CGS Fellowships

Shahin Berenji

Shahin Berenji is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Albritton Center for Grand Strategy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service.  From 2020 to 2022, he worked at Southern Methodist University where he served as the Colin Powell Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Political Science and the John G. Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs.  He earned his Ph.D in Political Science from the University of California Los Angeles and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern California.

Jaehan Park

Jaehan Park joins CGS after graduating with his PhD in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in August 2021. He previously was a nonresident James A. Kelly fellow at Pacific Forum. Park’s dissertation, entitled “The Age of Geopolitics: Japan, Russia, and the United States in the Far East, 1895-1905,” examines how great powers determine their geopolitical orientation. His research interests include international relations theory, diplomatic history, and national security education. Park holds an MA in international relations from SAIS and a BA in business administration from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Prior to joining SAIS, he served as an officer in the Republic of Korea Army.

Leyla Tiglay

Leyla Tiglay is a PhD student at Ohio State University focusing on the international history of the Cold War and decolonization. She is an interdisciplinary scholar trained in political science and history. Her dissertation examines French nuclear policies from the late 1940s to the 1960s. The project explores the nexus of the French nuclear program with the history of decolonization in Africa and the Middle East, the history of nuclear scientific networks, and the international history of nuclear disarmament. Franco-American relations are also a major background theme of her research. Tiglay aims to contribute to major discussions on nuclear proliferation and disarmament with fresh cross-disciplinary insights from the historical case study of the French nuclearization. Previously, she held several fellowships, including Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme Graduate Research Fellowship (2020-2021) and Mershon Center International Security Studies Fellowship (2020-2021). Prior to that, she worked as a diplomat in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and lived in various countries, including Belgium, Cameroon, and the United Kingdom.

2020-21

Celeste Ward Gventer

Celeste Gventer, the 2020-21 CGS Postdoctoral Fellow, is a Lecturer and Regional Program Lead at the Institute for Security Governance at the Naval Postgraduate School. She previously taught public policy and writing at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas (UT). In the preceding years, she worked as a consultant on defense organization, management, and institution building in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. From 2007 to 2009, Gventer served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations Capabilities in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She joined the Defense Department after her second tour in Iraq, where she was the political-military advisor to the Multinational Corps-Iraq commander from 2005 to 2006. She also worked in Iraq in 2003-2004 with the Coalition Provisional Authority. Gventer has worked as a Senior Defense Analyst at RAND, as Special Assistant to the Counselor of the State Department, as a Strategist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, as a Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and as a Defense Analyst at the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. She received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Stanford University, a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a PhD in history from UT. She is the recipient of the Global War on Terrorism Civilian Service Medal, the U.S. Army Superior Civilian Service Award, and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.

Kendrick Kuo

Kendrick Kuo, the 2020-21 CGS Predoctoral Fellow, earned his PhD in political science at the George Washington University and is an Assistant Professor in the Strategic and Operational Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College. His research focuses on military effectiveness, innovation, and defense policy. He holds an MA in international affairs and international economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BA in international affairs and religion from the George Washington University.