Amaia Elorza Arregi, Conference Coordinator
PhD Student
MALD ’21
Email: Amaia.Elorza_Arregi@tufts.edu
Amaia is a second-year PhD Student, focusing on conflict resolution and social movements. In addition to her role at the Fares Center, Amaia also works as a Teaching Fellow and Research Assistant. She completed the MALD in May 2021. During the MALD, Amaia focused on conflict resolution, gender and human security, with a particular focus on the Middle East.
Amaia lived in the West Bank from 2012 to 2018, working as a legal researcher on international law and human rights violations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At Fletcher, she co-organized the Decolonizing International Relations Conference, worked as a Research Assistant at the World Peace Foundation and as a Teaching Assistant and Coordinator at the Tufts University Prison Initiative. During the summer of 2020 she was a Topol Fellow in Nonviolent Resistance and analyzed the impact of external actors on nonviolent resistance movements in the West Bank.
Amaia holds a Law Degree (J.D.) from the Complutense University of Madrid and a BSc in Politics and International Relations from the London School of Economics.
Kate Hibbert, Senior Assistant
MALD 2024
Kate is studying leadership in foreign affairs, conflict resolution, and the Middle East. During the summer of 2023, she provided political analysis and research support to the U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen at the Department of State. Prior to Fletcher, she managed major fundraising campaigns and events and coordinated data projects across departments at a nonprofit tuition-free middle school dedicated to serving newcomer refugee girls in Decatur, Georgia, U.S.
Kate holds a bachelor’s degree in World Languages with a minor in TESOL from Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana, during which she studied in France, Argentina, and Jordan to learn French, Spanish, and Arabic. Her hometown is Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Kate hopes to strengthen diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), peacebuilding, and conflict resolution efforts in her career in international relations and public service.
Arda Mert Sehan, Speaker Liaison
MATA 2025
Arda is a first-year student in the Transatlantic Affairs MA (MATA) joint degree program at Fletcher School and College of Europe, Belgium, focusing on security, public diplomacy, and governance.
Arda lived in Ankara, Turkey from 2019 to 2020, working with the members of parliament, as a project coordinator in policy-making teams for development policies and economic management of the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2020 to 2022, he worked as a political consultant to a member of parliament in legislation, public relations, and various policy fields particularly health, agriculture, development, women’s empowerment, and Turkey-EU relations.
He holds his first MA degree in German-Turkish Social Sciences (GeT MA) from Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, and Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. During which he studied comparative politics, sociology, international relations, and European affairs. Arda also holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey.
He speaks Turkish, English and French. His hometown is Izmir, Turkey.
Angelina Grosso, Communications Assistant
MALD 2024
Angelina is the graphic designer for the Fares Center and is a second-year MALD student. Her fields of study are technology & international affairs and global governance & international organizations, with a specific interest in public diplomacy.
Aryama Bhattacharyya, Logistics Assistant
MALD 2025
Aryama is a 2025 MALD candidate focusing on Conflict Resolution and Human Security. She is also a cross-registered student at the Harvard University where she focuses on Negotiation and Climate Action. In addition, she is a staff writer at Praxis – The Fletcher Journal of Human Security. Prior to joining Fletcher, she was interning with the Global Governance Initiative. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Calcutta.
Frizia Rounak, Outreach Assistant
MALD 2025
Frizia is a first-year MALD student specializing in International Information and Communication, with a focus on digital rights and inclusion. She studies the role of AI in enhancing access to information and safeguarding digital freedoms, aiming to bridge technology and human rights to support a more inclusive digital world. Prior to Fletcher, she worked with the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN and other organizations as a human rights and communications intern where she helped in drafting policy briefs and official statements for several sessions of the Human Rights Council. Frizia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Affairs.
Yael Krifcher, Conference Staff
MALD 2024
Yael is a second-year MALD student, focusing on International Development and Human Security. Yael graduated from Wesleyan University in 2019, and has spent the last three years based in Jerusalem, where she first worked for a local human rights NGO focused on spatial planning rights for Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and then as a UN contractor working within the Palestinian energy sector. Originally from the DC area, Yael is fluent in Hebrew and proficient in Arabic, and is excited to support the work of the Fares Center this year.
Ariel Daniels, Conference Staff
MALD 2024
Ariel is a 2024 MALD candidate studying conflict resolution and international security. During the summer of 2023, she interned in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs – Office of North African Affairs, managing the Tunisia desk portfolio. At Fletcher, Ariel serves as a Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant for the Fares Center and Center for Strategic Studies Afghanistan Assumptions Project.
Ariel holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Affairs with a minor in French from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. During summer 2018, Ariel studied Arabic at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco on a Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship. Her hometown is Milledgeville, Georgia.
Tatum Koroli, Conference Photographer
MALD 2024
Tatum Koroli is a second-year MALD student focusing on human security, migration and ethnic conflict. At Fletcher, she works as the Fares Center photographer and as a Research Assistant for the Russia & Eurasia program. She earned degrees in Global Studies and Spanish Linguistics from Arizona State University’s Honors College. With the Gilman Scholarship, Tatum spent time in Spain and Morocco, studying history, religion and politics of the Middle East and North Africa. She taught English in North Macedonia with the Fulbright Program and served as a Public Affairs Fellow at U.S. Embassy Skopje.
Mahya Daanesh, Conference Staff
MALD 2025
Mahya Danesh is a first-year student of the Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) program at The Fletcher School of Law and iplomacy, Tufts University. Her studies are focused on addressing the climate crisis, particularly in the Middle East. With a passion for environmental policy and international security, Mahya is dedicated to making a meaningful impact in tackling global challenges.
Rhea Lahoud, Conference Staff