Julian Arevalo
E-mail: arevalo@bu.edu

Website: http://people.bu.edu/arevalo/

Julian Arévalo obtained his BA in Economics from the Externado University of Colombia in 2000. In 2003 he received a MA in Economic Theory and Policy from the National University of Colombia. He specialized in Game Theory and Econometrics and the focus of his research was a theoretical model of gradual bargaining. The results of his work have been published in different peer-reviewed journals.
He worked as an Assistant Professor in Colombia for three years. In 2007 he received his MA in Economics from Boston University and started the PhD program in Political Science.
His research interests include Latin American politics, conflict resolution, and civil society.

Michal Biletzki
E-mail: biletzki@bu.edu
Office: PLS 210

Website: http://people.bu.edu/biletzki/
Michal Biletzki received her BA in Political Science from Tel Aviv University in 2004. She also attended the Program for Mediation and Conflict Resolution and received a post-graduate certificate and a Certified Mediator diploma from Tel Aviv University. Michal is interested in political theory with a focus on the Israeli context. She passed her qualifying examinations in February 2008.

During Fall 2007 Michal will be a TF for PO101 and a co-instructor
for "Introduction to Political Science" at CELOP. During Spring 2008
Michal will be a TF for PO291.

Stephen Bird
E-mail: sbird@bu.edu
Office: PLS 311B
Website: http://people.bu.edu/sbird/
Stephen Bird began dissertation research on interest groups, social networks, and energy and environmental policy in 2006. He is a lecturer at BU (PO 101), Northeastern University (Environmental Politics), and formerly at Simmons College (U.S. Congress and Presidency). He received his MA in government with honors from Harvard in 2003, was the recipient of a Kennedy School Rappaport Fellowship in 2004, and has worked for Harvard's Electricity Policy Group since 2002. His consulting experience includes work for the U.S. State Department and Massachusetts Environmental Affairs. He is President of the Board of Directors at Mass Energy (a consumer energy non-profit). He has been a teaching fellow in PO 101, 102 and 211, and won the teaching fellow award in 2005.

Deniz Bulut Ture
E-mail: bulutd@bu.edu
Office: PLS 210
Deniz has received her B.A. in Political science and public administration from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. She has worked as a teaching fellow for various political science, international relations and political thought courses. Her research interest includes contemporary political theory, Turkish politics and politics of European Union.

She has recently passed her qualifying examinations and is currently working on her dissertation proposal.

Jose Campanella
E-mail: jgcampanella@msn.com
Jose Campanella received his MA in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and has a law degree from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (Caracas, Venezuela). He has served as the chief legal advisor in the Central Information Office of the Venezuelan Presidency. Jose plans to focus on the institutional factors that contribute to poverty and inequality in Latin America, with a particular focus on his native Venezuela.

He passed his qualifying examinations in February 2004 and defended his dissertation proposal in December 2005. Jose entered the program in Fall 2001.

Guillermo Cejudo Ramirez
E-mail: gmcejudo@bu.edu
Guillermo Cejudo Ramirez received his BA in Public Administration at El Colegio de Mexico in 2000 and his MA in Public Sector Management at the London School of Economics in 2001, with a distinction. His main research interest is public sector reform. Guillermo is the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship and a Deans Award from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

He passed his qualifying examinations in April 2005, and is currently working on his dissertation on democratization and public sector change.

Chien-Kai Chen received his BA in political science from National Taiwan University in 2003 and his MA in political science from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, in 2007. He entered the program in Fall 2007. He is interested in Comparative Politics and International Relations, especially putting his focus on the political and economic development in East Asia.

David Collier
E-mail: dcollier@bu.edu
Office: PLS 311D
David Collier received his BA and MA in Politics and History from the University of Glasgow in 2002. He has worked as a Research and Information Officer at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh library and as a research assistant at the Centre for the Study of Islam at the University of Glasgow. David is interested in comparative politics with a focus on Islam and in particular the politics and history of Iran.

David will be a teaching fellow for PO 271, Introduction to International Relations, in Fall 2006 and Spring 2007. He entered the program in Fall 2004.

Robert Daniel is originally from Toronto, and has been living in the United States since 1994.  He got his Master of Arts degree in International Relations History from the University of Toronto in 2001.  He started his Ph.D. in Political Theory at Boston University in 2007.  Mr. Daniel’s research interests are the electoral system, and the philosophy and application of human liberty.  His Ph.D. research focuses on how the world-wide practice of geographical districting negatively affects democracy.  He has been a teacher since 2002, and is also interested in education theory, and education in the free market.

Ashraf El Sherif
E-mail: elsherif@bu.edu
Office: PLS 209
Ashraf El Sherif received his MA in Political Science from the American University in Cairo in 2003 and his BA in Political Science and Economics from the American University in Cairo in 2000. He is interested in Comparative Politics with a specific focus on the Middle East and comparative political development.

Ashraf will be a teaching fellow for PO 251, Introduction to Comparative Politics, in Fall 2006. He passed his qualifying exams in October 2005 and defended his proposal in May 2006. Ashraf entered the program in Fall 2003.

Yasser El-Shimy
E-mail: sheemy@gmail.com
Office: PLS 209
Yasser El-Shimy is an Egyptian student who has recently acquired
Permanent Resident status in the United States of America. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree with High Honors from the American University in Cairo.

It was also in the same institution where he has worked on his Master's Degree. His specialization areas include, but are not limited to, International Relations theory, Middle East Studies, Foreign Policy
Analysis and Security Studies. He is expected to graduate in May 2012.

Yasser is married to Mrs. Kimberly Adams, Program Officer at the State House News Service.

Michael Field
E-mail: mfield@bu.edu
Michael Field received his BS in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and the Licence es Sciences Politiques (Etudes Internationales) from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. He entered the program in 1994 and passed his qualifying examinations in October 2000.

Michael defended his dissertation proposal on pacifism and non-violence in international political theory in October 2002 and is working as Assistant Provost at Boston University while he conducts his dissertation research.

Sara Fulmer
E-mail: fulmers@bu.edu
Office: PLS 311D
Sara Fulmer received her BA in Political Science from the University of Cincinnati in 2003. Her areas of interest include Latin American and South Asian politics, politics of developing countries and social justice issues.

Sara will be a teaching fellow for PO 101, 4 Introduction to Political Science, in Fall 2006 and for PO 211, Introduction to American Politics, in Spring 2007. She entered the program in Fall 2004 and won the Teaching Fellow Award in 2006.

Deniz Gungen
E-mail: deniz@bu.edu
Office: PLS 313D
Deniz Gungen received his MA in Global Finance Trade and Economy from the University of Denver in 1999 and his BA in International Relations from Bilkent University in 1997. He is interested in informal economy and its effects on international relations in the Middle East.

Deniz passed his qualifying exams in April 2006 and will be a teaching fellow for PO 101, Introduction to Political Science, in Fall 2006. He entered the program in Fall 2004.

Alexandra Hennessy
E-mail: hennessy@bu.edu

Website: http://people.bu.edu/hennessy/

Alexandra Hennessy received Boston Universitys highest academic scholarship, the Presidential University Graduate Fellowship (PUGF), in 2001. She earned her MA in Political Science from Humboldt University (Berlin, Germany) and her BA in Political Science from Duke University.

Alexandras principal research interest at this time is with the interactions between governments, unions, and employers in the European Union, particularly with how collective bargaining systems adapt to a changing environment. She passed her qualifying examinations in May 2003 and defended her proposal in September 2005.

Ariel Ivanier
E-mail: aivanier@bu.edu
Office: PLS 223
Ariel Ivanier was the recipient of Boston Universitys highest academic scholarship, the Presidential University Graduate Fellowship (PUGF), in 2003. He earned his MA in International Relations from SAIS Johns Hopkins University in 2003 and his BA in International Relations from Universidad de San Andres in 2000. Ariel is interested in international political economy and his dissertation research is focused on the analysis of democratization reforms of multilateral institutions governing the global economy.

Ariel passed his qualifying examinations in March 2005 and defended his dissertation proposal in April 2006. He will be a Junior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna during Spring 2008.

Jennifer Jefferis
E-mail: jefferis2@juno.com
Jennifer Jefferis received her BA in Political Science and Communication from Grove City College in 2002. She entered the program in Fall 2002 and won the Teaching Fellow Award for 2004.

Jennifer passed her qualifying examinations in October 2004. and defended her dissertation proposal in April 2006. She will be conducting research for her dissertation in Egypt this fall.

Ippei Kamae received his B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from Keio
University, Tokyo, Japan, in 2002 and 2004 respectively. From 2001 to 2004 Ippei served as an intern in the office of Mr. Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan and Member of the Japanese House of Representatives. He also worked as an assistant researcher, from 2002 to 2004, in the social science division of the Japan$B!G(Bs Independent Institute Co., Ltd., a Tokyo-based think tank that advises Japanese ministries, agencies, and private firms on national security, regional analyses, and civil defense issues.

Ippei entered the Ph.D. program at Boston University in September 2004 and completed his coursework as a fellow of the Japan Student Service Organization (JASSO, former Japan Scholarship Foundation) with the Outstanding Scholarly Achievement Grant from 2004 until 2007.

Ippei finished his qualifying examination in February 2007, and is
currently working on his dissertation while he serves as a project
coordinator at the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies,
Harvard University. At the institute, he is engaged in the "Constitutional
Revision" Research Project (Please see the following link for more
details. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~rijs/crrp/index.html).

His area of specialization is Asia-Pacific international relations,
Japanese diplomacy, and the nuclear proliferation in East Asia.

Dagmar Kusa
E-mail: dagmar@bu.edu
Dagmar Kusa received her BA/MA (1999) in Political Science from Univerzita Komenkeho in Bratislavia (Slovak Republic). She entered the program in Fall 2000 and is interested in researching territory as a social and psychological factor and the territoriality of ethnic groups.

Dagmar won the Teaching Fellow Award in 2001. She passed her qualifying examinations in April 2002 and is currently working on her dissertation research.

BeckHing Lee received his MBA, MA and BA in a number of majors including Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Boston. His major field in the doctoral program here is International Relations and his interest is in the Southeast Asian region.

Catherine Long
E-mail: catlong@bu.edu
Catherine Long, an ABD PhD candidate, graduated cum laude from Purdue University with a BA in Political Science and History focused on
international law, trade, and Indian political history. She completed an MA with distinction in Political Science emphasizing development and African Studies from Loyola University of Chicago. She worked in the Woodrow Wilson Center and the offices of a US House of Representative Member. She also worked on health NGO program funding and policy issues in Tanzania and India.

Catherine completed her departmental PhD studies as an African Studies FLAS Fellow. During this time, she completed an MPH in International Health with an emphasis on methods and international pharmaceutical policy. She also completed certification in African Studies with an emphasis on development and trade policies in Eastern and Southern Africa. She taught a course on EU-African Trade Relations at Tufts and American Politics at Boston University. Her current research addresses finance and service policies of national innovation systems of mid-developing states, especially India and South Africa, influencing trade in pharmacological biotechnology innovation. She will be a writing fellow in Fall 2007 teaching WR100 on the political control of atomic energy innovations.

Andreea graduated with a major in Political Science and a minor in Sociology from The National School for Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest, Romania. During college she studied one year with an Erasmus scholarship at the University of Trieste, in Italy.

In 2004, she received her M.A. in Political Science and a Certificate in Political Communication from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. Her MA thesis, “The Media Coverage of the Romanian Revolution” was published in Romania, in 2006.

Currently, she is a second year PhD student and a teaching fellow at Boston University, Department of Political Science. Her main academic interest is comparative politics with a focus on the post-communist transition of Eastern Europe.

In June 2007, she took part in Germany in The Viadrina Summer University, “Religion and Modernity Societal Determination and its Cultural Potential”. This intensive three week program brought together leading researchers from different areas to explore the role of religion in modern societies.

In July 2007, she participated in Greece in the Olympia Summer Seminar, “The Challenges of International Media Technology and Policy” organized by the Kokkalis Foundation and the Duke University’s DeWitt Wallace Center for Communications and Journalism. The seminar addressed the effects of technology on the business model and the dilemma of news; electoral campaigning and media coverage of elections; the challenges that arise from managing small media businesses in small markets; and the effects of media freedom and public opinion on democracy.

Andreea will be a teaching fellow for PO 271, Introduction to International Relations, in Fall 2007, and PO 241, Introduction to Public Policy, in Spring 2007.

Grant Marlier is a first year graduate student in the department.  He graduated magna cum laude from The Ohio State University in 2007.  Grant is focused on international relations, with particular interests in: conflicts over natural resources, migration issues, and ethics.  

Masse Ndiaye
E-mail: mndiaye@bu.edu
Office: PLS 213
Masse Ndiaye received his MA in Political Science from Northern Illinois University in 2002, an MA (1998) and a BA (1997) in English African Studies from Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar. He entered the program in Fall 2002.

Masse was awarded fellowships from the African Studies Center for three years and will be a Graduate Writing Fellow in Fall 2007. He passed his qualifying examinations in February 2004 and defended his dissertation proposal on Global Governance and Failed State Reconstruction in Africa in March 2005.

Erzen Oncel
E-mail: erzeno@bu.edu
Erzen Oncel double majored in History and Political Science at Bogazici University and graduated in 2003. She is interested in comparative analysis of educational policies of Middle Eastern countries and aspires to obtain a research related job in a think tank after earning her Ph.D.

She was a teaching fellow for PO 271, Introduction to International Relations, and for PO 241, Introduction to Public Policy. She completed her coursework. She will teach "State and Society in the Middle East"  course in University of Mississippi in Fall 2007.

Aparna Pande
E-mail: apande@bu.edu
Aparna Pande received an MA in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) in 1999, an MA in History from St. Stephens College, Delhi University in 1995 and her BA in History from St. Stephens College in 1993. Her major field of study is International Relations with a special interest in foreign policy, security studies, religion in politics and Political Islam.

Aparna has been teaching a course on International Business (IM 345) at Boston Universitys School of Management since Fall 2004. She passed her qualifying examination in February 2006 and is currently working on her dissertation proposal.

June Park
E-mail: junepark@bu.edu
June Park received her M.A. and B.A. in Political Science and
International Relations from Korea University. She has served as an intern at the United Nations Department of Political Affairs Security Council Sanctions Branch at the UN Headquarters in New York and has worked as a researcher for the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, Ilmin International Relations Institute in Korea. Her area of academic interest in international relations lies in state behavior and compliance in international institutions and respective domestic legal framework with a regional focus on Asia-Pacific international relations. She entered the Ph.D program in 2007.

Tara Pellegrino
E-mail: politara@comcast.net
Tara Pellegrino received her BA in Political Science from Saint Michaels College. She had the opportunity to participate in a study trip to China, which whetted her academic interest in that country and East Asia more generally.

Tara entered the program in Fall 2001 and is also interested in Canada as part of her Ph.D. subfield specialization in Comparative Politics. She passed her qualifying examinations in February 2004 and defended her dissertation proposal in May 2006.

Adam Silver
E-mail: asilver@bu.edu
Adam Silver received his MA in 1996 and his BA in 1995 in History from SUNY Albany. He entered the program in Fall 2000. His main interests are Political Theory and American Politics.

Adam passed his qualifying examinations in October 2002 and 7 won the Teaching Fellow Award in 2003. He defended his dissertation proposal on regional diversity in the two-party system in 19th century America in October in May 2003. Adam conducted dissertation research on state-level party platforms from the 19th century last year.

Johan Van Gorp received his MA in European Studies from New York University in 2006 and his BA from Lafayette College in 2004, where he double majored in 20th Century European History and International Affairs. He also completed American University’s Washington Semester in 2003, where he studied U.S. Foreign Policy. Johan is interested in comparative politics and international relations, with a special focus on Western European countries.

He is very excited about finishing his coursework this semester.  Johan this fall is a teaching fellow for PO 251 – Introduction to Comparative Politics and is a grades for PO 341 – Comparative Public Policy.  In the spring he will be a teaching fellow for PO 101 – Introduction to Political Science, while this summer he will teach PO 361: European Politics

Alex Whalen
E-mail: awhalen@bu.edu
Office: PLS 209
Website: http://blog.alexwhalen.com
Alex Whalen received his BA in Government from the University of Virginia in 1993. After graduation he worked at a series of odd jobs - including pizza delivery - until he eventually landed a content development position at pre-Internet boom America Online. Four years later, after discovering that the corporate world was most definitely not for him, he left to pursue a career in the music industry. Over the next five years he served as General Manager of a music website and retail shop owned by two Grammy Award winning producers, landed regular DJing gigs at some of North America's biggest clubs, and launched several world tours in support of his music. Eventually, however, he decided to return to his first love, politics, and pursue a PhD in Political Science here at Boston University. Alex's area of interest is American Politics, and he expects at some point this decade to complete a dissertation applying the Elaboration Liklihood Model of Persuasive Communication to the subject of voter reponse to campaign advertising.

Alex will be a teaching fellow in PO 101, Introduction to Political Science, in Fall 2007 and in PO 341, Introduction to Public Policy, in Spring 2008. Alex entered the program in Fall 2004.

Megan Maynard Winderbaum
E-mail: megmay@bu.edu

Office: PLS 216

Megan Maynard Winderbaum received her BA in Political Science from Virginia Wesleyan College in 2001. She entered the program in Fall 2002 and passed her qualifying examinations in April 2005. 

Megan also serves the Political Science Department as the Undergraduate Academic Advisor.  She grades for PO 366, PO 548, and MET PO 241.  She has served as a teaching fellow for PO 101, PO 211, PO 241, and PO 291.  She has taught PO 320, Social Justice in Summer Term. 

Megan's research focuses on American social welfare policy and particularly the bureaucratic culture shift after 1996 welfare reform.  She is currently preparing her dissertation proposal. 

Oya Yegen
E-mail: oyayegen@bu.edu
Oya Yegen obtained her BA in Social and Political Sciences from Sabanci University, Istanbul in 2007 and entered the Ph.D. program at B.U. in Fall, 2007. Her areas of interest are the interrelation of religion and politics, nationalism, representation and Middle East politics.

Joshua Corie Yesnowitz
E-mail: jcyesnow@bu.edu
Office: PLS 312
Joshua Corie Yesnowitz received his MA in Political Science from Boston College in 2003 and his BA in Government and American Studies from Skidmore College in 2001. He passed his Ph.D. qualifying examinations in October 2005 and has recently taught PO 318, United States Political Parties and PO 324, Media and Politics in the United States for the department.

While serving as a Graduate Writing Fellow and teaching a writing seminar on American foreign relations, Joshua is preparing to defend his dissertation proposal in Fall 2006.

Moeed Yusuf
E-mail: moeed@bu.edu
Moeed Yusuf received a Master of Arts in International Relations from
Boston University (2003) and a Bachelor of Business Administration (with an Economics Concentration) from Shorter College USA (2002).
He was most recently a Special Guest Scholar in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, USA. He is concurrently, Research Fellow and Director of Strategic Studies at Strategic and Economic Policy Research, Pakistan. Previously, he has worked as a Consultant on economic policy at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad, Pakistan and is now a Visiting Associate at the Institute.

He has recently also worked with Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Innovative Development Strategies, UNESCO, and Pugwash International as an independent consultant. He has also taught at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University as a member of the visiting faculty. He is a member of the panel of instructors for Pakistan's Military Staff College and has lectured NATO military and legal advisors at the Center of Defense
Against Terrorism in Turkey.

His area of expertise is South Asian strategic and political economy
concerns. He has been closely linked with Pakistani policy making and his advice is regularly solicited by Pakistan's decision making enclave. He writes a weekly column in The Friday Times, Pakistan- the country's leading English weekly. He is currently engaged in compiling a book on Pakistan's institutional functioning and decision making in the foreign policy ambit.