JOSEY ARON
University of Alabama
Academic Program: Master of Arts in Philosophy (graduated)

Josey Aron recently earned a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Alabama. Josey’s research focused on social ontology, philosophy of language, and the ethical dimensions of counterterrorism, artificial intelligence, and drone warfare. Josey is an incoming first-year J.D. candidate and Dean’s Scholar at the University of Virginia School of Law. Josey’s prior experience includes serving as a graduate teaching assistant for courses in formal logic and political philosophy, a research fellow in the Office of the Montgomery County Executive, and a supplemental biology instructor. 

MIA-LUCIA BARASHENKOV
University of Pennsylvania
Academic Program: Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Mia-Lucia Barashenkov is a first-year doctoral student at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Pennsylvania, hailing from Cape Town, South Africa. Prior to her arrival at Penn, she completed her undergraduate studies in economics and Spanish at Cornell University. Her research interests center around U.S.-Latin American relations at the intersection of economic history and legal frameworks. Her archival work in Cornell as a lab researcher focused on President Ulysses S. Grant’s attempted annexation of the Dominican Republic, examining how 19th-century treaty politics have shaped later U.S. interventions, as well as contemporary trade frameworks like CAFTA-DR. She is also interested in intellectual property law, with a focus on the music industry, examining how generative AI and large language models are reshaping copyright, authorship, and licensing. At Penn, Mia-Lucia channels her policy interests into direct institutional engagement, serving on the immigration subcommittee of the International Student Advisory Board and as a member of the Southern African Students Association. She has served as an editor of the Journal of Analytical Approaches to World Music and the Journal of Analytical Approaches to African Music.

JULIA BOCHKAREV
University of Pennsylvania
Academic Program: Bachelor of Arts

Julia Bochkarev is a student at the University of Pennsylvania studying Economics and International Relations. Her academic interests focus on global governance, international institutions, and the regulation of emerging technologies in cross-border contexts. Through her work with Carey Law School Professor Rangita de Silva de Alwis, Julia researched United Nations member-state perspectives on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) and the legal and ethical questions surrounding their governance. At Penn, she serves as a Project Lead with Wharton Undergraduates in Public Policy, where she coordinates a team conducting policy research and analysis. Julia is also a published poet whose work has been recognized at the local, state, national, and international levels.

NATALIE DAVIDSON 
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Academic Program: Juris Doctor 

Natalie Davidson is a J.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where she is involved in the Transgender Empowerment and Advocacy Project and will serve as Vice President of the Criminal Law Association at Penn in the upcoming school year. Prior to Law School, Natalie worked as a litigation paralegal in Washington, D.C., supporting attorneys on a range of healthcare matters. She graduated from Colby College in 2023 with a B.A. in Government and a minor in English. Outside of law school, Natalie enjoys reading and staying active through running and yoga.

NOAH GERLACH
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Academic Program: Juris Doctor

Noah Gerlach is a J.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where he serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Constitutional Law. He earned a B.A. in philosophy and a B.S. in psychology from the University of Idaho, where he developed an interest in ethics, human behavior, and the ways institutions shape society. At Penn Carey Law, Noah has continued to explore questions at the intersection of law, governance, and public policy. He is excited to join CERL as an intern and looks forward to contributing to its work on issues involving national security and democratic institutions.

MARIAM KAKHABRISHVILI   
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Academic Program: Juris Doctor

Mariam Kakhabrishvili is a J.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Mariam is originally from Georgia and immigrated to the United States in 2015 to attend college. Mariam earned a B.S. in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Troy University. After college, Mariam served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Combat Medic. During her service, Mariam worked in the emergency department and later held leadership roles related to medical readiness, compliance, and professional development. While on active duty, Mariam completed a Paralegal Certificate through the University of California–Irvine and worked as a remote paralegal through the U.S. Army Career Skills Program, focusing primarily on family law matters. While attending law school, Mariam serves in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Counterintelligence Agent. In this role, she conducts investigations, analyzes national security threats, and prepares intelligence reports. Her legal interests include national security law and veterans’ issues. Outside of law school and military service, Mariam enjoys martial arts and winter sports.

ISABELLA LOK
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School  
Academic Program: Juris Doctor

Isabella Lok is a J.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She is involved in the Entertainment and Sports Law Society, the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, and will be joining the Journal of Law and Innovation. She is especially interested in the intersection of national security law, ethics, and artificial intelligence. Prior to law school, Isabella studied Political Science and Asian American Studies at UCLA and worked as a litigation paralegal in NYC. In her free time, she enjoys staying active through figure skating, volleyball, hiking, pickleball, and long walks. She also enjoys trying new restaurants, attending concerts and comedy shows, and watching A24 films.

ERICA MALTSEV
University of Pennsylvania
Academic Program: Bachelor of Arts

Erica Maltsev is a second-year student at the University of Pennsylvania studying International Relations and minoring in Legal Studies and History. At Penn, Erica is a member of the Women’s Varsity Swim Team as well as an active member of Phi Alpha Delta, the international pre-law fraternity. Through her coursework and extracurricular involvement, she has developed a strong interest in law, ethics, and political conflict. As a summer researcher at CERL, she supports research on ethics and rule of law issues related to national security, democratic governance, conflict, and war. Following her undergraduate studies, Erica hopes to pursue a career in law and continue exploring issues related to governance, public policy, and legal advocacy.

CATE MCGOWAN
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Academic Program: Master of International Affairs

Cate McGowan is a Masters of International Affairs candidate at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), where she is concentrated in International Security and Diplomacy. She is a Dean’s Distinguished Fellow and serves as Co-President of Columbia Impact Investing Network and Treasurer of Columbia Student Union Association. Prior to her master’s degree, Cate spent four years working in the financial sector at Bloomberg LP. For her undergraduate degree, Cate attended University College of London, where she earned a First Class Honours (summa cum laude) in Comparative Literature with German language and served as President of MODO Fashion Society. Her research interests include international security, energy geopolitics, and the rule of law, with a particular focus on the ethical dimensions of democratic governance. In the coming academic year, she will serve as a Research Assistant in International Law under Dr. Horst Fischer at SIPA.

ESIN NIZAMOGLU
Yale University
Academic Program: Master of Arts

Esin Nizamoglu is currently pursuing an M.A. in European and Russian Studies at Yale University. A dual citizen of Turkey and Bulgaria, Esin holds a B.A. in Political Science and Government from Sciences Po Paris, with an exchange year at Vassar College, where she conducted a research project on the ethnic cleansing of the Turkish minority in late-socialist Bulgaria. Esin is fluent in English, French, and Turkish, and conversational in Italian, German, and Bulgarian. Esin’s research interests span the politics of memory, historiography, and identity in post-socialist Eastern Europe. Her undergraduate research examined how memory accounts can reconstruct the narrative of the 1989 ethnic cleansing of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria in the absence of historiographical consensus. Drawing on survivor interviews, archival research, and critical memory theory, her work positions memory as a means of confronting the legacies of violence and informing policy in international law and transitional justice. Building on this foundation, her research at Yale seeks to develop a fuller historiographical and political analysis of ethnic tension and state violence in Bulgaria across the 1980s.

QUINTON O’CONNOR 
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Academic Program: Juris Doctor

Quinton O’Connor is a J.D. candidate at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, with a background in special operations, Capitol Hill advocacy, and national security policy research. Quinton holds a B.A. in Political Science from George Washington University. His Washington policy experience includes internships at Hill Impact, where he conducted policy research and worked on advocacy campaigns for defense sector clients; Lowenstein Sandler LLP, where he produced international trade compliance research and policy analysis for clients; and Cambridge Global Advisors, where he assisted with drafting federal cybersecurity and defense policy for DoD and DHS clients. After graduating from George Washington, Quinton enlisted in the United States Army. He was selected for the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, where he served as a Gun Team Leader and deployed to Syria.

DAVID PRITCHARD  
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School 
Academic Program: Juris Doctor

David Pritchard is a J.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. David graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 2023 with double honors majors in Political Science and Psychology, where he cultivated a lasting interest in research and writing. The health of democratic institutions—and the structural weak points exposed by political polarization—has been a throughline of his academic work. His senior thesis examined the progression of affective polarization on social media, a topic that continues to shape his thinking about law, governance, and civic life. After the CERL internship, David will intern with the Honorable Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. David serves as a Constitutional Law research assistant to Professor Mitchell Berman. Next summer, David will return to Boston as a summer associate in the litigation practice at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

BRENDAN TUROWSKI
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School 
Academic Program: Juris Doctor

Brendan Turowski is a J.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where he is a Dean’s Scholar and serves as President of the Penn Business Law Association. He earned his B.A., summa cum laude, in Political Science from King’s College, with minors in Forensic Accounting and Political Economy. While in college, Brendan played for the men’s varsity tennis team and received the John F. Kennedy Award in Political Science. Prior to law school, he worked as a legal assistant for a law firm, a judicial intern for the Honorable Lesa S. Gelb, and a tutor at King’s College.

MEGAN VIDOVICH
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Academic Program: Master of International Affairs

Megan Vidovich is a Master of International Affairs student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she is concentrating on Human Rights, Gender, and Equity. She is passionate about empowering women, eradicating gender-based violence, and forwarding the international agenda on Women, Peace, and Security. She is increasingly interested in data analysis for public policy and will be taking advanced coursework in quantitative analysis in the fall. In 2024, she interned at the United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, where she engaged in research and advocacy for the needs of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she specialized in American Politics and minored in Professional Writing.

SARAH WELL
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School 
Academic Program: Juris Doctor

Sarah Well is a J.D. candidate and Dean’s Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Law from Binghamton University. True to form, her preferred research integrates legal theory, moral philosophy, and social science to interrogate doctrinal orthodoxies and systemic issues in global and domestic governance. While her academic writing gravitates toward the international sphere, her practical experience has centered on domestic initiatives, where she has helped draft federal litigation motions and research regulatory and restorative justice models across U.S. jurisdictions. Outside of her academic pursuits, Sarah’s hobbies range from playing the piano and painting—often while listening to oral arguments, as her studies demand—to activities like skydiving, cliff jumping, and exploring scenic locales. She looks forward to pursuing a scholarship at CERL on the ethics and legality of state actions in national security and international armed conflict.

LILLIAN WENG
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Academic Program: Juris Doctor

Lillian Weng is a J.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School with a strong interest in the intersection of law, ethics, and global governance. She holds an M.A. in Global Thought from Columbia University and a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied International Relations and Cinema & Media Studies. Her academic work has explored how legal frameworks respond to transnational risk and conflict, including her undergraduate thesis on political risk in Chinese foreign investment. Lillian has developed a comparative and cross-border perspective through her work at King & Wood Mallesons in New York and Shanghai and as a Legal Intern at Deacons in Hong Kong, where she contributed to matters involving regulatory compliance, financial governance, and complex international transactions. She has also conducted research on Chinese law and policy at the Brookings Institution. Fluent in Mandarin and proficient in French, Lillian is particularly interested in how legal institutions uphold ethical norms and the rule of law in times of crisis, and she is eager to contribute to CERL’s interdisciplinary work on national security, conflict, and democratic governance.