Our Team

Rachel Beatty Riedl
Peggy J. Koenig ’78 Director of the Center on Global Democracy
Rachel Beatty Riedl’s research expertise is on democracy and authoritarianism globally, and particularly across Africa. She focuses on questions of participation, institutions, political parties, and local governance. Riedl serves as the Peggy J. Koenig ’78 Director of the Center on Global Democracy in the Brooks School of Public Policy and Professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University.

Paul Friesen
Postdoctoral Associate

Thomas E. Garrett
Distinguished Global Democracy Lecturer at the Brooks School and Einaudi Center Lund Practitioner in Residence
Thomas E. Garrett is the Distinguished Global Democracy Practitioner in Residence at the Brooks School and the Einaudi Center Lund Practitioner in Residence, having recently completed a seven-year term as Secretary General of the Communities of Democracy, a global intergovernmental coalition founded in 2000 through the adoption of the Warsaw Declaration. Mr. Garrett previously spent three decades at the International Republican Institute (IRI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports democracy, civil society, women and youth political empowerment, and democratic governance in more than 80 countries, rising to become the organization’s vice president.

Cathi Sullivan
Administrative Support
Fellows
Graduate Fellows
Maame A. Boatemaa
Maame Boatemaa is a doctoral student in the Department of City and Regional Planning. Her research broadly explores urban theory, African philosophy, environmental planning, and land use policies in African cities. As an Albert Gallatin Scholar at New York University, she critically interrogated how urban spaces transform in diverse social, economic, and political settings in Ghana, Kenya, and Senegal. Boatemaa completed her graduate studies at the London School of Economics before moving to Seoul as a Henry Luce Scholar.
Esam Boraey
Esam Boraey is a PhD student in the Department of Government at Cornell University, specializing in Comparative Politics with a minor focusing on International Relations.
Frances Cayton
Frances Cayton is a fourth year PhD Candidate in Government at Cornell University. Her research focuses on questions surrounding democratic backsliding, civil society, and political communication. To do so, she utilizes a variety of methods including surveys, interviews, archival work, and observational causal inference techniques.
Amanda S. Chen
Amanda S. Chen is a second-year Ph.D. student of Government at Cornell University studying the effects of institutional constraints on political development, specifically as it relates to race and socioeconomic inequality, democratic advancement and backsliding, and education policy. Her current research focuses on developing a novel theory to analyze how federalism shapes efforts of democratization and racial progress, which she applies to the case studies of the United States and Brazil during the post-abolition periods. She is also researching the relationship between skills-based market economies and education systems, using a historical institutionalist framework to identify the forces driving the commodification of public education systems. As she progresses through her doctoral studies, Amanda hopes to continue studying how the historical contexts of institutions impact democratic stability and social equity globally today.
Emily Jackson
Emily Jackson is a PhD Candidate in Comparative Politics in the Department of Government at Cornell University and a Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellow. Her research interests include reproductive politics, political participation, public opinion, and gender in the Americas. Emily’s dissertation project explores the implementation of abortion reforms in Latin America, focusing on public and elite opinion, relations between activists and professional stakeholders, and modes of abortion access. Her work has been supported by the American Political Science Association, the Einaudi Center for International Studies, and the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.
Dayra Lascano
My research focuses on understanding the conditions that promote successful cooperation among political leaders through International Organizations. I aim to utilize quantitative methods, including large-sample scientific techniques and in-depth case studies, to refine existing theories and provide valuable insights into the dynamics of IOs, particularly in relation to the interplay between formal institutions and informal norms.
Lois Matthew
Graduate Student, Comparative Politics, Authoritarian Legacies and Transitions
Alejandro J. Ramos
Alejandro J. Ramos is an MPA candidate at Cornell University’s Brooks School of Public Policy, where he serves as a Graduate Democracy Fellow at the Cornell Brooks Center on Global Democracy. His primary focus is on fostering civic engagement and addressing barriers to political participation among young adults, particularly in the United States and Latin America. Alejandro is also the Executive Director of the Ramos Research Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and a Strategic Research Advisor at the Democracy Lab Foundation, roles through which he leads initiatives aimed at enhancing civic engagement, strengthening democratic resilience, and promoting inclusive governance.
Sebastian Restrepo
Sebastian Restrepo is a Ph.D. Student in City and Regional Planning at Cornell University, His research will address institutional arrangements’ role in the failures and successes of implementing Peace Agreements regarding security, justice, and social welfare. He hypothesizes that a lack of understanding of the regional dynamics and needs (territorial approach) and poor coordination between institutions are the reason for the failure to enhance peace regarding security, justice, and social welfare.
Rocío Salas-Lewin
Rocío Salas-Lewin is a PhD student in Comparative Politics at Cornell University’s Department of Government. Her research interests include social movements, electoral behavior, the populist radical right, and representation in Latin America and beyond. Her current research focuses on behavioral responses to crises of representation in established democracies, political cleavages realignment, and the impact of contentious politics on public opinion and electoral outcomes. She holds a MSc in Political Science and Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a BA in Sociology from Universidad de Chile.
Greta Schenke
I am a second-year PhD student in the Department of Government, majoring in Comparative Politics. My research focuses on democratic development and transitions, authoritarian politics, and historical and comparative political economy. Specifically, I study issues of democratic representation and the interplay between state-building and democracy, with a particular emphasis on Germany and Europe.
Georgy K. Tarasenko
I am a Ph.D. student in Government at Cornell University, specializing in Comparative Politics with minors in Political Theory and Methods. By examining both modern and historical authoritarian regimes, I aim to draw insights for strengthening global democratic resilience and preventing democratic backsliding. My research combines theoretical frameworks from political economy, behavioral sciences, and the humanities with computational methods to explore political behavior and institutions in non-democratic contexts. Beyond my work with the Center on Global Democracy, I am a graduate research assistant for the Russian Election Study and an affiliate of the Cornell Center for Social Sciences. In the summer of 2024, I was a Kohut Fellow at the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. You can read more about my research on my website: georgytarasenko.com.
Undergraduate Fellows
Sayidcali Ismacil Ahmed
I am a Master of Public Administration candidate at Cornell University’s Brooks School of Public Policy, specializing in economic and financial policy. My primary interest related to global democracy focuses on fostering inclusive economic development, with a particular emphasis on Sub-Saharan African countries. I am currently part of the research team building the ‘Financial Freedom Index,’ where my work examines the geographic distribution of capital, operational strategies in politically sensitive regions, market dynamics across regimes, and the societal impacts of business operations in democratic versus non-democratic contexts.
Mia Barratt
I’m a junior majoring in Government, along with minoring in Law & Society, Policy Analysis & Management, and Health Equity. My interest in global democracy mostly lies in anti-trust and transparency initiatives globally. I’m researching on the judiciary research team, studying electoral petitions in Benin.
Max Birner
I am a freshman at the Brooks Public Policy School, majoring in Public Policy, from Denver, Colorado. My interest in global democracy is in advancing health equity, especially through the lens of intellectual property law in an international context by analyzing how patent systems can either promote or limit global access to healthcare innovations. I am a member of the Financial Freedom Index team, specifically researching General Electric Healthcare, to develop a freedom ranking for companies to redefine corporate evaluation and emphasize ethical governance.
Ava Boris
Ava Boris is a Sophomore studying public policy and international relations at the Brooks School of Public Policy. Outside her academic engagements, Ava spends her time serving as the external director of Cornell Policy Group, the alumni affairs advisor of POLIS, and a teaching assistant for Introduction to Policy Analysis. She is interested in the security industry and foreign relations.
Annina Bradley
I’m a junior studying government and French, and minoring in creative writing. At Cornell, I’m also affiliated with Cornell Claritas, the Cornell Daily Sun, and help facilitate “Narrative 4 story-exchanges.” I’m interested in global democracy, and researching how democracies can resist democratic erosion, because I believe it to be a humanitarian concern. Democracy promotes human rights in global contexts, and without it, essential liberties are withheld from entire societies. I’m also specifically interested in the role the media plays in democracy, and how honest reporting can serve as an important check on government institutions.
Shaye Butler
Shaye Butler is a senior in the Government major with minors in Law & Society, European Studies, and Business. Outside of the fellowship, she is also a fellow in the Government Fraternity Pi Lamda Sigma, on Shadows Dance Troupe, involved in the Smart is Strong Foundation, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Safety Committee, and is in a social sorority. Regarding global democracy, she particularly enjoys researching the judiciary’s role in upholiding democratic institutions, particularly in Eastern Europe and Latin America. She is working on the Judicial Project with the Center for Global Democracy Fellowship.
Madeline Chang
I am a junior majoring in Health Care Policy on a pre-medical track. I also serve as the Director of Facility Operations for the Alpha Beta chapter of Delta Delta Delta and as an assistant researcher with UMass Chan Baystate. My primary policy interests are in global health care systems and government assistance programs. As a part of this fellowship, I work on the DARE team researching international democratic backsliding.
Charles Chen
Charles is a senior at Cornell University studying Economics and the president of the Federal Reserve Challenge Club and the Zambia Community Education Initiative. His current research interest is in development economics for emerging democratic economies. He works with the Financial Freedom Index team.
Matthew Correa
Hello, my name is Matthew Correa and I am a third year undergraduate at Cornell University pursuing a degree in Government in the College of Arts and Sciences. My primary interest in global democracy lies in exploring how media is used as a tool for shaping public opinion and policy on an international scale. I am currently a research assistant for the Cornell Center for Global Democracy, working in collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) of The Economist Newspaper Limited to develop a Financial Freedom Index.
Keira Damon
My name is Keira Damon and I am a freshman studying public policy in the Jeb E. Brooks School. I am passionate about exploring the modes in which everyday citizens can participate in defending democracy and preventing democratic backsliding. I really enjoy working on the Financial Freedom Index team as I am able to contribute to a product that will aid investors in making decisions that intentionally promote democracy.
Celia Doherty
Celia Doherty ’25 is a senior studying Linguistics, contributing to the Democratic Attacks and Resistance Events (DARE) project. Her interests include Middle Eastern and African politics with an emphasis on power competition and governance by non-state actors in Africa. On campus, she captains the Women’s Club Ultimate Frisbee team and enjoys hiking, reading, and studying Arabic.
Jack Donnellan
My name is Jack Donnellan, and I’m an undergraduate senior pursuing majors in Government and the College Scholar Program. My honors thesis project analyses the gap between support for democracy and executive overreach in Tunisia. In addition, I support the Democratic Attacks and Resistance Events (DARE) research team at the Center on Global Democracy. I’m broadly interested in how citizens conceptualize democracy and why they are sometimes willing to give up liberal democratic rights and freedoms when backsliding occurs.
Dominic Enright
Dominic is a sophomore majoring in Industrial and Labor Relations with a minor in Policy Analysis and Management. He is passionate about civic engagement and focused on addressing global democratic backsliding and workers’ issues. Dominic believes in the importance of advocacy at the state and local levels and is interested in the intersection of law and policy as tools to strengthen democratic institutions. As a staff writer for the Cornell Undergraduate Law & Society Review, he analyzes the legal frameworks that underpin democratic systems.
Naina Kalra
Naina is a junior studying Public Policy with a minor in Law and Society. She is primarily interested in demilitarization tactics in U.S. foreign policy and is working with in the World Liberty Congress team at the Center on Global Democracy. On campus, she is a student administrative assistant at the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, a member of a pre-law professional fraternity, and the dance director of her collegiate dance team.
Hannah Kim
Hannah Kim is a junior studying government with minors in information science, inequality studies, and law and society. She is particularly interested in the importance of good governance and anti-corruption practices in promoting strong social sustainability and equality. Furthermore, she is passionate about research surrounding the intersection between corporate institutions, legal systems, and public policy in protecting democracy. With global political economies and government regulations continuing to evolve, she finds strong importance in assessing how corporate market power and concentration of finances directly influence public power.
Mariana Meriles
I am a senior majoring in English with a minor in law and society. My primary interest related to global democracy is exploring how democratic institutions become vulnerable to backsliding, and how authoritarians and populists exploit these weaknesses. I am currently working with the DARE team as well as the team working with World Liberty Congress.
Krislyn Michel
I am Krislyn Michel and I am a sophomore Public Policy major pursuing 2 different minors in Law and Society alongside Inequality Studies. I am a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Cornell Policy Group’s Environment and Technology Center Director, a Pi Lambda (pre-government fraternity), Phi Alpha Delta (pre-law fraternity), and the Fundraising coordinator for the Black Women’s Support Network. I am interested in the data/technological side of global democracy — how does social media and technology affect democratic backsliding or resistance efforts? I am on the DARE research team that is organizing data on events of democratic backsliding within various countries from its initial stages.
Elsie Ishami Muhirwa
Elsie Ishami Muhirwa is a junior majoring in Government and minoring in Entrepreneurship at Cornell University. She is part of the Black Ivy Pre-Law Society, Wari Co-op, International Student Union, and the Undergraduate Democracy Fellows program, working on the Backsliding Strategies and Effective Resilience: The Democratic Attacks and Resistance Events (DARE) project. Passionate about human and women’s rights, she is interested in understanding how democratic resilience can address global challenges and create equitable systems.
Eneanya Obioha
Eneanya is current a freshman studying Public Policy at the Brooks School. On campus she’s also involved with Cornell Votes and POLIS. In the fellowship she’s currently working on the World Liberty Congress team.
Taehee Oh
Taehee is a member of the Class of 2027 majoring in Government with minors in East Asian Studies and History. She is interested in the democratic backsliding, authoritarianism, and political violence. As a Democracy Fellow, she is involved in the Democratic Attacks and Resistance Events (DARE) research project. On campus, Taehee is also a senior writer at the Cornell Daily Sun and a member of the Pi Lambda Sigma, Cornell’s premier government society.
Ojasvi Rana
Ojasvi Rana is a junior majoring in Economics and Bioengineering at the College of Arts and Sciences. Her primary interest lies in exploring how trade and technology policy influence democratic resilience, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. She serves as a Senior Correspondent for the Young Diplomats Society, is a U.S. Fellow for Young Australians in International Affairs, and was recently awarded the Zonta Women in Business Scholarship. Ojasvi is in the Financial Freedom Index research team.
Talia Richmond
Talia Richmond ‘28 is a first-year student studying Public Policy with intended minors in French and Near Eastern Studies. Her interests center around issues of global democracy, law, and culture, specifically inter-governmental political and economic relations, sustainability transitions, and judicial governance structures.
Kayla Schechter
Kayla Schechter is a sophomore Public Policy student in the Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University. On campus, she is a junior fellow for the Cornell Technology Policy Institute, speaker curator for the TEDx conference team, analyst in the Cornell Intellectual Property and Ethics Club and volunteer for Cornell Votes. Inspired by the combined experiences of studying abroad in Jerusalem and interning for the French Consulate as well as local government, Kayla is interested in exploring challenges to global democracy and patterns of international conflict and cooperation.
Aryan Shah
Aryan Shah is a freshman in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy interested in strengthening international democracy through electoral politics. Within the Center on Global Democracy, he is involved with the Judicial Resistance project as a research assistant. Outside of his involvement in the CGD, Aryan is also an Economic Policy Analyst for the Cornell Policy Group and a competitor on the Cornell Moot Court Team.
Everett Smith
My name is Everett. I’m a Cornell sophomore Public Policy major researching the rolw of institutions in democracy and right now I’m studying the role of the judiciary in strengthening and undermining democracy around the world.
Emily Snider
I am a Junior studying Policy Analysis and Management with minors in Applied Economics and Law and Society. In addition to being a Democracy Fellow, I am a Brooks Student Ambassador and member of Cornell Policy Group. I am on the DARE Research Team and my primary interest related to global democracy is about how to combat the spread of authoritarianism.
Jack Spillner
Jack is a freshman from California majoring in Public Policy. He’s on the judicial resistance research team, and is interested in how threats to global democracy relate to the legal field. Outside of the fellowship, he’s an attorney for Cornell Mock Trial and is an avid sports fan.
Emma Staller
I am a junior at Cornell University’s Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, pursuing a major in Public Policy with intended minors in Business and Law and Society. I am deeply interested in how global democracy is promoted and safeguarded by international judicial bodies, particularly through the work of institutions like the United Nations International Court of Justice. Currently, I am part of the Judicial Resistance research team, where I explore these themes in depth.
Samuel Stille
I am a junior at the Brooks School of Public Policy studying Public Policy. I am deeply interested in foreign policy and studying the factors that contribute to democracy. I am on the Financial Freedom Index Project Team.
Kira Tretiak
Kira Tretiak is a second-year student in the Brooks School of Public Policy with an interest in government ethics policy and pro-democracy work. In addition to her position as an undergraduate democracy fellow with the Center on Global Democracy, she is involved on campus as a research assistant with the Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute and as a contributing writer at the Cornell Policy Review. Off campus, she has interned at a U.S. District Court in southern New York and at her county’s DA office.
Avery Wang
Avery Wang is a sophomore studying English and Government. As a research assistant with the Judicial Resistance Project, she is interested in how key global democratic principles are codified in constitutions and legal systems. She is excited to further examine the role of free speech/press in democracy. On campus, Avery writes for The Cornell Daily Sun and enjoys dancing.
Serena Wang
My name is Serena and I am a senior majoring in Policy Analysis and Management on a pre-law track. I am part of the Financial Freedom Index research team and my primary interests related to global democracy are studying the threats China and other authoritarian countries pose to democracy promotion and empowering individuals through civic engagement.
Zarina Wang
I am a Public Policy major at Cornell University, passionate about exploring how policy and governance intersect with technological and economic systems to influence global democracy. My primary interest lies in advancing frameworks that promote ethical governance and strengthen democratic practices worldwide. As a member of the Financial Freedom Index research team, we are developing the freedom ranking of companies.
Bally Warren
Bally Warren is a third year Government student in the College of Arts and Sciences, pursuing minors in data science and Law & Society. Bally has an interest in comparative politics and international relations, and more specifically Democratic Backsliding and the rise of authoritarianism and right-wing populism. In order to explore these interests she is a member of Cornell’s Business Club for Emerging Economies in order to better understand emerging economies and markets abroad, and the relation between economic conditions and democratic processes. Additionally, Bally is a current Einaudi Center Global Scholar researching global democracy and authoritarianism at home and abroad in order to better understand international systems and global cooperatives. Since freshman year, Bally has been a member of Cornell Speech and Debate Society’s Spanish Debate team, and has participated in tournaments across Latin America.
Nash Wickremeratne
Nash is a sophomore majoring in Public Policy and intends to go to law school in the future. As Global Democracy Fellow, she is on the Judicial Resistance Project, specifically working on researching Zambia’s Constitutional Design. She is interested in the benefits and consequences of foreign intervention to promote democracy. Apart from the fellowship, she is involved in the Cornell University Parole Initiative (CUPI), Cornell University American Civil Liberties Union (CUACLU), and Sport Taekwondo at Cornell.
Lindsay Williams
Katelin Wong
Katelin is a sophomore majoring in public policy at the Brooks School of Public Policy. Her primary interest in global democracy is exploring the gaps in civic engagement within democratic countries. She is a part of the Judicial Resistance Project.
Krystlove Akosua Yeboah
Krystlove is a Sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Government and Sociology. Outside of CGD, she is a member of the Cornell Policy Group and an A&S Student ambassador. She is interested in the decline of democracy in Africa and how civic engagement can empower citizens to resist authoritarianism. She is currently working on the Judicial Resistance team researching constitutional reform in Malawi.