Research Assistants
Alessandra M. Evangelista is a second-year undergraduate student in the School of International Service at American University. Her primary concentration is focused on Foreign Policy and National Security with a secondary concentration in Justice, Ethics, and Human Rights. A member of the American University Honors Program, she has researched the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. Virgin Islands tourism industry. Evangelista has a background in Spanish, and studied abroad in Madrid, Spain. She has experience with debate, activism, and volunteer work.
Katherine Valbuena is a second-year International Studies and Honors student at American University. She is intending to focus her studies on Global Inequality and Development and has interests in migration, human rights, and culture. Katherine is also learning Spanish, studying art history in Spain over the summer and hoping to go to Chile in the fall. Holding many leadership and community positions over the years, she is most proud of her work as an intern for Planned Parenthood where she helped to mandate K-12 sex education in the state of Washington.
Angelina Freeman is an International Studies and Arabic undergraduate student at American University. She is interested in gender equality, international development, and global health. As part of the Olson Scholars program in AU’s School of International Service, she pursued research on the impact of women’s empowerment and health outcomes. Angelina was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has lived in Malang, Indonesia as part of the Kennedy Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad and Critical Language Scholarship programs. She has also lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on a Fulbright Killam Fellowship, where she studied gender and public health at Dalhousie University. Prior to joining RIPIL, she has worked with the AU Experience program, Center for Language Exploration, Acquisition and Research (CLEAR) at AU, and as a Digital Facilitator for the Experiment Digital Youth Leadership and Community Service program.