The Strauss Center is thrilled to announce the acceptance of twelve graduate students to the upcoming 2022 – 2023 class of Brumley Next Generation Fellows. We are incredibly excited to welcome this dynamic cohort of students into the Brumley Program from across the Forty Acres, and know they will bring unique perspectives to the multi-disciplinary programs of the Strauss Center.
The Brumley Next Generation Fellows program provides research training and professional mentorship opportunities to exceptional graduate students, emphasizing exposure to ideas and methods from outside the Fellows’ home departments. Each Fellow is linked to one of Strauss’ many current research programs and a Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar, under whose guidance the Fellow will conduct their own year-long original research project. Fellows will also bring a policymaker or practitioner to campus as part of our Brumley Speaker Series, providing the Fellows with direct exposure to talented professionals in their policy areas of interest while giving the larger UT community the opportunity to hear from them in a public talk.
Meet the 2022– 2023 Brumley Next Generation Fellows:
John-Patrick (JP) Akinyemi is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management at the McCombs School of Business. JP received his B.Sc. in Business Information Systems at the University of Texas – Arlington. Before embarking on his journey as a doctoral student, JP worked as an IT Business Analyst in the Supply and Commodity Training industry, living in London and Houston, spending his off-time coordinating STEM events for Houston middle and high school students. At the McCombs School, JP focuses on interdisciplinary study of artificial intelligence, particularly around climate misinformation and harms such as bias, privacy, and cybersecurity. As a Brumley Fellow, JP will be working with Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar Chinmayi “Chinny” Sharma.
Daniela Garcia is a second-year Master of Global Policy Studies student at the LBJ School. She graduated from UT Austin with a degree in International Relations and Global Studies, specializing in International Political Economy and Latin American Studies. At the LBJ School, Daniela focuses on migration policy, researching migration flow responses through an abolitionist perspective and the psychological experience of migration. As a Brumley Fellow, Daniela will be working with Strauss Center Central America and Mexico Policy Initiative Director Stephanie Leutert.
Parham Gohari is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department within the co*ckrell School of Engineering. Parham spent the early stages of his Ph.D. studying the mathematical aspects of how machine learning algorithms process data. In 2021, Parham became a Strauss Center Cybersecurity Fellow, intending to better familiarize himself with the legal and public policy perspectives overlapping with his technical research. In his work at the co*ckrell School, Parham is leveraging his technical experience in data privacy and machine learning with his knowledge of the legal and policy outlook for these disciplines to help bridge the gap between the two to find unique solutions to data privacy issues. As a Brumley Fellow, Parham will be working with Strauss Center Cybersecurity Fellow Bart Huffman.
Kathleen Hillery is a second-year Master of Global Policy Studies student at the LBJ School. She graduated from Gettysburg College in 2012 with a B.S. in Chemistry, then worked in biomedical research and development before joining the U.S. Navy in 2014. Her time in the Navy, particularly her tour in the Mediterranean Sea from 2015-2017, influenced her professional interests in the nexus between negative climate-based outcomes, regional instability, and human migrant flows. At the LBJ School, her research aims to demonstrate the connection between climate change and national/international security, particularly as they pertain to migration.During her fellowship, she will be working with Strauss Center State Fragility Director Ashley Moran.
David Johnson is a second-year Master of Global Policy student at the LBJ School. He earned his undergraduate degree in International Studies from Texas A&M University – College Station, then began a career working for an oilfield service company. In this role, he spent five years as a field service technician in the Middle East, then as a service manager for India and Bangladesh. At the LBJ School, David studies Arabic, the Middle East, energy policy, and national security. As a Brumley fellow, David will study the geopolitics of the energy transition and how the changing energy landscape will affect U.S. policy toward Arabic geopolitical partners. David will be mentored by J. Paul Pope, Intelligence Studies Project Senior Fellow.
Esther Ko is a second-year Master of Global Policy Studies student at the LBJ School, where she specializes in national security and nuclear nonproliferation policy. Before attending the LBJ School, Esther earned her B.A. in International Relations and Global Studies from UT Austin, focusing on international security and Latin American studies. Esther has conducted research on North Korea’s nuclear and conventional military capabilities, as well as the “Gold Standard” in U.S. nuclear trade agreements. As a Brumley Fellow, Esther will be working with Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Director of the Asia Policy Program.
Kevin Lentz is a second-year dual Master of Global Policy Studies and Asian Studies student. He holds a B.A. with honors in Philosophy from Southwestern University and a Master of Political Economy from the University of Sydney. At UT, his research focus is Chinese state-backed disinformation and the Chinese Communist Party’s operational concepts of information warfare. After graduation, Kevin hopes to work in national security, with specific regional interest in the Indo-Pacific. As a Brumley Fellow, Kevin will be working with Dr. Rhonda Evans, Director of the Edward A. Clark Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies.
Igor Magalhães is a J.D. and Master of Global Policy Studies dual degree candidate with the UT School of Law and LBJ School of Public Affairs. Igor earned a B.A. with honors in Government and a B.A. with honors in History from UT Austin in 2019, during which time he also served as a Clements Center National Security Undergraduate Fellow. With a regional focus in Latin America, Igor’s primary research interests are transnational organized crime, international corruption, irregular migration, and great power competition. As a Brumley Fellow, Igor will be working with Timothy Langford.
Thomas McAuley is a second-year student pursuing a J.D. from the UT School of Law and a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School. He received a B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University, where he commissioned as a U.S. Army officer through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. After graduation, he served on active duty for four years, with his final assignment, overseeing new Army technologies before their adoption, sparking his interest in studying how technology drives changes in security policy. His research at UT Austin focuses on cyberspace and transnational crime. As a Brumley Fellow, Thomas will work with Strauss Center Cybersecurity Fellow Bryan Jones.
Cameron Poursoltan is a second-year Master of Public Affairs student at the LBJ School. He graduated summa cum laude in 2015 from Texas A&M University-College Station with a B.S. in Agricultural Economics. Currently, Cameron is State Policy Director for Congressman Michael McCaul, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, after serving in a variety of roles on the Hill over the last seven years. Cameron is interested in learning how the U.S. can maintain international leadership in critical technologies such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and advanced semiconductors. He plans to conduct research on how to bolster U.S. research and development, manufacturing, and production of these essential tools and capabilities. As a Brumley fellow, Cameron will work with Strauss Center Deputy Director Adam Klein.
Maureen Rendon is a second-year Master of Global Policy Studies student at the LBJ School. Prior to joining the LBJ School, she graduated with a double major in Music and Political Science from Southwestern University. Maureen was born in Laredo, Texas, and grew up in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Growing up in a town where violence became normalized, she felt the need to address the root causes of violence through policymaking. At the LBJ School, Maureen is specializing in International Development, with a focus on transnational organized crime and human smuggling. Her studies have helped her develop proficiency in policy analysis, development, and finding creative solutions. Maureen hopes to contribute to policymaking by centering people’s lived experiences and embodied knowledge at the core of future policy decisions. As a Brumley Fellow, Maureen will be working with Dr. Kenneth Greene, Associate Professor of Government.
Liz Wong is a second-year Master of Global Policy Studies student at the LBJ School. After graduating cum laude from the Honors College at the University of Mississippi with a dual degree in International Studies and Chinese in 2018, Liz moved to China to complete her Chinese Language Flagship Certificate. In recent years, Liz has worked as a digital marketer on both sides of the Great Firewall and brings her varied expertise in SEO, marketing, and linguistics to UT Austin. Currently, Liz is a GRA and Team Lead at the Global (Dis)Information Lab for Project Barn Owl, combining open-source intelligence techniques, her trilingual research abilities, and novel data collection strategies to investigate coordinated inauthentic activities. As a Brumley Fellow, Liz will be working with Intelligence Studies Project Director Steve Slick.
