Justin Thomas Russell

Justin Thomas Russell

Principal Director

Justin T. Russell has over 30 years of experience in government service, government relations, and international affairs, covering a wide range of issues.

Julianna Iwasinski

Julianna Iwasinski

Associate Director for Policy

Julianna Iwasinski is a rising senior at the College of Charleston pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health. She will graduate this Fall. Ms. Iwasinski volunteers her time at the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital.

Sammy Flitton

Sammy Flitton

Senior Policy Fellow, Legislative Affairs

Sam Flitton is a J.D. candidate focusing on international law at the University of Utah. He has extensive experience in foreign relations, including political experience in the U.K., time with the Trasnatlantic Policy Network based in Brussels, and working for the Utah Governor’s Office of Trade and Diplomacy. Most recently, he worked as a Legislative Assistant for Congressman Stewart (UT). His portfolio during his time on the Hill included foreign affairs, trade, and appropriations. Mr. Flitton received his Master’s Degree in Politics from the University of Oxford, with an emphasis on European affairs. Before moving to the U.K., he received his B.S. from the University of Utah in International Studies, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Mr. Flitton is also fluent in Italian after living in Italy for a little more than three years.

Lauren Maltese

Lauren Maltese

Associate Director for External Affairs

Lauren received her undergraduate degree from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University with a dual major of International Relations and Economics and a minor in Political Science. She went on to study Diplomacy at the University of Haifa where she also spent time working at Amnesty International in Tel Aviv.

Shelby Doren

Shelby Doren

Summer Associate

Shelby is a rising senior at Siena College pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Political Science with a focus in International Relations. She has an intermediate Russian language background, skills strongest in reading and writing. She also has extensive experience in nonprofit building and research.

Omar Mandeel

Omar Mandeel

Policy Fellow, Global energy and Environmental Policy

A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Omar's background is in foreign policy, human rights, and sustainable development. His previous experience has ranged from working in social impact entrepreneurship in Switzerland to serving with the US Peace Corps in Zambia.

Admiral Ken Carodine

Admiral Ken Carodine

Foreign Policy Military Advisor

Ken Carodine, a 1982 graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, is the first officer and sailor from a family of military veterans. He earned a Master of Science in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1994.

Ambassador Omar Arouna

Ambassador Omar Arouna

Foreign Policy Advisor

Ambassador Arouna is the former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Benin to the U.S. and Mexico and Benin former, representative to the Organization of American States, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the International Financial Corporation in Washington, D.C.. He engaged with U.S. development agencies on behalf of the country.

Erin Harbaugh

Erin Harbaugh

Strategic Communications Advisor

Erin Harbaugh is a strategy, and communications expert, and seasoned international policy practitioner with over 20 years of experience in the high-tech sector, nonprofit management, federal government, and private consulting. The arc of her career has been working at the nexus of science, security, and policy and developing new strategies and engagements.

Author

  • NYCFPA Editorial

    The New York Center for Foreign Policy Affairs (NYCFPA) is a policy, research, and educational organization headquartered in New York State with an office in Washington D.C. NYCFPA is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, institution devoted to conducting in-depth research and analysis on every aspect of American foreign policy and its impact around the world. The organization is funded by individual donors. The organization receives no corporate or government donations.