Global / Transnational

Research Interest

Aaliyah Pondor

Undergraduate Student
Environmental Economics and Policy
Business Administration

Aaliyah is a sophomore from Mauritius studying Environmental Economics and Policy and Business Administration. Her research interests include economic development and resource mobilization in Africa and its intersection with global energy policy. Being an international student, she has a unique perspective on the social and economic inequities faced by the global North and South. In her free time, Aaliyah enjoys road trips, hiking and exploring coffee shops around the city!

Rodrigo Ramirez-Perez

Undergraduate Student
Political Science
Philosophy

Rodrigo Ramirez-Perez is a third year Political Science and Philosophy major. His academic interests include international organizations and their subversion of state sovereignty, the causes and exacerbating elements of genocides, and the long-term state stability-related effects of state violence on citizen populations. Rodrigo has served as a research assistant to Dr. Susan Hyde since May 2020, researching regional organizations, human rights, and policing in the United States. Since 2016, Ramirez-Perez has worked as a leadership...

Jai Sharma

Undergraduate Student
Computer Science
Political Science

Jai Sharma is a junior at the University of California, Berkeley, studying Computer Science and Political Science, interested in international relations and political theory. Jai has worked as a research assistant to Professor Aila Matanock since January 2021 on various projects. He has also interned at Oracle as a database engineer. Outside of his academic interests, Jai enjoys collecting records and playing guitar.

Rana Nejad

Undergraduate Student
Political Science

Rana Nejad is a student at UC Berkeley completing her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Human Rights. Throughout her studies, she has focused mostly on the Middle East and North Africa region where she explores topics ranging from security and counterrorism to refugee rights and humanitarian development. Over the years, she has worked with nonprofits that advocate for the rights of immigrants and refugees along the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as contributed to a number of international affairs publications. Moving forward, she hopes to further advocate for the human rights of...

Isabelle Valdes

Undergraduate Student
Political Science
Spanish

Isabelle Valdes is a junior at Cal double majoring in Political Science and Spanish and minoring in Data Science. Her academic interests broadly include postcolonial politics in Latin America, Andean history, indigenous politics, political theory, and quantitative methodology. She is an alum of the Pipeline Initiative in Political Science (PIPS) at UC Berkeley, and plans on pursuing a Ph.D in Political Science focused on Latin America in the future. In her free time, Isabelle is an avid reader and also enjoys cooking, going on hikes, and studying Romance languages.

Monzerrath Ortiz

Undergraduate Student
Political Science
Legal Studies

Monzerrath is a 4th year undergraduate student double majoring in political science and legal studies, and double minoring in human rights and history. Her research interests include U.S. foreign policy, Latin-American politics, legal reform, and constitutional frameworks. Aside from research, Monzerrath is also involved in UC Berkeley's co-ed international relations fraternity Delta Phi Epsilon and is an intern for California Senator Scott Wiener. Upon graduating next year, Monzerrath plans to earn a master’s degree in public policy and attend law school.

Serina Li

Undergraduate Student
Political Science
Legal Studies

Serina Li is a third-year studying Political Science and Legal Studies with a minor in Global Poverty Practice. Her interests focus on the intersection between law, international relations, technology, and business. Serina Li interned at the NGO China House, where she conducted research on US-China Relations in Africa and contributed to a report published by the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. At Berkeley, Serina Li is a member of UC Berkeley's Model UN competition team and is the director of the Pre-Law Department within an ASUC office that...

Evie Michele Porter

Undergraduate Student
Global Studies
Political Science

Evie Portier is a Dual Degree student from the Netherlands who is interested in international security. She is also the founder of Eefje Tutoring, and the president of STAND (the Student led movement to end mass atrocities) at Berkeley.

Liam Mirise

Undergraduate Student
Philosophy
Global Studies

Liam Mirise is a fourth-year transfer student from Visalia, California pursuing a double major in Philosophy and Global Studies with a minor in Linguistics. His academic focus is broadly centered on development, globalization, and technology. Prior to attending UC Berkeley, he served for four years in the California Army National Guard. He currently works as a writing assistant for the Blum Center for Developing Economies, where he has been assisting with early stage research on the potential applications of distributed ledger technology in the national defense supply chain.

Olivia Nouriani

Undergraduate Student
Political Science
Mathematics
Arabic

Olivia Nouriani is a fifth-year student triple majoring in Political Science, Mathematics, and Arabic. She is interested in migration and diaspora studies and Middle Eastern politics, and has previously assisted research projects on Muslim-Jewish relations in the Middle East and the the transnational circulation of transgender rights in the Global South. On campus, she is involved in migrant and labor justice movements. She hopes to pursue a PhD in social science after graduating.