Taraneh is a rising third year student at the University of St. Andrews, studying International Relations with a minor in Persian Studies. She currently serves on the board of the Fundraising Committee for the St. Andrews United Nations Association, where she handles logistic management and financial planning. Taraneh is also a former Board Member of St. Andrews Charities Campaign which serves non-profits across the United Kingdom and spent time working as an intern at the Virginia Department of Education. Her areas of interest include refugee advocacy–– with a concentration in women fleeing conflict–– post-colonialism, and Iranian studies. One day, she hopes to work in international development or the foreign service. As an intern at WFPG, Taraneh is looking forward to building her network within international affairs and learning more about the various processes of diplomacy. 

Vanessa Mark, Programs 

Vanessa is a rising junior at Vassar College majoring in Political Science and minoring in Arabic and Asian Studies. She is an avid language learner, fluent in French and Hebrew, and is learning Spanish and Arabic. Vanessa has lived abroad in Fes, Morocco, and will be living and studying in London at SOAS in the fall. As a Vassar Ford Scholar and research assistant, she has extensive research experience in a variety of fields including Political Science, Women and Gender Studies and art, and Asian/American Studies. Vanessa is interested in U.S. policy in the Middle East and war education in post-World War II Japan. Last summer, she interned at the Maison Française at the Embassy of France in the United States. This summer, Vanessa is looking forward to getting hands-on experience in nonprofit management and learning more about the world of foreign policy. 

 

Mari Dekle is a recent graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, where she majored in political economy and international development. Demonstrating her early commitment to public service, she served as the youngest field organizer for New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman's victorious re-election campaign and gained experience through internships at Enveritas and Lawyers Alliance for New York. Currently, she is an Ignite Fellow with Teach for America, dedicated to promoting educational equity in underserved communities. Mari spent her junior year on exchange at Oxford University, focusing on gender in international development and economic history. At Sarah Lawrence, she held leadership roles as an admissions ambassador and the chair of the Law and Political Economy Society. She is fluent in Latin, conversant in Japanese and Spanish, and was an alternate for a Critical Language Scholarship in Mandarin. Mari's scholarly interests lie at the intersection of economics and law, with a particular emphasis on addressing inequality, monetary sovereignty, and foreign investment. Eager to broaden her expertise in international affairs, she looks forward to learning from the esteemed leaders at WFPG.

Alexis Moran, Programs

Lexi Moran is an incoming second-year master’s student at the Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies, where she studies international affairs and diplomacy. She enjoys working with nonprofits and previously interned at the United Nations Association of Greater Boston, as well as the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network in programs and communications roles. She continues to engage with her academic community and works as a research assistant with various faculty on Latin American research and is the incoming Editor-in-Chief for the student publication, the Pardee Atlas. Having previously studied communications and anthropology, Lexi is fascinated by propaganda and media studies, Cold War history, and public diplomacy. Her enjoyment of small organizations and community building inspired her to come to the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, where she is particularly excited to refine her nonprofit management and research skills as a Programs intern this summer. 

 Clarisa Merkatz, Programs 

Clarisa Merkatz is an incoming Master’s in International Relations candidate and Dean’s Scholar at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She graduated from Yale University as a Global Affairs major and Global Health Scholar, and received the Pierson College Dirk Gleysteen award at commencement for advancing the discussion of international relations. She has presented before the former Assistant Director General of the World Health Organization and completed internships with a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and with Cornerstone Government Affairs. She also served as Co-President of the Yale Policy Institute and is proficient in French and Portuguese. She is interested in the intersection of global health security and international law, as well as geopolitical risk. During her time at WFPG, she is looking forward to developing events that build community amongst women across the foreign affairs space.