Doctoral Research Fellows

Kimberly Anastácio is a PhD student at the School of Communication. Her interests include Internet Governance, technology policy, and digital rights. She has an MA and a BA in Political Science from the University of Brasília (Brazil), where she studied private authority in governance arrangements of Latin American country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). She is currently working on research about the intersection of Internet infrastructure and the environment. Kimberly was a researcher at the Department of Public Policy Analysis of Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV/DAPP), a center for applied social research concerned with innovation in public policies. There, she was part of the Digital Democracy Room where she conducted social media analysis during the elections in Brazil. She has experience working with digital rights NGOs such as Coding Rights and engaging in advocacy efforts regarding data protection and freedom of expression. She was also Data and Insights Coordinator at Isobar, where she led one of the agency’s data analytics teams.

Asvatha Babu is a PhD student at American University’s School of Communication studying technology hype in media and governments’ adoption of emerging technologies as tools of development and soft power. Her research interests include internet governance, cybersecurity, and the use of technology in the developing world. She graduated with her M.A. from the School of International Service at American University where she focused on cybersecurity and technology policy. She went on to work as a Research Fellow at the Blockchain Trust Accelerator at New America where she was able to study the use of blockchain technology for social impact. She has also worked as a Research Associate at the Institute on Disability and Public Policy at American University where she conducted research on global disability policy and inclusive technologies. She has interned at the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, India where she researched the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance, at the Atlantic Council's Cyber Statecraft Initiative, and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, DC.

Erica Diya Basu is a PhD student at American University’s School of Communication. Her research interests converge at the intersection of emerging multi-stakeholder models and privatization of Internet governance, public diplomacy, and technology policy. Her geographical area of study focuses on India’s emerging role in these areas. She holds a master’s degree in strategic communication from American University’s School of Communication and a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from the College of Wooster. Erica has over two decades of professional experience as a communication practitioner in strategic marketing and corporate communication, and public diplomacy. Before returning to graduate school she worked as the Media and Public Communications Chief at the U.S. Consulate General in Kolkata, India. In this capacity, she was an integral member of the media relations team for Secretary Clinton’s two India trips in 2011 and 2012 and President Obama’s 2015 India visit. She was awarded the U.S. State Department’s Meritorious Honor Award for innovative media and public affairs strategies for northeast India. Her master’s capstone studying the U.S. Embassy India’s digital campaign on climate change won the Best Graduate Capstone in 2016. She worked on independent research on India’s growing role in ICANN over the summer of 2017.

Ozan A. Cetin is a PhD student at American University’s School of International Service. He holds a BA in Political Science from Bogazici University and an MA in International Relations from King's College London’s War Studies Department. Before returning to the university, he worked in the telecommunications sector and in media research. His current interests include international cybersecurity cooperation, technology, and alliance politics.

Louise Marie Hurel (non-resident) is a PhD researcher in Data, Networks and Society at the London School of Economics’ (LSE) Department of Media and Communications. Her research focuses on security epistemologies, cybersecurity governance, and incident response. She holds an MSc in Media and Communications (Data and Society) from LSE and a BA in International Relations from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) where she was awarded for her dissertation entitled “Cybersecurity and Internet Governance: Two Competing Fields”. Louise Marie is also a researcher at Igarapé Institute’s Cybersecurity and Digital Liberties area, a think-and-do-tank focused on multidimensional security based in Brazil. For more than five years, she has continuously worked in the intersection between Internet governance and cybersecurity communities of practitioners. Her previous experience includes consultancy for technical bodies, a UNESCO project on “What if we all governed the Internet”, and research on Internet governance, privacy, and security at the Center for Technology and Society at Getúlio Vargas Foundation (CTS-FGV). Louise Marie is a member of the Advisory Board at the Global Forum of Cyber Expertise (GFCE) and Carnegie Endowment’s Partnership for Countering Influence Operations’ (PCIO). She has also published in main media vehicles such as CFR, Americas Quarterly, Open Democracy and others as well as journals such as the Journal of Cyber Policy and book chapters in the Routledge Handbook of International Cybersecurity and Rowman & Littlefield’s “Governing Cyberspace: Behaviour, Power and Diplomacy”. Louise Marie is interested in areas such as cybersecurity and Internet governance, platform and infrastructure studies, cyber norms, non-state actors, computer-mediated communication, critical security studies, risk and STS.

Neil Perry is a second-year doctoral student in Communication Studies in the School of Communication at American University. He completed his undergraduate studies with a concentration in Government at Harvard University and earned an MA in Civic Media at Emerson College. His research interest is in data studies at the intersection of media, technology, and policy.

Divya Ramjee is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Justice, Law & Criminology at American University in Washington, D.C., as well as an adjunct instructor at the School of Public Affairs (Department of Justice, Law & Criminology and Department of Government) and at the Washington College of Law. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for Security, Innovation, and New Technology and a Student Fellow for Washington College of Law's Tech, Law & Security program. Her research interests include cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime, cyber and tech policy, NLP and text analysis, and statistical methodology. She holds an MS from the Johns Hopkins University and BS' from the Ohio State University.

Ian Reynolds is a PhD student at American University’s School of International Service studying International Relations with a concentration in Technology, Security, and Social Change. He graduated from Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College in 2014 with degrees in Media Arts and Studies, Latin American Studies, and Spanish. In 2016 he received his MA at Ohio University in Political Science with a focus on International Relations. Ian’s current research interests include international cooperation in cyber security, propaganda and information warfare, and applications of social theory to international affairs.

Fernanda Rosa is a sociologist (University of São Paulo). She holds a Masters in Public Management and Policy (Fundação Getúlio Vargas) and is a PhD student in Communication at American University's School of Communication. Her interests focus on internet policies and public understanding of technology. Fernanda is the author of Mobile Learning in Brazil: Management and Implementation of Current Policies and Future Perspectives (2015, with Gustavo Azenha), which is a result of her work as a Research Associate at the Center for Brazilian Studies and the Institute of Latin American Studies at Columbia University. Fernanda loves to travel and to connect with resilient, empowered, and unpretentious people. She loves her hometown of São Paulo, Brazil. She loves listening to authentic jazz at the Candle Light in Trenton, New Jersey.

Randolph Rosin is a faculty member of the National Intelligence University in Bethesda, Maryland who teaches courses in information power, strategic communications, cyber threat intelligence, denial and deception, and leadership. He is a 32-year Army veteran who enlisted in 1979 and has served in senior positions in the intelligence and information warfare fields. Serving as the Senior Defense Official in Yemen for two years, he coordinated Department of Defense activities against Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to prevent attacks on the U.S. homeland and managed regional security cooperation programs in the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa region to reduce piracy and interdict the flow of terrorists, weapons, drugs, and trafficking in persons. As the Director of Information Operations first in Iraq and subsequently for the Near East region, he was responsible for the integrated employment of psychological operations, cyber capabilities, electronic warfare, special technical operations, deception, and operational security in support of military operations. In this capacity, he was a leading pioneer in the development of web operations to counter Jihadist propaganda, recruitment, and funding activities on the Internet. He is also credited with being the architect of the information operations campaign that was responsible for accelerating the downfall of both the Taliban and Saddam Hussein regimes in 2001 and 2003. A combat arms officer, he was a long term member of the 3d Battalion 67th Armored Regiment and the 4th Psychological Operations Group, Fort Bragg, NC. He is a combat veteran who deployed for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, three times for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and once for Afghanistan. Mr. Rosin is a Middle Eastern affairs expert who has been posted to U.S. Embassies in the Middle East and to the military command responsible for the Near East region. In addition to participating in the formulation of strategic plans and policies, he managed diplomatic relationships and interactions between senior U.S. military and Middle Eastern officials. A decorated veteran, he was awarded 35 medals, decorations, and campaign ribbons that include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit and two Bronze Stars. He holds both airborne and air assault badges and is a graduate of the airborne jumpmaster school. Mr. Rosin holds an MS in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, an MS in International Relations from Troy University, and a BS in Foreign Area Studies from the United States Military Academy.