Meet Our Spring 2025 Interns
Each Photo Takes You to Their LinkedIn Profile When Clicked
Noelle Puvak, Intern SP24
Junior Researcher
My time at RRI has been marked most significantly by growth, both individually and as a collective. It is often rare to join an organization as it enters its initial pilot, and then continue through as it expands its horizons. RRI has allowed me to develop alongside the institute, witnessing the organization's growth as my academic and professional journey continues. At a granular level, working with RRI has granted me the space to apply my academic and professional interests to self-led research. In the end, we witness the progress of our projects from the point of inception to a complete body of work, or one that may continue through the contributions of other researchers.
Ashli DeMaria, Intern SP24
I would recommend an RRI internship to others because of the lessons gained. This is not an internship for people who lack drive. This will teach you how to put work first and to give your all to something you care about. It will also shape your beliefs based on facts and advocate for exploited minority classes. If you are interested in changing the world, RRI is a great place to start. Alejandro is someone I would consider to be a powerful presence in a room and the person I still go to if I run into any problems with my career or education. He is a fountain of wisdom and experience. He encouraged me to be confident in my abilities and encouraged me to pursue other opportunities– whether entering a piece into an Ivy League public policy journal or by being a reference for a job.
Ella Sullivan, Intern SU24
Junior Researcher
Prior to joining RRI, I was interested in public policy research but I did not know much about what it actually entailed. While at RRI, I have expanded my horizons and gained skills that will be essential for my future career. Alejandro started the internship by introducing us to his own research. From this, I learned about the components of a professional research paper. We moved on to practicing doing literature reviews and background research. I had the opportunity to write literature reviews that ended up being a part of one of Alejandro’s accepted research proposals. We then were able to carry out our own research projects with the mentorship of Alejandro.
Third Intern Cohort - Fall 2024
Research Assistants
Kelly Conroy, Fairfield University '25, Politics & International Studies; Junior Researcher at RRI
Ellen Dong, Boston University '26, Journalism and Data Science
Emily Garcia, Brigham Young University-Idaho '24, Sociology
Megan Thompson, University of Texas at Austin, Government and Sociology
James Valentin, The University of Iowa '25, Public Policy and Social Science Analytics
Vidya Vedula, Emory University '26, Economics and Public Policy
Elaine Xiang, Colby College '26, Government and Sociology
Second Intern Cohort - Summer 2024
Research Assistants
Christopher Ford, University of Washington in Seattle '25, Latin American International Studies
Josephine Hall, San Diego State University '25, International Security; Junior Researcher at RRI
Shannon Rao, Washington University in St. Louis '27, Political Science
Arista Siebrits, Texas A&M Bush School, MA Candidate: International Affairs
Ella Sullivan, The University of Maryland: College Park '25, Political Science and Economics; Junior Researcher at RRI
Ha Tran, Michigan State University '26, Psychology
Inaugural Intern Cohort - Spring 2024
Research Assistants
Jenna Luisa Boccher, University of Pennsylvania '25, International Relations, Inaugural Junior Researcher at RRI
Ashli DeMaria, Fordham University '24, Psychology; Suffolk County Sheriff's Office
Haley Dymek, American University '24, Economics, Inaugural Junior Researcher at RRI
Emma Grady, Sacred Heart University '24, Political Science
Abhinav Iyer*, The University of Michigan '27, Political Science
Noelle Puvak, Occidental College '26, Diplomacy and World Affairs, Inaugural Junior Researcher at RRI
Brandon Soung, The University of California: UCLA '24, Political Science
* - Intern did not complete the requirements of the internship
Public Relations Intern
Nafisa Ruponty, The University of Florida '25, Public Relations; Inaugural Director of PR at RRI​