint with the Opiate Detoxification Institute, Inc. of New York, for which she headed a radio advertising research project. On campus, Julie works as a research assistant in Stanford's Psychology Department, serves as a Peer Academic Advisor, and competes with the Stanford Bike Team. Julie plans to add Economics minor to bolster her study of privatization, which she hopes to make her area of expertise.
Yin Li - 2005, International Relations & Economics - Hong Kong Monetary Authority, China
Yin Li was selected as a SIG fellow in 2003, but had to defer her travel to Hong Kong due to the outbreak of SARS. This summer, she was finally able to serve her fellowship at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. A native of Guangzhou, Yin is fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese. Already the holder of a degree in violin performance from the Juilliard School, Yin is now exploring career paths that focus on the rise of international institutions and their effects on domestic economic policy. She is particularly interested in monetary policy, including the ways it can constrain domestic economy while itself being constrained by the international capital market. A former team captain for Greenpeace USA and an intern for the NGO Committee on Disarmament at the United Nations, Yin now works for an arthritis research group at Stanford. On campus, she also practices ballet, tango and tennis.
Alex Pagon - 2005, Economics - The World Bank, Brazil
Alex Pagon has extensive experience with fiscal responsibility on a personal level. This native of Washington state is paying his own way through Stanford with a combination of scholarships, savings and work. Alex, who is currently Command Sergeant Major of his ROTC Battalion, will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army after graduation. He is also a certified Army parachutist. Alex's past experience in government includes a stint as a Koch Fellow at the Institute for Human Studies in Virginia, where he researched domestic drug policy reform. As Policy Analyst for the National Taxpayers Union, Alex published a paper on pension system solvency. Alex, who speaks Spanish and Portuguese, studied abroad in Santiago and recently volunteered in Buenos Aires with Habitat for Humanity. On campus, he rows for Stanford's varsity crew team.
Emily Slota - 2005, Human Biology - The World Bank, Mexico
Emily Slota asks, "Why do people across the world starve while everyone I know has a home to live in and enough to eat?" Passionate about alleviating poverty, Emily is a repeat SIG Fellow; in 2003 she served at the microcredit Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. There, Emily interviewed borrowers, visited Grameen sister companies and rewrote a Grameen publication. Grameen even asked Emily to narrate one of their informational videos. Emily sees Grameen and The World Bank as complementary parts of a whole: both create sustainable economic development through access to capital. At Stanford, this Napa, CA native is active in Stanford Health Corps and Admit Weekend organization. Emily was Speaker of her class's Frosh Council and Captain of Stanford's 2002 Collegiate National Championship Kayaking Team. A Spanish-speaker, Emily has also studied in Chile. Emily plans to continue working for poverty alleviation, an issue she has "studied academically, experienced professionally and come to value personally."
Jessica Steinberg - 2006, Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities - International Labour Organization, Thailand
Jessica Steinberg became involved in human rights work through her participation in Six Degrees, Stanford's new human rights journal. As founding Features Editor for the journal, Jessica interviewed Kenneth Kaunda, first president of Zambia, and awakened her own passion for human rights and the developing world. She now serves as Editor-in-Chief for this journal, which won the Dean of Students award for Outstanding Student Group last year. Though relatively new to the topic of human rights, Jessica is not new to activism. In high school, she and her band recorded a compact disc; the proceeds went to political causes. On campus, she focuses her service activity on youth, working with both East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring and the YMCA Outlet Youth Program. Jessica speaks French and Russian and is an accomplished musician, performing with violin, guitar and voice.
Paul Yoo - 2006, Political Science & Psychology - People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, South Korea
Paul Yoo says that he became involved in activism because he was tired of watching injustice from the sidelines. Paul's advocacy credentials include everything from voter registration to Asian American issues to California politics. He has worked for both MTV's Rock the Vote campaign and the Los Angeles Korean American Coalition, where he spearheaded a citywide voter registration drive targeting Korean Americans. A volunteer project with the Committee for a Unified Independent Party had Paul mapping and strategically planning independent voting strategies. He also recently served as staff assistant in a California Senate office and helped to get SB60, which granted driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, passed. On campus, Ford Athletic Center employs Paul as a Facilities Manager. He is a research assistant in Stanford's Psychology Department and an officer of the Korean American Student Association. He enjoys drama, including stints with Ram's Head Theatrical Society and the Asian American Theater Project. Paul, who attended secondary school in Bolivia, speaks fluent Korean and Spanish as well as some Japanese.
Hyacinth Alvaran sees development as a narrative. Effective development aid, she argues, must attend to the historical and sociological aspects of this narrative as well as the economic. Hyacinth has personal experience with research on development narratives. Born and raised in the Philippines, she returned to the country of her birth on a 2003 Beagle II Fellowship from the Anthropological Sciences Department; there, she studied government policies that encourage the deployment of overseas Filipino workers and the effect of these politics on families. On campus, Hyacinth researches collective action for the Sociology Department and works as a Banking Associate for Stanford Student Enterprises. Hyacinth, who speaks Spanish as well as Tagalog, serves with Barrio Assistance and performs with the music group Taiko.
Erin Brizius - 2006, undeclared - Institute for Democracy, South Africa
Erin Brizius was excited to learn more about how South Africans are building support for democracy in the face of challenges like a fractured society, economic hardship and the threat of HIV. Erin wants to spend the rest of her life studying human rights, especially the evolution of human rights norms in society and democracy's effect on this transition. To that end, this New York City native plans to major in International Relations and minor in African Studies. Erin, who speaks French, recently has been conducting research on Rwandan reconciliation and the war crimes trials with the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She has previously worked as a canvasser for Greenpeace and a research assistant at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. At Stanford, she is active in the campus chapter of Amnesty International and practices yoga. Erin plans to pursue a degree in international law and hopes to work for a human rights NGO after law school.
Lauren Casey - 2005, Earth Systems - Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden
Born to an environmentally-conscious family in Montana, Lauren Casey wants to help drive a worldwide transition toward sustainable energy practice and policy. "Energy use from fossil fuel-based sources and its direct effects on the climate are the reasons I am at Stanford," she writes. Lauren has already started her campaign for environmental responsibility: on campus, she champions the Green Dorm Project, a student group organizing the funding, design and construction of Stanford's first environmentally-neutral row house. Lauren, who speaks Spanish, has studied electricity reform in Santiago. She has also served as a camp counselor and naturalist at Stanford's Sierra Camp. During the school year, Lauren works as the Map Assistant at the Branner Earth Sciences Library, where she helps to keep Stanford's extensive collection organized and up-to-date. A member of the Stanford Women's Ultimate Frisbee Team, she helped the team win the collegiate national championship in 2003. For the past two years, she has also served as Tournament Director for the 600 person Stanford Invitational Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.
Albert Chang - 2006, undeclared - Institute for National Policy Research, Taiwan
Albert Chang says that since his freshman year of high school, his "life's passion has been dedicated to promoting positive relations between the U.S. and China." Albert transferred to Stanford from Brown in 2003. This Danville, CA native is recognized for his scholarship at both schools and has been awarded grants for independent research on Sino-American relations, including both Stanford's Chappell-Lougee and Brown's Freeman. His impressive research record includes his current position as Asia Program Research Analyst for the Nathan Hale Foreign Policy Society, an Oxford-run foreign policy think tank that publishes his bimonthly policy option papers. Albert has also worked in cross-cultural marketing strategy, product design and business translation, facilitating the work of Asian companies in the U.S. and American companies in China. On campus, Albert serves as Vice President for Development for the Forum for American/Chinese Exchange at Stanford (FACES), where he spearheaded a campaign to raise $100,000 in six months. Albert intends a major in Political Science and a minor in East Asian Studies.
Sheena Chestnut - 2005, Political Science; English minor - International Institute for Strategic Studies, United Kingdom
At Stanford in Oxford, Sheena Chestnut requested a tutorial that focused on her passion, international security studies, with special attention to failed states and post-conflict resolution. Sheena, who has also studied in Seoul and Washington D.C., is already well on her way to making international security her vocation. Sheena's work on this topic has appeared in the highly regarded Stanford Undergraduate Research Journal, and she has authored a chapter for a forthcoming book on North Korea. A former intern at the Brookings Institution in the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, Sheena has also worked for Stanford Magazine, where she wrote the student voice column. A recipient of both the Stanford President's Award for Excellence in the Freshman Year and the Boothe Prize for Excellence in Writing, Sheena now serves as Publicity Director for the Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs. She also tutors at Hope House, a residential substance abuse program for female former inmates. This Spokane, WA native is an accomplished, nationally ranked Scottish Highland dancer who competed internationally before attending Stanford.
Jeremy Goldberg - 2005, History; Political Science minor - Center for Democratic Development, Ghana
History isn't just the domain of texts and records for Jeremy Kasile Goldberg. After visiting more than two dozen countries, he's come to the conclusion that, "True understanding requires you to see a place and its people with your own eyes.to cope, persevere and triumph in new situations." Jeremy's Stanford in Government Fellowship at the Center for Democratic development in Accra, Ghana was an opportunity to experience the intricacies of governance in Africa first hand. He put his study of African history to good use at CDD: working extensively with Ghana's National Reconciliation Council on reparations measures for human rights abuses, designing a curriculum on the importance of civil rights and democracy for Ghana's military, and authoring or editing numerous publications. A native of Menlo Park, California, Jeremy attended the University of California-Santa Cruz for two years before transferring to Stanford. He wrote a campus newspaper cover story on Turkey's position in the second Iraqi conflict, was a founding member of UCSC Circle K community service, and was the first student ever appointed to the Stevenson College Academic Advisory Council. At Stanford, he is a R.A. in Lantana, the President of Stanford Circle K, edits the Journal of African Studies, and tutors through Stanford Youth Project. Jeremy plans to attend law school and pursue a career focused on foreign direct investment in the developing world. He enjoys cooking, film photography, soccer, and travel in his free time.
Justin Kitzes - 2005, Earth Systems; M.S. Earth Systems - World Wide Fund for Nature, Belize
Justin Kitzes wants to understand and design policies that address both environmental and social goals simultaneously. "How can a country develop economically without sacrificing its natural resource base? How can we make policies to capture the maximum environmental benefits for the least social costs?" he asks. Originally from Florida, Justin has extensive experience in conservation research and policy. He investigated ecotourism for the Virginia RARE Earth Center, algae for Hopkins Marine Station and human-environment interactions at Stanford's Santiago campus. Justin has also done volunteer work in rural Costa Rica, where he designed and built an outdoor composting toilet. This summer, Justin's SIG fellowship experience was featured on Stanford's Campaign for Undergraduate Education (CUE) website in the form of an online journal updated regularly from the field. Justin speaks near-fluent Spanish and sings with Mixed Company a cappella.
Julie Kozitsyna - 2006, International Relations, Russian concentration - Carnegie Center Moscow, Russia
Julie Kozitsyna has always wanted to conduct research in the city of her birth, Moscow. Julie is most interested in Russia's last decade of transition; she observes that the cultural pillars that support democracy and free market capitalism in the Western world are not yet well-established there, and she wants to learn more about how these pillars can be strengthened. Julie, who lived in Moscow until age 9, is a native speaker of Russian and is also conversant in French and Spanish. Her recent internships include a stint with the Opiate Detoxification Institute, Inc. of New York, for which she headed a radio advertising research project. On campus, Julie works as a research assistant in Stanford's Psychology Department, serves as a Peer Academic Advisor, and competes with the Stanford Bike Team. Julie plans to add Economics minor to bolster her study of privatization, which she hopes to make her area of expertise.
Yin Li - 2005, International Relations & Economics - Hong Kong Monetary Authority, China
Yin Li was selected as a SIG fellow in 2003, but had to defer her travel to Hong Kong due to the outbreak of SARS. This summer, she was finally able to serve her fellowship at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. A native of Guangzhou, Yin is fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese. Already the holder of a degree in violin performance from the Juilliard School, Yin is now exploring career paths that focus on the rise of international institutions and their effects on domestic economic policy. She is particularly interested in monetary policy, including the ways it can constrain domestic economy while itself being constrained by the international capital market. A former team captain for Greenpeace USA and an intern for the NGO Committee on Disarmament at the United Nations, Yin now works for an arthritis research group at Stanford. On campus, she also practices ballet, tango and tennis.
Alex Pagon - 2005, Economics - The World Bank, Brazil
Alex Pagon has extensive experience with fiscal responsibility on a personal level. This native of Washington state is paying his own way through Stanford with a combination of scholarships, savings and work. Alex, who is currently Command Sergeant Major of his ROTC Battalion, will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army after graduation. He is also a certified Army parachutist. Alex's past experience in government includes a stint as a Koch Fellow at the Institute for Human Studies in Virginia, where he researched domestic drug policy reform. As Policy Analyst for the National Taxpayers Union, Alex published a paper on pension system solvency. Alex, who speaks Spanish and Portuguese, studied abroad in Santiago and recently volunteered in Buenos Aires with Habitat for Humanity. On campus, he rows for Stanford's varsity crew team.
Emily Slota - 2005, Human Biology - The World Bank, Mexico
Emily Slota asks, "Why do people across the world starve while everyone I know has a home to live in and enough to eat?" Passionate about alleviating poverty, Emily is a repeat SIG Fellow; in 2003 she served at the microcredit Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. There, Emily interviewed borrowers, visited Grameen sister companies and rewrote a Grameen publication. Grameen even asked Emily to narrate one of their informational videos. Emily sees Grameen and The World Bank as complementary parts of a whole: both create sustainable economic development through access to capital. At Stanford, this Napa, CA native is active in Stanford Health Corps and Admit Weekend organization. Emily was Speaker of her class's Frosh Council and Captain of Stanford's 2002 Collegiate National Championship Kayaking Team. A Spanish-speaker, Emily has also studied in Chile. Emily plans to continue working for poverty alleviation, an issue she has "studied academically, experienced professionally and come to value personally."
Jessica Steinberg - 2006, Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities - International Labour Organization, Thailand
Jessica Steinberg became involved in human rights work through her participation in Six Degrees, Stanford's new human rights journal. As founding Features Editor for the journal, Jessica interviewed Kenneth Kaunda, first president of Zambia, and awakened her own passion for human rights and the developing world. She now serves as Editor-in-Chief for this journal, which won the Dean of Students award for Outstanding Student Group last year. Though relatively new to the topic of human rights, Jessica is not new to activism. In high school, she and her band recorded a compact disc; the proceeds went to political causes. On campus, she focuses her service activity on youth, working with both East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring and the YMCA Outlet Youth Program. Jessica speaks French and Russian and is an accomplished musician, performing with violin, guitar and voice.
Paul Yoo - 2006, Political Science & Psychology - People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, South Korea
Paul Yoo says that he became involved in activism because he was tired of watching injustice from the sidelines. Paul's advocacy credentials include everything from voter registration to Asian American issues to California politics. He has worked for both MTV's Rock the Vote campaign and the Los Angeles Korean American Coalition, where he spearheaded a citywide voter registration drive targeting Korean Americans. A volunteer project with the Committee for a Unified Independent Party had Paul mapping and strategically planning independent voting strategies. He also recently served as staff assistant in a California Senate office and helped to get SB60, which granted driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, passed. On campus, Ford Athletic Center employs Paul as a Facilities Manager. He is a research assistant in Stanford's Psychology Department and an officer of the Korean American Student Association. He enjoys drama, including stints with Ram's Head Theatrical Society and the Asian American Theater Project. Paul, who attended secondary school in Bolivia, speaks fluent Korean and Spanish as well as some Japanese.