Research Assistants
Hannah Goerlich
Hannah Goerlich is a PhD student at the School of International Service, American University. Her research interests include the relationship between human and state security, and how conflict transformation processes can become more inclusive and participatory. She holds a double Master’s Degree in International Relations from Sciences Po Bordeaux and in Empirical Political and Social Research from the University of Stuttgart, where she also completed her Franco-German undergraduate studies in Political and Social Sciences. As a Fulbright scholar, she pursued a graduate certificate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (George Mason University). Her professional experiences span from the European Parliament, the European Policy Centre, to the State Ministry for Civil Society and Public Participation in Baden-Württemberg. Before joining the PhD program, she led the EU and International Politics program at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, focusing on EU Foreign, Security, and Migration Policy
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Olivia Imparato
Olivia Imparato is a graduate student studying International Development at the School of International Service, American University. She is interested in studying the humanitarian-development nexus and has experience in quantitative and qualitative research.
Prior to her graduate studies, Olivia earned her Bachelor’s in Accounting at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She has contributed her business and analysis skills to corporate and nonprofit settings, specifically related to program management and monitoring and evaluation. Her experience includes leading corporate impact programs for a large accounting firm and supporting two nonprofit organizations in research and evaluation roles.
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Menna Yohannes
Menna Yohannes is a dual-degree master’s student in Development Management and Data Science at American University, with a focus on economic development. Her interests center on using data-driven approaches to understand economic conditions and inform policies aimed at poverty alleviation.
She previously served in the Peace Corps in South Africa, where she was a member of the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee. In this role, she helped design and implement data collection and analysis tools to support volunteers working in education, enabling more effective assessment of teaching outcomes and program impact. She is interested in leveraging quantitative methods to generate meaningful economic insights that can guide policy to improve development outcomes.
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