Georgiana Epure
Gates Scholar
Romania
Georgiana is a Gates Cambridge Scholar alumna and an Economic and Social Research Council funded-scholar undertaking an MA in Social Sciences Research Methods in preparation for her doctoral research on the politics of international criminal justice at the University of Leeds, where she is also works as a research assistant at the European Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. She holds an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, Christ's College, where her MPhil research focused on the International Criminal Court's discourse on the 'Responsibility to Prosecute' perpetrators of mass atrocities, and is the recipient of a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds where she graduated as valedictorian in 2016. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Responsibility to Protect Student Journal and a Women Deliver Young Leader Fellow advocating for the introduction of comprehensive sexuality education in the Romanian scholar curriculum.
Georgiana Epure
Speaker's Committee Director
Leah is fabulous ....
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(Bio)
Leah Madelaine Schmidt
Chevening Scholar
United States
Leah is a Chevening (Cambridge Trust) and Rotary Scholar pursuing an MPhil in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge, Queens’ College. Her thesis focuses on violence against gendered bodies under current United Nations peacekeeping policy, utilizing lenses of critical queer and feminist theory. She previously earned two Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies (First Class Honours) and International Relations (with Distinction), minoring in Anthropology, from the University of Calgary. Leah has previously worked in human rights and security policy with Amnesty International, the National Organization for Women, and the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations. In her spare time, Leah researches adult-learning educational pedagogy, serves as Under-Secretary General for National Model United Nations (DC), and is the inaugural Artist-in-Residence with Fairytales Queer Film Festival, where she is directing a feature-length documentary on social justice resistance. With a commitment to interdisciplinarity, Leah is looking forward to creating an intersectional and educational GSS 2018.
Leah Madelaine Schmidt
Delegates' Committee Director
Alicia Stevens
Gates Scholar
United States
Alicia Stevens is a Gates Cambridge Scholar and PhD researcher in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge. Ms.Stevens also holds an MPhil from Cambridge, an M.Sc. from Columbia University and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Prior to Cambridge, Ms.Stevens held senior-level positions at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the Smithsonian Institution, and Columbia University, working in global educational programming, traveling exhibitions and international collaborations. Ms.Stevens has traveled to 100+ countries on museum-related business and consulted for the Office of the Secretary General of the United Nations, the National Geographic Society, the Smithsonian Institution and the countries of Myanmar, El Salvador, Dubai, Philippines, and others. Ms.Stevens is a member of the Board of Directors of the Explorers Club (Emeritus) and the Educational Travel Community (ETC).
Alicia Stevens
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External Relations Director
Saman Tariq Malik
Rhodes Scholar
Pakistan
Saman Tariq Malik is the Rhodes Scholar 2017 from Pakistan, studying for an MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies at the University of Oxford. Saman’s work is essentially interdisciplinary in nature, traversing the disciplines of history and literature. Her primary research interests include South Asian literatures, gender and social reform, World Literatures and Orientalism. In addition to her academic interests, Saman is passionate about promoting Digital Humanities and is interested in the study of digital cultures. Before joining Oxford, she obtained a BA Honors degree in English and History from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (2016). In the capacity of a research assistant, she has worked on conservation projects involving digital archiving for the preservation of Pakistan’s literary heritage. She continues this line of interest at Oxford through other related projects and fieldwork which also feed into her research. Saman is involved with the Rhodes Women forum at Oxford. She is also an artist with a keen interest in contemporary Pakistani art.
Saman Tariq Malik
Venue and Logistics Director
Liangliang Zhang
Gates Scholar
China
Liangliang is a Gates Scholar pursuing a PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. Her current research explores the secularisation and popularisation of knowledge and practices that were once bound up with religion, but are increasingly directed towards individual wellbeing and self-care. . Her experiences in conducting ethnographic research with marginalised groups, building social entrepreneurships projects to address local needs and working with intergovernmental agencies have informed her commitment to seeking creative solutions to structural inequalities. She is particularly passionate about promoting social wellbeing and fostering collaborations across disciplinary, socioeconomic and cultural divides. Originally from Zhuhai, China, Liangliang graduated from Duke University in 2016 with a degree in International Comparative Studies, and completed her MPhil in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.