Graduate and Professional Fellows


AAI Graduate/Professional Fellows are selected for their exceptional commitment to holistic intellectual exploration, community-building, and alignment with AAI’s mission of promoting truth-seeking, values-driven humanistic inquiry. Fellows act as ambassadors for AAI and have access to our vibrant network and wealth of institutional resources and opportunities.

 

Graduate Student Fellows

 

Sergio Leos

Sergio Leos is a PhD candidate in the History Department at Harvard University. He studies the relationship between Spain and the Americas in the sixteenth century and the knowledge generated by the people and processes linking both regions. Sergio is a graduate of Princeton University's Department of History and Program in Latin American Studies.

 

Mathis Bitton

Mathis Bitton is a Ph.D. candidate in the Harvard Government Department studying political theory and intellectual history. His interests include Chinese political thought, liberalism and its critics, the politics of technology, and democratic theory. His current work focuses on techno-critical writings in the Western and Chinese traditions. Before graduate school, Mathis co-founded a cybersecurity start-up and received a B.A. in Political Science from Yale College.

 

Scarlett Rose Ford

Scarlett Rose Ford is a current Master of Theological Studies candidate at Harvard University. She previously attended the University of Alabama, where she received her B.A. in English and Religious Studies. In the interim between degrees, Scarlett Rose did editorial work in Vatican City, where she developed her current research on the history of Eastern Catholicism and trends within American Catholicism. While pursuing her M.T.S., she works as a news correspondent for Harvard Divinity School, a graduate assistant for Religion and Public Life, and a contributing writer for the Catholic publication Aleteia. When not writing, Scarlett Rose enjoys reading, baking, knitting, praying, and ambling around Cambridge.

 

Sea Yun PIUS Joung

Sea Yun Pius Joung holds the Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship and is pursuing an MTS at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on intellectual currents in the Mediterranean of Late Antiquity. Throughout his schooling across four continents, Pius has been fascinated by texts and traditions that have vitality and develop across time and space. He holds a B.A. in Theology and Religion from the University of Oxford, where his undergraduate thesis on the Ecclesiological Exegesis of the Song of Songs by St. Cyprian of Carthage won the top thesis award. His thesis prompted him to consider the profound question of Unity, and how physical distance can be overcome through the Communion of the Church. His research at Harvard will focus on the sacramental character of friendship in the Early Church and explore how the love between friends can be a visible conduit of inward and invisible grace. Pius chairs the Ratzinger Memorial Society of Harvard.

 

Suan Sonna

Suan Sonna is a Master of Theological Studies student in the New Testament and Early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School. He received his B.A. in philosophy and political science at Kansas State University. His current research focuses on the intersection of ancient Jewish law, ethics, and authority structures with early Christianity, including within the life of the historical Jesus. His other interests include the historical and scriptural Peter, Jerome and the episcopacy in the early church, the theological value of the historical critical method, Aristotelian metaphysics, and Thomistic moral theory.

 

Hassan Ahmad

Hassan Ahmad is a master's student at Harvard Divinity School, studying the reception of Biblical history in the Islamic tradition. He graduated from Princeton University in 2021, where he studied political theory and medieval studies. He is married to the love of his life, Caroline Ortiz, whom he met while they were students at Princeton. Hassan is passionate about the historical study of scripture, Patristic theology, and interreligious dialogue. In his spare time Hassan enjoys spending time with his wife, playing basketball, and reading Dostoevsky. 

 

Gregory Tirenin

Gregory Tirenin is a PhD candidate in the History Department at Boston University, specializing in Early American history. His research concerns Loyalist political theology during the American Revolution, especially Loyalist interpretations of the doctrines of passive obedience and nonresistance. He received a B.A. in History from Siena College and an M.Litt in Early Modern History from the University of St Andrews. His work has appeared in British Catholic History and Wesley and Methodist Studies.

 
 

Reed Morgan

Reed Morgan is a Ph.D. candidate in the History Department (Harvard University) where he studies the history and archaeology of cultural contact between Byzantium, Islam, and the West in Late Antiquity. His dissertation will focus on Justinian's reconquests and the Umayyad conquest of Spain and North Africa. Before Harvard, he majored in Archaeological Studies (Yale '17) and obtained MPhil degrees in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic and Archaeological Research at Cambridge University (2017-2019). At Harvard, he has been a Teaching Fellow in The New Science of the Human Past and The Crusades.

 

Gonzalo Cervantes

Gonzalo Cervantes is an MBA candidate at Babson College, interested in digital platforms, strategy, and product development with a concentration in Business Analytics and Machine Learning. He brings global experience, having developed and led projects in Argentina, Canada, Kenya, Mexico, the US, and Peru. His professional background spans social innovation, strategy consulting, public policy advisory for small governments, and academia, where he made his mark as an undergraduate communications management professor. Demonstrating a commitment to social impact, Gonzalo founded an NGO in 2025 focused on enhancing children's reading skills. Additionally, he pioneered a startup aimed at improving learning experiences for children during the pandemic, showcasing his innovative approach to education and technology. Gonzalo is very interested in pizza, a good talk, and new technology trends.

 

Associated Professional Fellows

 

Manee Nnamani

Manee is a Computer Scientist by profession who found her true passion in Education. She is a dedicated advocate for character and virtue education, leveraging technology to empower young individuals and support families, educators, and institutional leaders. Having recently completed a Master's degree in Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology at Harvard University, she focused on creating and implementing character education programs that promote flourishing in schools. As a Research Associate at the Practical Wisdom Project, she conducted impact assessments for the Practical Wisdom for Agile Leadership Executive Education program, drawing insights into leadership practices that help Educational leaders thrive. She is one of the Project Directors at the Elara Study Centre, which promotes virtue-based leadership education for girls to help them have a sense of responsibility in their studies and inspire them to impact disadvantaged communities across Nigeria through service projects.


Sarah Gustafson

Sarah Gustafson is an Assistant Professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America. Sarah earned her PhD in the Government Department at Harvard University, where she studied Tocqueville and nineteenth century political thought. A native of Connecticut, she graduated from Davidson College with degrees in History and French, before earning her MA in the History of Political Thought at Queen Mary University of London. In between her MA and studying at Harvard, she worked at the American Enterprise Institute. A

 

Abrania MArrero

Abrania Marrero, PhD, SM is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. With a focus on food systems in small island states, including her native Puerto Rico, she combines epidemiologic and ethnographic, community engaged research methods and practice to identify linkages between local agroecosystems, social values, and nutrition. Together, her research portfolio interrogates the interdependence of human and planetary health; the cultural and geopolitical landscapes in which they arise; and agentic pathways towards more equitable and climate resilient futures.

 

Kelley Babphavong

Kelley is an Account Director at TAG Strategies, a full-service marketing, consulting, and creative agency. She specializes in persuasive messaging and strategic initiatives for political campaigns. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Government with a secondary in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia from Harvard College. She is the co-founder and Senior Chairman of the Cicero Society, a DC-based conservative debate society. Kelley was also a fellow with The Public Interest Fellowship and D.C. Professional Network Leader for the Network of enlightened Women. Kelley speaks Lao, Thai, and French.

 

Joseph Barisas

Joseph is currently a Junior Fellow at the Thomistic Institute, which is located at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, working primarily with the TI's campus chapters program. As part of the fellowship, Joe is taking one STL level course per semester at the Dominican House. He graduated with an A.B. in Classical Languages and Literature from Harvard College, where he was involved with the Harvard Anscombe Society, the Catholic Students Association, Harvard Right to Life, and the undergraduate Thomistic Institute chapter. He enjoys studying theology, especially that of Saint Augustine of Hippo and Trinitarian Theology.

 

Portia Berry-Kilby

Portia is currently the Director of the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, based in Westminster, UK. Prior to that, she served as an attaché for the Holy See Mission to the United Nations. Before this, Portia worked in political consulting with a focus on polling data and focus groups.

Portia also dabbles in political commentary, with appearances on talkRadio, Times Radio, and GB News. Her writing has been published by the Spectator and New York Daily News.

She received a full scholarship to study at Harvard University, where she graduated with a concentration in Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations, and a secondary in Government. During her undergraduate studies, she was elected Chairman of the John Adams Society, and was involved with the student Catholic community and intramural Crew.

 

Finnian Coyote Brown

Finnian studied Economics and Philosophy at Harvard College (Class of 2019). His research focused on 19th and early 20th century philosophy and the economic systems of the Age of Empire (1873-1914). He also hosts a podcast, At World's End, on literature and intellectual history.

 

Tyler Dobbs

Tyler Dobbs is a law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He previously clerked on the Fifth Circuit. Tyler graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2022, having served as an editor on the Harvard Law Review. A 2016 graduate of Harvard College, where he founded the John Adams Debate Society, Tyler received a master's degree in Classics from Oxford in 2017.

 

Bella Gomez

Originally from Lexington, KY, Bella studied Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard College and graduated in 2017. Following college, Bella pursued research at the Broad Institute before starting medical school at Stanford University where she is currently in her final year and is applying into orthopaedic surgery. She has been involved with the Medical Humanities Fellowship and the Hippocratic Forum throughout her training.

 

James McGlone

Jim studied History and Classic at Harvard College, graduating in 2015 and serving as the Commencement Latin orator that year. He then went to Rome as a Fellow of the Paideia Institute before returning to Cambridge and earning a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2020. He now practices law in the D.C. area and resides in Hyattsville, Md., with his wife and three children. 

 
Joe Giollambardo Fellows Page.png

Joseph Giallombardo

Joseph worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter for various production companies and is passionate about introducing people to the unique potential of cinema as a formal language.  He is currently spearheading AAI's lecture series on great films (The language of Cinema) and working for the Rose Institute in the Boston area.  Joe has a B.A. in History from the University of Dallas.

 

Michael Johns Jr.

Michael Johns is the Academic Programs and Editorial Associate at the Alexander Hamilton Society. Previously, he was a junior policy fellow at the National Defense Industrial Association and a research assistant at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He holds a degree in History and Government from Cornell University and a master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was the managing editor of the Kennedy School Review and the senior associate editor of the Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy. Michael is also a fellow at The Public Interest Fellowship and a founding member of the Cicero Society, a conservative debating society in Washington, D.C.

 

Jorge Jraissati

Jorge Jraissati is the Director of Alumni for Liberty, an international network of young freedom activists with over 10,000 members from 139 countries. Its members include elected officials, think tank directors, journalists, academics, and other leaders committed to forming a global pro-liberty coalition. Jorge is also an economist and a researcher at IESE Business School for the Center for Public Leadership and Government. He studied economics at the Wilkes Honors College and has done executive programs in management at Stanford University, IESE Business School, and Harvard Business School. Jraissati's research has been published by Economic Affairs, the Brookings Institution, and Foreign Policy, among others. His policy recommendations have been supported by institutions like the Council of Europe and the OECD. He has also given speeches and lectures at institutions like the European Parliament and universities like Harvard and Cambridge. As a fellow at the Abigail Adams Institute, Jorge is studying the relationship between Venezuela's formal institutions and social norms.

 

Todd Jones

Todd is a resident physician in psychiatry at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a graduate of Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons.  He completed his undergraduate degree at Harvard, where he studied Classical languages and mathematics while participating in theater and parliamentary debate.  Todd was a 2021 FASPE fellow and has worked with the AAI to host several conferences on professional ethics and the philosophy of medicine.

 
Daniel Lage Fellows Page.png

Daniel Lage

Daniel is a Resident Physician at Mass General Hospital and has research & clinical interests in oncology, geriatrics, and improving care for older adults. Before medical school at Harvard, Daniel completed graduate study in policy and management at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

 

Alvino-Mario Fantini

Alvino-Mario Fantini is the Editor-in-Chief of The European Conservative, and Managing Director of the European Documentation and Information Center in Vienna, Austria. He is also a Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. Mario has worked for the World Bank, the Far Eastern Economic Review, The Wall Street Journal Europe, and Bloomberg/New Energy Finance. He also served for ten years as Speechwriter to the Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

A graduate of Dartmouth College, Mario has graduate degrees in international development, journalism, and public policy. His academic interests include populist nationalism and sovereigntist movements in Europe. He is currently doing research on conduct manuals, specula principum, and anti-Machiavellian writings of the Spanish Golden Age.

 
 
Victor+Mezacapa+Fellows+Page.jpg

Victor A. Mezacapa IV

Victor studied Classical Languages & Literatures at Harvard College, graduating in 2018.  He is originally from Ohio, where attended University School near Cleveland.

Victor now works at McKinsey and Company's Cleveland office.

 

Karl Notturno

Karl Notturno is a fellow at the Center for American Greatness. He also serves as the executive director of A Soldier’s Home, a nonprofit that helps homeless veterans. He graduated from Yale University with degrees in philosophy and history. He works as a lobbyist in DC and writes music in his spare time.

 
Dallas Terry Fellows Page.png

Dallas Terry

Dallas Terry is a graduate student in Political Theory at Boston College. Before moving to Boston, he taught English for four years at a public high school in Oklahoma City, OK. Interested in the ways in which education can elevate our souls and our society, he hopes to use his past and future teaching experience to aid his investigations into the practical and philosophic questions regarding the purpose of learning. Dallas is a lover of life, and he feels blessed to be here.

 

Alice Wang

Alice Wang, CFA, ATCL, is a portfolio manager at Quaero Capital and manages two funds focused on Asia Pacific and Chinese equities. She studied Intellectual History at Yale University with a focus on China. While at Yale, she co-founded The Federalist Party, which is part of the Yale Political Union. She is a founder of the John Aroutiounian Fellowship at the Abigail Adams Institute. She has written for and been quoted in publications such as the Nikkei Asia, Bloomberg, the FT, and is a regular speaker at conferences. Her fund, the Bamboo Asia Pacific ex-Japan, was awarded Gold in the Fund Selector Asia awards in 2022, and she is an Asia 21 Next Generation Fellow, Class of 2023. She is a coloratura soprano and has an ATCL diploma in vocal performance.

 

Chris Cottrell

Chris Cottrell grew up in Arizona where he helped pass Chris’s Law, a bill protecting victims of abuse that became one of the most popular measures in state history. This experience began a dedication to service and he went on to serve as an intelligence officer in the United States Army Reserve and deployed to Iraq with U.S. Special Operations Command. He graduated from Arizona State University, earned an MBA at Georgetown University, and an MPA at Harvard Kennedy School.