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Kinli Miller is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is planning on double majoring in Anthropology and Global Studies. She has always had a passion for social justice, which has translated into advocacy work and an interest in civil society. Until her senior year of high school, her academics focused mainly on becoming a civil engineer. Kinli attributes her shift in studies to her experience at Missouri Girls State, as well as several government and global studies classes in high school and college.
Kinli joined ACE because she believes that transparency and civic engagement are important cornerstones to the legitimacy of the government. She is unsure what the future holds, but is hoping that her work with ACE provides possible direction. Outside of academics, Kinli enjoys volleyball, art, and experimenting in the kitchen.

Maxwell Lessins (he/him) is a Junior at the University of Michigan studying History and Political Science. He has always had an interest in political advocacy work as he canvassed for Presidential Candidate John Kerry with his mother at the age of four. Now, Maxwell has aspirations of working for non-profits and later on law school. Max has volunteered on multiple political campaigns for state and national races in both legislative and executive elections. He is most passionate about civil liberties and human rights policy. His goal is to advance his research skills and have a positive impact on the community surrounding him.

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Jocelyn Boudreau (she/her/hers) is a sophomore at Boston College studying Political Science with a double-minor in International Studies (concentrating in Ethics & Social Justice) and Faith, Peace & Justice. Her studies have inspired her to search for ways to build a more just and equitable society, especially in regards to human rights advocacy. On campus, Jocelyn volunteers for Every Vote Counts to educate her peers on the importance of civic engagement, while providing resources essential to the voting process from registration to polling booth. She is also a member of the Volunteer and Activism committees for EcoPledge of Boston College, a sustainability club dedicated to minimizing the impact of climate change both on campus and in the greater Boston area. With ACE, Jocelyn hopes to research policy that secures stable, equal living conditions in the face of environmental crisis, marginalization, and other challenges facing the country today. She is excited to bring ACE’s resources to her university, and to continue fostering a community of well-informed, democratically-engaged citizens.

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Katherine (Katie) Eu (she/hers) is a sophomore studying economics and sociology at Scripps College. She moved to the US for high school after spending 15 years in her hometown, Hong Kong. Katie first discovered her interest for socioeconomic issues through a summer course at Columbia University titled ‘Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Social Justice.’ She is currently focusing her studies on the intersection between environmental, social, and economic issues both locally and internationally. Katie joined ACE in hopes to further her passion and advocacy for social justice issues. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her two dogs, street photography, and reading.

Jadon was born and raised in Southern California and is a political science major with an emphasis on Law and International Relations and has built his extracurriculars around Model United Nations. Jadon currently serves as an Executive Board Member for MUN to coach new students on values of diplomacy, edit speeches and position papers, as well as improve their public speaking skills through weekly meetings and simulations. He is also an Assistant Director, responsible for writing the Background Guide to aid students in their research for achieving universal healthcare for all, for the IVCMUN 2021 Conference Recently, however, Jadon has become deeply passionate about public policy and non-profit work this past year.

He joined the ACE team for this very reason. His passion for foreign policy research that he adapted from MUN has empowered him to make a difference in the real world. Shaped by his desire to better the lives around me, he is constantly seeking to add something of value to a convoluted, international issue as well as formulate resolutions as part of a coalition that could then be used to theoretically transform people’s lives. Whether it be through community engagement or advocacy, this is a lesson he hopes to bring to the ACE Team as he believes this is how change is created. 

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Maxwell White attended Sturgis Charter Public School where he first came to experience international issues through the school’s Model United Nations club. He has been a member of the organization all throughout high school, attending all but one conference in New York City each year to discuss the researched issues with other Model UN students from other schools. Through the experiences, the conferences and research taught him to appreciate the differences in others’ perspectives, having represented five countries, each with different views on issues. Now an economics major at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, he continues to participate in Model UN at the national level. In his spare time, Max enjoys reading, hiking, and biking.

Max took the ACE job because he believed it would serve as the next step towards a profession in international affairs beyond the Model UN simulations. Having voted for the first time in his life in the most recent 2020 elections, Max has come to place more importance to political issues. ACE will be a great resource for him to not only better understand both international and domestic issues, but also to improve his research skills to produce better work to help others make better decisions on the issues.

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Katharine Watke is a Junior at Georgetown University, double majoring in Chinese and Justice & Peace Studies. She is interested in all things foreign policy and women’s rights, but especially in US-China relations and the right to paid family leave. Previously, Katharine worked as an intern in Congressman Jim Cooper’s office; where she wrote several reports on the increasing tensions between China and the US during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her free time, Katharine enjoys blogging for Georgetown’s The Hoya, watching trashy dramas, and cooking with friends.

Plat Tejano (they/them) was born and raised in New Jersey, and they are currently a senior at Columbia University studying history and political science. Initially just broadly interested in international politics, they gained a specific interest in China last year, and since then they have taken coursework on modern Chinese history, their foreign relations, and their role in the global economy. Outside their academic interests, Plat also has experience with LGBTQ+ advocacy. They interned at the GLAAD Media Institute, and on campus they were on the planning board for Trans Awareness Week. And beside these research and advocacy interests, Plat also enjoys learning languages (namely Chinese and Tagalog), walking around New York City, and playing chess.

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Caroline Kuntzman is a second year history and political science major at Case Western Reserve University from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is a Baker-Nord scholar. Outside of the classroom, she serves as one of the head delegates for CWRU’s Model UN team and writes a biweekly column for the Observer, CWRU’s student run newspaper. Last summer, she interned with the Marcus Harris Foundation and wrote articles for their blog. She discovered her love of politics and international relations when she attended her first Model UN conference in high school which grew into a passion for foreign policy, the Middle East, and international human rights law, which she is considering pursuing a degree in after graduation.