Colloquium | Members

Arik Burakovsky

Teaching Assistant

Though I was born in Israel and have a Ukrainian heritage, I have lived most of my life in the United States. At the University of California, San Diego, I earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with a focus on international relations. My college journalism experience and concern with crisis escalation made me interested in the role of the media and public sentiment during interstate and intrastate conflict. For my undergraduate thesis, I created a computer algorithm to collect data on and analyze the determinants of terrorist attack publicity. I recently returned from a Fulbright fellowship in Russia, where I taught English at a teachers college and researched youth attitudes toward political party membership. Currently I am a master’s student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, concentrating on international security as well as international information and communication. My goal is to work in U.S. public diplomacy, promoting American foreign policy, culture, and society to populations abroad. My hobbies include film, ballroom dancing, and board games.

Katie Cho

Katie is a freshman at Tufts University. Originally from Korea, she spent the majority of her time in Vancouver, Canada. Currently, she is learning Mandarin and rudimentary Russian. In relation to the recent $400 billion gas pact between China and Russia, Katie hopes to better her understanding of the mechanics of Sino-Russo relations and how they affect the rest of the world— both politically and economically. Primarily interested in the roles of inter-governmental organizations and commercial relations in international affairs, she hopes to pursue a major in International Relations with a concentration in International Development Economics. Her fascination in Russian history, its aggressive foreign policy and its language lead her to participate in EPIIC. In her free time, she enjoys exploring Boston cafes. Katie is truly excited about becoming a member of the IGL community and she hopes to enhance her understanding of the dynamics of Putin’s politics and Russia’s near-abroad through involvement in EPIIC this year.
 

Eliza Davis

Eliza Davis is a freshman from Santa Cruz, California interested in International Relations and Peace and Justice Studies. She spends her free time reading memoirs from places like Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and Serbia and is passionate about conflict studies and human rights. As a daughter of lesbians, Eliza is especially interested in women’s rights and the treatment of the LGBT community. On campus she hopes to participate in Amnesty International, Action for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP), and the Tufts Mountain Club (TMC). After working at a preschool last year, she also plans to volunteer with Jump Start. Eliza is currently studying Arabic and French and spent six weeks last summer learning Arabic in Morocco through an NSLI-Y homestay. Eliza loves languages and is hoping to learn Russian in the future. In the meantime, she is excited to explore the fascinating culture and history of Russia and its former empire.

Orlando Economos

Orlando Economos is a sophomore at Tufts. He hails from northern New Jersey, but his ancestors came to the USA from Greece, a heritage of which he is very proud. He is majoring in International Relations with a concentration in Economics. He has a passion for photography and film and is currently working as the Director of Photography on a new web series being produced at Tufts, as well as writing and shooting a photography blog for the Office of Admissions. He also founded and sings in Tufts’ all-Disney a cappella group, Enchanted. He enjoys poetry, cooking, and history jokes, and is always interested in learning something new.

Matt Felsenfeld

Matt is a sophomore at Tufts and grew up in New York City.  He is double majoring in history and political science.  At Tufts, Matt is the Curriculum Director for the Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services (ALLIES), the Trip Planner for Tufts History Society, and is currently serving his second year on the FieldEx planning committee.  On that committee, Matt helped organize an immersive simulation experience on ethno-religious conflict.  EPIIC is one of the reasons that drew Matt to Tufts, as he thought it would provide a fantastic resource in learning about an area or topic—in this case, Russia.  Matt is excited to study Russia both because of the current situation in Eastern Europe and because of the evolving role of Russia on the world stage. 

Josh Golding

Josh is a junior at Tufts University from Summit, NJ, majoring in International Relations. Currently learning Spanish, he hopes to pursue Catalan and Russian as well. Josh was a member of the 2014-15 EPIIC Colloquium on "Russia in the Twenty-First Century." Additionally, he has interned for Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr., Giuliani Partners in New York City, the Hudson Institute's Center for Political-Military Analysis, and will be interning with the US. Department of State in the U.S. Consulate General Barcelona's Political-Economic section in Spring 2016. Josh is interested in security studies involving the Arctic Circle, the Caucasus region, and Latin America, but now hopes to gain a better understanding of Catalan nationalism and Spain's fiscal recovery.

Josh Golding

Josh is a sophomore at Tufts University from Summit, NJ, majoring in International Relations.  Currently learning Spanish, he hopes to pursue Russian as well.  In addition to being a member of the 2014-15 Colloquium, Josh rows for the Men's Crew Team, is a member of Tufts ALLIES, and is involved in the Tufts Special Friends program.  He has interned for Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr. as well as for Giuliani Partners in New York City.  Josh is especially interested in security studies involving the Arctic Circle, the Caucasus region, as well as Latin America.  He is truly honored to be a part of this year's colloquium and hopes to gain and to act on impactful insights regarding Russian policy.

Atanas Grozdev

Teaching Assistant

Atanas Grozdev is a second year MALD student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where he focuses on human security and international business. He grew up in Bulgaria, a country undergoing a transition between a Soviet past and a future of European integration. While studying Sociology at Sofia University, he spent a year at the University of Washington on a fellowship from the Open Society Institute. His interest in the intersection of religion and politics took him to Boston University, where he pursued graduate studies on a Fulbright fellowship. Throughout his studies, he was actively involved in projects promoting youth civic engagement. He worked for an election observation mission of the OSCE and with the UNHCR in Lebanon. He speaks five languages, loves learning new ones, playing soccer and Nordic jazz.

Grigory Hakimov

Grigory is majoring in Political Science. His academic interests include comparative politics and U.S.-Russia relations. He is very excited to participate in discussions and research projects in the current EPIIC colloquium focusing on contemporary Russia.

Minkyung Kim

Teaching Assistant

Minkyung Kim is a second-year student at Fletcher, concentrating in international security studies. As an undergraduate in South Korea, she majored in Russian language and literature and spent one year studying in St. Petersburg as an exchange student. At that time, communism and capitalism were coexisting in the country as part of the transition after the end of the USSR. She enjoyed Russian culture and arts and worked as a guide and interpreter for Russian delegation visits to Korea. At Fletcher, she is studying the possible role that the Russian intelligence community may have played in the Ukraine conflict. Having visited Europe and now studying in the US, she sees that many people still are uninformed about Russia, which is why she is so excited to be part of EPIIC and help raise awareness.