Meet the 2018-2019 Team
Tiffany Basciano
Tiffany Basciano is the Associate Director and a Professorial Lecturer in the International Law and Organizations Program. As Associate Director, she has organized and led several international academic research trips to South and Southeast Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Tiffany also directs the International Human Rights Clinic and is the lead coach for the SAIS International Criminal Court Moot Team.
She received her BA, cum laude, in Politics and History from New York University, and her JD, with honors, from The George Washington University Law School. While at GW Law, Tiffany attended the GW-Oxford Summer Program in International Human Rights Law. She is also a member of the California Bar.
Prior to joining SAIS, Tiffany interned at a consumer advocacy organization. She has additional work experience as: a legal intern in the Legislative & Correctional Issues Branch in the Office of General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; a summer graduate intern with the New York City Law Department – Office of The Corporation Counsel - Family Court Division (Brooklyn); and a law clerk in a plaintiffs’ toxic tort firm. Her academic interests include international human rights law and rule of law development.
Anna Berger
Anna Berger is a second-year MA student at Johns Hopkins SAIS, where she concentrates in International Economics and International Law. Originally from Oak Ridge, North Carolina, she graduated from Kenyon College in 2015, where she majored in International Studies and Modern Languages & Literatures (studying German and Spanish) and minored in Anthropology. Prior to matriculating at SAIS, she served with the Episcopal Service Corps in Columbus, Ohio, working at Community Refugee and Immigration Services, a refugee resettlement agency. Following her first year at SAIS, Anna interned at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) in Moscow, Russia. At RIAC, she worked in the Eurasian Development Program, conducting trade data research, publishing an article on the RIAC website about the effects of shifting US trade policies on BRICs countries, and contributing to a project on global conceptions of sovereignty. Her interests include trade law and policy, migration studies, and post-conflict transitions.
Fernanda Canessa
Fernanda Canessa is a second-year graduate student at Johns Hopkins SAIS pursuing a Master of Arts in International Economics and International Law and Organizations. She most recently completed an internship at Human Rights Watch in New York City in the Americas program where she researched, monitored, and conducted interviews on the ongoing crises in Latin America, such as the Nicaraguan conflict. Prior to SAIS, Fernanda acquired her Bachelor of Arts at Macalester College in International Studies and Political Science, concentrating in Human Rights and Humanitarianism, and minoring in French. Her areas of interest include education, women and children’s rights, the rule of law and constitutionalism.
Rachael Gamlin
Rachael Gamlin was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated from Auburn University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a minor in French. During her time at Auburn, she worked extensively with organizations which seek to alleviate food insecurity, such as the Campus Kitchens Project and Universities Fighting World Hunger. Upon graduation from her undergraduate studies, Rachael taught English to French high school students for a year in Fontainebleau, France.
Currently a second-year graduate student at Johns Hopkins SAIS, Rachael is concentrating in International Economics and International Law and is working towards a minor in Energy, Resources and Environment. Following her first year at SAIS, she completed an internship with the Millennium Challenge Corporation in Rabat, Morocco. While in-country, she developed communication materials and did site visits to meet Moroccan men and women who benefited from the work of MCC. After graduation, she is interested in pursuing a career helping companies develop Environment, Social and Governance policies, particularly in sustainability.
Danielle Martin
Danielle Martin is a second-year M.A. student concentrating in Conflict Management and Latin American Studies. Prior to SAIS she was born and raised in Marshfield, Wisconsin. She was a 2010 graduate of University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. Danielle earned two undergraduate degrees, the first in Business Management and second in Spanish. Her interest in international relations developed from studying abroad, in both Costa Rica and Italy, paired with her work experience in international development. Since May of 2014, Danielle has worked for Partners of the Americas, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. In her role, she has aided in implementing a variety of programs throughout Latin America, ranging from combatting child labor to sport for development. This past summer she had the opportunity to intern with Millennium Challenge Corporation in Malawi. Her role focused on helping craft the strategic messages on the United States’ role in Malawi’s power sector reform initiative. This experience allowed her to gain a better understanding of the interplay of diplomacy and development. Utilizing her SAIS experience and the knowledge gained from her work in international development, Danielle plans to pursue a career abroad working on international initiatives on the protection of human rights.
Karen Muramatsu
Karen Muramatsu was born in São Paulo, Brazil and was raised in Japan. She is a second-year graduate student at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) concentrating in international economics, international law, and Latin American studies, and is working towards a specialization in economic development. She received her Bachelor of Arts degrees, summa cum laude and academic distinction, in Political Science, International Studies, and Foreign Language from Southeast Missouri State University.
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Her most recent professional experiences include The World Bank in Brazil, where she assisted in the development of policy notes for the government and conducted constitutional research on the Brazilian pension system; and the Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development in Italy, where she worked as a research assistant analyzing the impact of comparative law on the judgments of the UK Supreme Court. Prior to SAIS, Karen was an entrepreneur and managed her own business in Japan. Her areas of interest include constitutional and economic development.
Lisa Nations
Lisa is a second year MA student at SAIS DC, concentrating in International Law and specializing in Development Economics. She is originally from Chicago, IL and will fight anyone who says New York-style pizza is better than Chicago deep dish. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she went on to serve with the United States Peace Corps in Senegal, working on community malaria prevention, maternal and child health, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. Her hobbies include baking, travelling, dog walking, and University of Michigan football.
Stephanie Sepulveda
Stephanie Sepulveda was born in Caracas, Venezuela and was raised between Margarita Island and Miami, Florida. She graduated from Florida International University in December 2015 with a B.A. in International Relations, a B.S. in Mass Communication, a minor in Political Science and certificates in European Studies and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Her interest in international affairs began as she witnessed the deteriorating political situation in Venezuela, which motivated her to pursue a career related to issues of human rights, development, and international cooperation.
Her most recent professional activity includes an internship with the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of International Relations, where she manages budgetary, financial, and administrative components of several projects, including a USAID-Smithsonian collaboration to promote economic development in Armenia. She is currently undertaking her second year of study at SAIS where she is pursuing an M.A. with concentrations in International Law and Organizations and International Economics and a minor in Latin American Studies.
Catherine Tyson
Catherine Tyson is a second-year graduate student at Johns Hopkins SAIS, concentrating in International Economics and International Law, a capacity-building and stakeholder engagement intern at the Fair Labor Association and the Conflict & Humanitarian Crises Initiative research assistant at the Foreign Policy Institute. Between her first and second year, she interned at JUST Capital, where she assessed the corporate social responsibility, supply chain sustainability and philanthropic practices of publicly traded U.S. companies for an annual ranking released with Forbes.
Prior to her matriculation at SAIS, Catherine worked for three years at IBM as a senior business consultant and project manager, and obtained her B.A., magna cum laude, in Anthropology and International Studies from Northwestern University in 2014. While at Northwestern, Catherine worked at the Center for Forced Migration Studies and Heartland Alliance, a refugee resettlement agency, and completed her senior honors thesis on the cultural integration of Iraqi and Bhutanese refugees during resettlement. Her areas of interest include forced displacement, the economic impacts of migration, and the nexus of public and private sector advancement of human rights.
Miranda Wilson
Miranda Wilson is a second year M.A. student at SAIS concentrating in International Law and International Economics. She graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science. At TCU, Miranda completed a thesis on Corporate Sustainability Policies and Worker’s Rights among Fortune 500 Companies. Mostly recently, Miranda completed an internship with the U.S. Department of Treasury with the Domestic Finance Office where she worked on the U.S.-E.U. Project on Cybersecurity and Insurance. Her interests include corporate environment, sustainability, and governance policies as well as trade law.