Andrea Weyneth is a Master of Public Diplomacy student. She is a Programming and Operations Assistant at the Center on Public Diplomacy (CPD), a virtual intern at the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State working with American Spaces, and a liaison between the Society of Public Diplomats and CPD. She graduated from Denison University in 2019 with a degree in Psychology and minor in Biology. Upon graduation, she was awarded the Kussmaul Award, given to a Denison student who fostered the friendliest relations between the university and the local community. She received the award in recognition of her leadership and service as the acting president of the Humane Society and her role on the advising board for America Reads, a program which connects undergraduate tutors to struggling elementary students. She received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Ukraine from 2019-2020, where she lived and taught in Ivano-Frankivsk for eight months. Her commitment to public service and experience abroad inspired her to become a Foreign Service Officer. She is a second generation Ukrainian-American from Naperville, Illinois. A fun fact about her is that she is an avid hiker and has hiked in eight different countries so far!

Linnéa Ohlsson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden and moved to the United Stated in 2012. A
graduate of Master of Public Diplomacy at University of Southern California, Linnéa also has
a BA in International Security and Conflict Resolution with a specialization in Justice in the
Global System from San Diego State University.
During her academic career she had various internships and involvement with on and off
campus organizations. In San Diego she held an internship at San Diego Diplomacy Council
to subsequently conduct research on the benefits of utilizing NGOs as an instrument to
strengthen international relations. While at USC she acted as the President for the Society of
Public Diplomats, a student run organization that aspires to further the field of public
diplomacy by connecting students with their local public diplomacy community.
Linnéa has also served as a National Manager in the nonprofit sector where she built, trained,
and lead teams of fundraisers to raise over $1,000,000 for (NGO) such as Save the Children,
The Nature Conservancy, San Diego Humane Society, and CARE. With concern of the rise of decadent nationalism across the world, and especially in Europe, it’s her long-term career goal to work for an IGO. It is her belief that we must rely on
institutions like the European Union to tackle the complex problems we face today. The EU
can serve as a counterweight to American imperial power and the rampant forces of
unregulated capitalism.

Yanis Sebti is a second-year Master of Public Diplomacy graduate student at USC, born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco. He previously earned his BA from the University of California, San Diego in International Studies. Yanis currently works for a strategic communications and international relations agency specializing in the Olympic and international sports industry. He is fluent in French, Arabic, and English and is passionate about sports diplomacy. During his first year of the MPD program, Yanis interned at the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center researching about disinformation and propaganda. After he graduates, Yanis would like to continue working in the field of sports public relations and diplomacy as the FIFA World Cup and Olympics come to the city of Los Angeles.

Yara Alas is a graduate student in the Master of Public Diplomacy program at USC, with a special interest in cultural diplomacy. Prior to starting the MPD program, she was a high school English language teacher in Madrid, Spain. She earned BA degrees in American studies and political science, with an emphasis on international relations, from the University of California, Berkeley in 2014, where she also studied abroad in Madrid. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and trying cuisines from around the world (the spicier the better). During her time in Türkiye, she will be researching various cultural diplomacy efforts like soap opera diplomacy and gastrodiplomacy, as well as broadcasting, and how these fields are being used strategically as part of the nation’s recent rebranding campaign.

Demme Durrett is a second year Master of Public Diplomacy graduate student at USC. A proud Houstonian turned New Yorker (and now Angeleno!), Demme Durrett is 2019 Phi Beta Kappa inductee and magna cum laude graduate from Columbia University, Barnard College. Durrett received a B.A. in American Studies and Human Rights. Inspired by her academic and cultural interests, her undergraduate thesis focused on fashion as a weapon of Cold War diplomacy, using the 1959 American National Exhibition in Moscow as a case study. She has continued her interests in cultural diplomacy by pursuing a track on fashion diplomacy during her time as an MPD student. Furthermore, as Cowan Scholar at USC’s Center for Communication Leadership and Policy, Durrett is working with Dr. Nicholas Cull and Ambassador William Luers on their forthcoming books which will soon be added to the public diplomacy canon. Durrett’s professional experience includes a career at the U.S. Department of State, serving in the Press and Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and in a variety of UN General Assembly-related roles at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Her interests in the program include fashion diplomacy, brand and reputation management, and global cultural representation.  

Follow Demme at demmedurrett.com or  @demmedurrett.

Yige Wang is a first-year Master of Public Diplomacy student at USC. She is from Beijing, China. As an undergraduate, she studied Strategic Communications and Economics at the University of Colorado, Denver. She previously worked at a startup company and has had several internships related to marketing and creative work. She is currently an intern for social media platform Xiaohongshu. During her experience, she explored different industries and likes to embrace new environments and new knowledge. As an international student, she had amazing experience learning from her peers. She enjoys exploring new cultures and making friends with people from all over the world.

Gaziza Bekbolat is a first-year Master of Public Diplomacy graduate student at USC, originally from Kazakhstan. She holds a Bachelor of Humanities degree in International Relations from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and has a strong focus on intercultural relations. In addition to her academic pursuits, Gaziza has been actively involved in various community service projects, including volunteering with local NGOs in Kazakhstan to promote youth education and social welfare programs. She has also participated in several initiatives to raise awareness on the issues of woman rights and domestic violence in her home country. She has completed internships at the United Nations office in Almaty and regional government bodies in Kazakhstan. Gaziza has been fascinated by the diversity of cultures and the ways in which they intersect and interact. Her interest in intercultural relations stems from her belief that understanding and appreciating different cultures is crucial for building bridges and fostering mutual respect and cooperation. Gaziza is a recipient of the prestigious “Bolashak” governmental scholarship of Kazakhstan and is fluent in Kazakh, Russian, and Uzbek, with a growing proficiency in Spanish. During her research trip to Türkiye, Gaziza will be exploring the combination of secular and religious traditions, the interaction between democracy and political Islam, and the peaceful coexistence of Religions.

Kayla Harris is currently a Master's of Public Diplomacy student within USC's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. She is also working full-time as a Digital Communications Officer at a non-profit. Kayla graduated from The George Washington University in May 2022 with a Bachelor's of Arts in International Affairs and Korean Language and Literature. Upon graduating, Kayla received departmental honors from the Korean department. During her time at GW, Kayla participated in a research fellowship with the George Washington Institute of Korean Studies in which she conducted a research project on feminism in South Korea and its effects on gendered language. She also completed internships with Korea Innovation Center and Korea Economic Institute of America. Kayla is passionate about human rights, social justice, and international relations with a focus on East Asia. She has published multiple articles on a wide range of topics including China-South Korea relations.

Claudia Perez is a first-year M.P.D graduate student who proudly hails from both the East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights areas. Prior to becoming a Trojan, she attended the University of California, Santa Barbara. During that tenure she also attended the University of California, Washington Center and further expanded her educational experience by studying abroad in Italy at the University of Bologna. She is currently utilizing the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism as her personal laboratory and professional scholarship. One of her personal goals within the Public Diplomacy program is to thrive off the educational knowledge that surrounds this establishment and embark on a career reflected in human rights, diplomacy, and advocacy. She enjoys all things in life that revolve around reading, writing, family, friendship, and football (just to share a few). 

Jinglin Yuan is a first-year student in the Master of Public Diplomacy program at the University of Southern California. Prior to joining the program, Jinglin earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Southern California. He has worked as a columnist for Global Times, China Youth Daily and Beijing Daily, and an assistant editor at CCTV Creative Media and CCTV Yangshipin. His main interests include personal diplomacy, the use of classical rhetoric in political diplomacy, UK parliamentary debates, and UK political history and contemporary politics. Jinglin is co-writing a research paper on major Turkish public diplomacy developments in recent years with Andrea Weyneth.

Sarai Colón is a graduate student pursuing a Master of Public Diplomacy at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Sarai received her Bachelor of Arts from New York University in 2018 in Anthropology with a minor in East Asian Civilizations. As an undergraduate student, Sarai studied abroad in Shanghai, China, and focused much of her research on relations between China, North Korea, and South Korea. Sarai has interned at the International Rescue Committee working with refugees from Central America and assisting with their resettlement in New York City. This spring she interned at the U.S. Department of State with the Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources (R/PPR). She currently serves as the Director of Alumni Relations for the Society of Public Diplomats at USC and is a member of USC's Liberty in North Korea rescue team. Sarai is interested in cultural diplomacy, global security, and regional diplomacy in East Asia. After graduating, Sarai hopes to serve as a Foreign Service Officer.

Yuyang Tang is a first-year Master of Public Diplomacy graduate student at USC, coming from China. She graduated from the Communication University of Zhejiang in 2021 with a Broadcast Announcing & Anchoring Art degree. During her undergraduate, she won a university scholarship four times and was granted an outstanding dissertation focusing on cross-cultural communication and national image improvement. 

She is keen on voluntary service and has participated in non-profit organizations in China, NYC, and LA. She is devoting herself to the human rights protection of vulnerable groups, especially the youth. She has rich academic and professional experience in news media. She worked as executive editor for the CUZ News, and journalism intern for Zhejiang Television Station International Channel. Such experience trained her insight into journalism and communication. She also has diplomatic work experience. She has worked as an intern in the Foreign Affairs Office of the Haining Municipal People's Government, in charge of promoting the city's image and mutually beneficial relationships with sister cities in Australia, Japan and Korea.

The past experience and the exchange program at Columbia University in 2019 strengthened her choice and love for public diplomacy. In the future, she will continue more PD practices and focus on human rights protection, cross-culture communication, and national branding. Follow Yuyang on Instagram @annatang_tyy

Bunga Vidanska is a first year Master of Public Diplomacy graduate student at USC and an international student from Indonesia. She holds a Bachelor of Communication Science from Padjadjaran University, Indonesia, majoring in Communication Science with a concentration in interpersonal communication. Currently, Bunga is doing an internship at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Los Angeles, in the socio-cultural field, following her dream of becoming a diplomat. Experienced in various fields of communication, she is interested in interpersonal, political communication, as well as cultural diplomacy. Those topics led her to work as a front-page journalist for the Radar Papua newspaper, as a content writer for a start-up company, and even as a Corporate Communication staff member in a state-owned company in Indonesia, as her previous professional experiences. While in Turkiye, she focused on Faith Diplomacy regarding how Turkish society builds religious tolerance in the midst of vast diversity. Follow Bunga on Instagram @vforvidanska.

Sarah Schornstein is a Master of Public Diplomacy Student at University of Southern California. Sarah graduated from George Washington University in 2022. She is from Manalapan, NJ. Over her career at GW, she has interned at the Israeli Mission to the United Nations, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, at FOX News Media on FOX News Sunday with Shannon Bream, House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, at the U.S. Department of State Office of the Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment and at the Abraham Accords Peace Institute. She currently interns at the USC Center for Public Diplomacy. At USC, she has been involved in the Jewish Community, serving as the Legislative Director at Trojans for Israel, Hillel and Chabad. She is a Floor Director for the Weekly Annenberg Media TV show “Annenberg TV News”.

In her free time, Sarah loved to travel, theater, event management and film production as well.

Follow her on Instagram @sarahschornstein and on Twitter @SarahSchornste1

Alexis Timko is a student in the Masters of Public Diplomacy program and received her B.A. in Law, History and Culture and B.A. in Journalism from USC. She has worked in the POL section at U.S. Embassy Banjul in The Gambia and at the Los Angeles Times as an investigations fellow. She has received research grants to investigate the ongoing violence in Cameroon, tracing its roots to lingering colonial structures. Her current research with human rights professor Steve Swerdlow will propose methods of transitional justice to the Uzbek government to rehabilitate victims of political and religious targeting by former dictator Islam Karimov. She will be joining CNN's investigations team this summer.