Alumni Bios

If you are an Alumnus and want to add your own information to this list, please email emb703@lehigh.edu

2010

After graduating from Lehigh in 2010 with a double major in International Relations and Asian Studies, I made my way to China. Hoping to immerse myself in Chinese culture and improve my Mandarin, I began teaching in a public school in Shenzhen. Excited by the changes in China’s economy, I soon made the move to private education consulting. I am now the Western Director of Shenzhen and Southern China and in charge of Academic Enrichment programs nationally for an education start-up –...

Read More
2004

After graduating from Lehigh, I began serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic, as an agroforestry technician. My plans involve entering graduate school upon completing my service and continuing study in the field of development. My advice would be to save the syllabi from every course you take, they can be helpful when applying for graduate school. Also, read the newspaper or the Econimist, they are essential reading.

2010

Lisa Boyd co-founded and leads the strategy team at TMI Strategy, which unlocks the power of young people and purpose. As the consulting branch of DoSomething.org, TMI helps companies and brands drive social change through insights backed by data from millions of young people. Prior to TMI, Lisa helped move the needle on issues like minimum wage laws and early childhood education through her strategic work at Purpose and Homer Learning. She also spent three years in Sub-Saharan Africa...

Read More
2008

Since 2006, I’ve worked in Asia within the education sector. For three consecutive summers while completing my undergraduate degree in international relations at Lehigh University, I taught advanced English in Taipei, Taiwan. During my graduate studies (also at Lehigh), I served as an NGO Representative at United Nations headquarters in New York City for a Singapore-based NGO.Upon completion of my master’s of education in ...

Read More
2011

After graduating, I pursued my Master's in International Affairs from the Bush School at Texas A&M. In the summer between the two years of the program, I attended an 8-week Arabic language immersion program in California. After graduating with my Master's, I moved to Washington, DC to work at an energy research nonprofit. Now, I work as an intelligence analyst with Control Risks in Texas. I would be happy to speak with any students interested in graduate programs, language immersions, or...

Read More
2010

I am currently getting my master's degree at the London School of Economics in environmental economics. If anyone is interested in energy & resources or my grad school, please contact me at

1989

Jay Canell

Managing Director

Jay...

Read More
1989

Neil Canell

Managing...

Read More
2002

After graduating from Lehigh, I moved to the Washington, DC area to work for consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, where I have been for nearly 7 years.  At Booz Allen I //support defense and intelligence community clients through research, analysis, wargames, and alternative futures exercises that examine a range of political, security, and economic issues relating to the future security environment.  Regionally, I focus on India and have authored or co-authored a number of studies on Indian...

Read More
2011

After graduating from Lehigh in 2011 I worked a handful years in the private sector, initially in sales and later in application development and database management.  In 2016 I began working for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in South Sudan as a Reporting Officer and in 2017 I moved to Mines Advisory Group in Iraq as the Information Management and Systems Officer.  For the 2018/19 academic year, I...

Read More
2011

Since graduating in 2011, I've worked for the international Stability Operations Association, the Scowcroft Group, and most recently the United Nations Foundation in Washington D.C.  At the UN Foundation, I support a new initiative called the Mobile Hub which delivers mobile and digital services for the poor to improve access to healthcare, financial tools, and information.  At Lehigh, I was most interested in security studeies, but have now found myself in the international development...

Read More
1999
Upon graduating, I took my ROTC commission into the Army.  I was quickly shuffled off to Germany, where I would live for the next four years.  Europe came alive to me as I met friends in many countries, learned languages, and followed an entirely new spectrum of news and politics.  Through my IR education, I had such a fantastic lens through which to both see and understand what makes all of our societies so unique.  Moreover, I had a lexicon with which to articulate the differences to my...
Read More
2006

After graduating from Lehigh, I began the Masters of Divinity program at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO. In my second year I met my future wife - Megan Cook - who entered that year, also pursuing an M.Div. We were married a little more than a year later. In addition to convincing Megan to marry me, I worked as an intern at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, a TA for a professor, and had several other jobs. I also founded and was the Editor-in-Chief of the school's student...

Read More
2009

I am currently a policy intern at Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, where I monitor ethnic conflict and human rights violations in Sudan using satellite imagery (Satellite Sentinel Project). I have recently been commissioned to be a principle editor and research assistant for Luise Druke's book on Mobilization for Refugee Protection, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Convention on Human Rights (Luise is a 1981 Nobel Peace Laureate for her service in UNHCR, now over 30 years and...

Read More
2005, 2006

Founded Soccer without Borders (www.soccerwithoutborders.org) in his home town of San Francisco. It has projects in South Africa, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Brazil. Ben is currently in Cape Town, South Africa, building a soccer league among teams from local orphanages

2012

Upon graduating from Lehigh in 2012, I moved to DC to work for the Securities and Exchange Commission in Litigation Support. I then began to work for startups focused on helping small business owners via data analysis and product development. I completed a MS in Engineering from Lehigh in 2015. I currently live in Boston, MA and work at LogoMix, Inc. - a startup working to provide easy-to-use marketing tools to small business...

Read More
2004

I celebrated graduation from Lehigh with a trip to China, after which I settled into a position with the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia. I've now been there for four years and am enjoying the fact that travel has now been added to my job perks! I'm also enjoying travel with my husband, Travis, we've recently been to Ireland and Mexico.

2007

After graduating from Lehigh in 2007, I took a Fellowship position with the City of Philadelphia Commerce Department, which turned into a permanent position after the first year. But after a little over two years working in Philadelphia, I switched my career path to work in the field of study abroad, which has always been close to my heart, having come to the US and Lehigh as an international student myself. My husband and I moved to Reno, Nevada and I took a position as University Relations...

Read More
2006

After graduation I worked as a restaurant manager for one year and saved as much money as possible. In 2007, I moved to Honduras where I have been working at a home for orphaned and abandoned children for the past three years. I run an international volunteer program which places long term volunteers in our home to work with the children for a minimum of one year. The organization is called Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (www.nph.org)

2005

During my senior year at Lehigh, I took a brand new international law course with Professor Gillroy that sparked my interest in international human rights law. After graduating from Lehigh in 2005 with a double major in Spanish and IR, I went on to law school at American University Washington College of Law in DC. I took several courses on international law, human rights law, and comparative law, and was a student attorney in the International Human Rights Law Clinic during my last year. I...

Read More
1984

After Lehigh, I attended Temple Law, JD '87; and Athens U. Second, Greek Law Degree.  I have the largest US-Greek International Legal Practice in the world.  I co-chair the ABA Lawyers Abroad Committee;  I am the ABA Liaison to Greece; and I author the BNA International Law Treatise on Greece.  I am the former counsel to the Greek Embassy; and Legal counsel to the Green American Chamber of Commerce.  I have been selected as super lawyer in International Law by Philadelphia Magazine, etc.  I...

Read More
2005
After graduating from Lehigh University, I worked at the National Assembly of Republic of Korea for one year. In 2006, I started my military service for ROK and was discharged in 2008. After military duty (mandatory in ROK), did my MBA at Korea University. Currently, I am a Ph.D candidate for International Peace and Security at Korea University. 
Advice:  Take as many courses as you want and try to attend academic seminars where you can share your views with other scholars....
1978

I had 27 years active and reserve service in the USAF around the world; six years in international air freight with FEDEX and now a civilian government job within the DOD, serving today (June 08) in Iraq and calling Germany home.  Advice : Learn multiple foreign languages, live overseas. Immerse yourself in the critical thinking that IR courses can give you....it pays great dividends.

2008

Olivier has been a Senior Academic Assistant at the College of Europe since August 2018. During his doctoral studies at the University of St Andrews, he was an Academic Tutor for two undergraduate courses:Introduction to International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis and International Security. Olivier has also conducted internships in Brussels (with The United States Mission to NATO and Transparency International) and in Paris (with the Jacques Delors Institute and...

Read More
2006

After graduating with an International Relations degree from Lehigh, I moved to Washington, DC. I have been working at the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan think tank, ever since. I am a Research Associate with the Southwest Asia/Gulf project, focusing primarily on security in the Persian Gulf, Iran-GCC relations, the Iranian nuclear issue and Iraq. Additionally, I am currently serving as Vice President for Global Operations for Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (...

Read More
2003

Immediately after graduating from Lehigh (class '03), I joined the Peace Corps to get some grassroots-level work experience in development. I was sent to Ukraine for 2 yrs as a TEFL volunteer, which meant my primary job was as an English teacher in a small-town public school. I did far more than teach, however, and was also active in youth/community development, gender issues (especially trafficking of women), and HIV/AIDS education. Upon returning from my 2 yrs of service, I was accepted...

Read More
2007

I graduated from Lehigh University in 2007, where I did my honors dissertation under the supervision of Dr. Chaim Kaufmann. Following graduate work at the London School of Economics, I worked at UNICEF, Geneva and DPK Consulting/ USAID in the Democratic Republic of Congo in human rights. In 2011, I fulfilled a life-long dream and returned home to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where I covered human rights and had the pleasure of representing Trinidad and Tobago at the United Nations...

Read More
2012

I graduated with a double major in IR, and Global Islamic Studies. In addition, I attended a language institute for Arabic over summer 2011 in California. Currently, I was selected to take part in a focus group that will be traveling to Doha, Qatar this upcoming March 24th. I will be traveling with a professor and students from Portland State University to take part in a regional forum on Religion, Economics, and Sustainability in Qatar and the Middle East respectively. The program is...

Read More
2005

After graduating from Lehigh, I worked as a Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Then I did a Masters in Technology and Policy, Engineering Systems Division at MIT.  After that I started my PhD at Harvard University in Organizational Behavior which is a joint program between the Department of Sociology, Department of Psychology and the Harvard Business School.

2001

I remember my first interest in international relations arose from reading about the balance of power theory in IR 10 as a Freshman.  After graduation from Lehigh I began a career in investment management where I most recently conducted emerging market research and global analysis for Loomis Sayles, an investment management company in Boston.  I just completed a Masters of Finance degree at Brandeis University but recently decided to return to school full time in order to focus my studies on...

Read More
2008

After graduating from Lehigh I was accepted by Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs concentrating in international security policy and a regional focus on Africa and the Middle East. I am still at SIPA and will be graduating in May 2010 and will hope to pursue a career in political risk consulting.  During my time at SIPA I have been involved in an array of academic and professional activity.   In my...

Read More
2005

NATO internship in Brussels with State Department; position at Thomson Reuters, internationally-based sales consultant in media industry.

2013

I am currently a research associate at the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), a pro bono law firm that focuses on peace negotiations, transitional justice, and post-conflict constitution drafting. PILPG is working all around the world, including in the Syrian peace process, but my work is currently focused mostly on Sudan. I am also in law school at American University Washington College of Law where my focus is...

Read More
2008

My current work is in the area of computer science, as a government contractor for High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTI).  My clients have included agencies such as the IRS and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  I continue to work in the DC metro area, and as my honors thesis was on the topic of cyberwarfare, I still have high hopes of finding an opportunity that will let me utilize the skills from both of my majors.  While at Lehigh, I studied abroad in Strasbourg, France (with...

Read More

Mr. Joshua Stiefel serves as a Professional Staff Member for the House Armed Services Committee. Prior to moving to the Legislative Branch, Josh spent a decade in the Executive Branch, with the Departments of the Treasury and Defense, specializing in national security policy. He has worked extensively in both military and civilian environments, and deployed to Iraq in 2011 with U.S. Special Operations Forces....

Read More
2004

After graduating in 2004, I have worked in Washington, DC. I worked with Transparency International (www.transparency.org) as a office coordinator and researcher on issues related to anti-corruption and governance in international development. I am currently working as a Research Assistant at the Urban Institute (www.urban.org) on international development projects. I am also a first year graduate school at...

Read More
2016

After graduating from Lehigh in January 2016 with a double major in International Relations and French, I traveled to Tibet, Iran, and France, hoping to explore what I read in textbooks from reality. I then started my graduate study with the Asian Studies program at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, working toward a concentration in Politics and Security of Asia, as well as a certificate in Diplomatic...

Read More
2012

Upon graduation from Lehigh with a Bachelor’s in International Relations and minor in Biology, Karen worked for The Vanguard Group in Malvern, PA while also providing her services on the side for Global Competence Consulting Co., LLC. After two years, she moved to New York City to begin her current role with Goldman Sachs on their Prime Brokerage Clearing team. Karen is still very in tune with the international realm and always...

Read More
2016
Before even graduating from Lehigh University in the Spring of 2016, I had offers from 2 large accounting firms: PwC and Grant Thornton. After very shortly working for PwC upon graduation, I was recruited by Abercrombie and Fitch. I began working in their International Real Estate department in November of 2016  at their headquarters in New Albany, OH, where I worked for a total of about 1.5 years. I learned quickly that I wanted...
Read More
1971

Stanley M. Vasiliadis Esquire, CELA is certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, as accredited by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He represents clients in connection with long-term care planning, trust and estate administration, and estate and tax planning. His practice also includes elder law litigation in state and federal court, including successful representation in the landmark case, Mertz v. Houstoun, 155 F. Supp. 2d 415 (E.D. Pa. 2001). A graduate of...

Read More
1965

Upon graduating from Lehigh I went to work for Continental National American Insurance Company as a management trainee.  I was drafted within six months of graduating.  Rather than go in via the draft I enlisted for intelligence duties in the US Army.  Within 2 years I received a direct commission as an officer.  I served on active duty in the Army for 27+ years and, then, 19 years as a civilian - 46 years of Army service.  I am retired now.  I spend time with my two children and 5...

Read More