S-CAR Student Association Elections: Profiles of the New Elected Executives for 2014-2015

Ellen Galdava is a current MS student at the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Ellen graduated from American University in Bulgaria with a dual degree in Political Science and International Relations and Business Administration. Her past work experiences were in the Foreign Ministry of Georgia, Chancellery of Prime Minister of Georgia,  Parliament of Georgia, and International Peace and Security Institute (IPSI) in Washington, DC. Currently, she is program assistant at Women in International Security (WIIS) and research assistant at the Fund for Peace. Her academic and professional interest is in conflict resolution, international negotiation, identity, and narrative. She speaks Russian and Georgian fluently. You can contact her at [email protected].   

   
William Johnson, newly elected Treasurer of the S-CAR Student Association, is in his first year of study in the Master's Program at S-CAR. Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, he received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Iowa State University. Professionally, William works to encourage private sector engagement in post-conflict and developing regions, as well as with programs designed to increase workforce readiness and skills programming for youth. He looks forward to engaging with students, faculty, and the greater Washington D.C. community in order to build the network and capacity of the S-CAR student body. Feel free to drop him a note at [email protected]

Alaa Kamel is a second year student in the M.S. program. In her undergraduate years she was the president of Model United Nations and Model Arab League, while participating in organizations such as Take Back The Night and Student Voice. The skills and experiences she acquired have been invaluable to her and assisted her in extending her services to her communities in Los Angeles and Egypt, and she hope to utilize these skills to strengthen the student body. Last year she was the Secretary for the Africa Working Group and came to learn about the many difficulties faced by a first year graduate student, all the working groups, and networking in DC. Currently she is working at the Food Research Action Center, and focusing on labor issues for her thesis. Contact her at [email protected]


Hilmi Ulas hails from the island of Cyprus and is a PhD candidate. He holds a double BA degree in political science and French from Grinnell College, where he enjoyed the cold weather and tornadoes, as well as a fun campus life. Wanting to learn about how to contribute to conflict resolution in his home country (and admittedly in search of better climes) he came to S-CAR - which used to be ICAR in those ancient days - and stayed there because he fell in love with the city and the institution. Nowadays he pretends to be 'dissertating' and hopes that it will write itself by sheer willpower and hope. He would love to help S-CAR folk be more integrated and contribute to the way things work as he sees lots of potential for mutual learning and gains there. Contact him at: [email protected]