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Meet the Team

Led by Professor Ji-Young Lee, Korea in Global Affairs Initiative is simultaneously a space convening for research, dialogue, policy impact, learning, and mentoring. We are a passionate and motivated team. Have an inquiry about our activities? Reach out to Professor Lee at jiyoungl@american.edu.

Ji-Young Lee Associate Professor SIS | General Academics & Research

Trained as a political scientist, Dr. Ji-Young Lee has written on Asian historical international relations, regional security order and the U.S. alliance network in Asia, and South Korean foreign poli…

Ìý jiyoungl@american.edu

Sevde Arpaci Ayhan Postdoctoral Fellow SIS | Politics, Governance & Economics

Dr. Sevde Arpaci-Ayhan is a political economist whose research interests are at the intersection of international development, trade and environmental studies. She conducts econometric analysis of dev…

Ìý sarpaci@american.edu

Roger Rolando ReyesRoger Rolando Reyes Graduate Scholar

Roger Rolando Reyes is an MA student in Intercultural and International Communication and a 2023 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellow. Born in Miami, Florida, Roger is the son of Honduran immigrants to the United States. He majored in International Relations at Miami Dade College and Regional and Comparative Studies at Georgetown University. After graduating from Georgetown, Roger moved to Jeju Island in South Korea in 2015. He worked as a native English assistant teacher with the English Program in Korea for four years before becoming an English language instructor for the Jeju International Education Institute. His notable accomplishments during his eight-year career in South Korea include award-winning contributions to English language programs in secondary education to attenuate English language inequity for rural public schools under the jurisdiction of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education.

Valentina RamosValentina Ramos
Undergraduate Scholar

Valentina Ramos is an undergraduate student at the School of International Service, where she focuses on Foreign Policy and National Security and Global and Comparative Studies with a regional focus on East Asia and the Pacific. She is also pursuing a minor in Korean at the School of Arts and Sciences. Valentina is interested in learning more about Korean history and public policy. As part of her gateway course, she wroteÌýa policy paper on the 1994 Agreed Framework between North Korea and the United StatesÌýand is currently working on an independent research paper that investigates shifting geopolitics and the semiconductor industry.ÌýShe has determined her goals to further her research and support Korean Studies at Â鶹´«Ã½ and hopes to explore her career in the Korea/Asia field.