Sakina is a PhD candidate in the Political Science Department at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on how citizen state relationships change with the proliferation of technology in welfare service delivery in South Asia.
She holds a Masters in International Development Policy from Duke University, a Masters in Public Policy & a Bachelors in Economics from University of Mumbai. In the past she has worked as a researcher with LibTech India, an organization focused on improving public service delivery, in collaboration with several...
Leonardo is a PhD candidate in Political Science. His research focuses on International Relations theory, qualitative methods, democracy promotion, and authoritarianism, particularly in Latin America & the Caribbean. Leonardo holds a MSc. in Global Governance & Diplomacy from the University of Oxford and B.A.s in International Relations & Global Studies and Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Greta Leeb is a senior double majoring in Philosophy and Political Science. As a research assistant for IIS, she monitors the impact of critical minerals and trade on the conflict in the DR Congo. She analyzed current events in Central Africa and China for the Berkeley Political Review, reported for the Whistleblower Network News, and is currently Staff Editor for the California Legal Studies Journal. Greta is also very passionate about philosophy, particularly enjoying theories of math and of language. With her free time, Greta likes to paint, read, and go to the beach with...
Carlos Schmidt-Padilla is an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. His research examines how crime, human capital, and migration shape development and political order across Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.
Jessica Olney joined the Institute of International Studies the Executive Director in January 2026.
Jess brings extensive international experience as a practitioner and researcher on conflict, peacebuilding, human rights, and humanitarian response. She has led studies for and advised various governments, embassies, international NGOs, UN agencies, universities, institutional and private donors, and the International Criminal Court. She is passionate about working with students, and has trained dozens of refugee youth to lead research, advocacy, and humanitarian...
Political Salon hosted by Action Labs as a part of #SFTechWeek
What if AI could be more than a threat to democracy—and instead become a powerful tool for strengthening it?
In this interactive two-hour session, we’ll explore practical ways ordinary people can use AI to become more informed, make government more transparent, organize communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and make their voices heard. Through hands-on activities and small-group challenges, participants will experiment with using AI to understand complex...
Book Talk by Elizabeth Nugent,Assistant Professor of Politics, Princeton University Speaker Bio
Elizabeth R. Nugent studies the politics and political psychology of authoritarianism and religion in the Middle East. She is the author of After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition, published by Princeton University Press (2020). Other research has been published in the American Journal of Political Science, Annual Review of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies,...
Public talk by Professor Stephen Zunes, University of San Francisco
What is the most effective means by which the United States can support popular struggles for freedom around the world? Does Washington have the credibility to support such movements in light of its ongoing backing of allied authoritarian regimes and occupation armies? Can the U.S. take credit (or blame) for some of these pro-democracy struggles? What kinds of policies have proven effective and which have ended up strengthening the regime or risking civil war? Professor Stephen Zunes examines the...
