Elen Aghekyan is graduating with an MA in global affairs from the Jackson Institute, where she focused on the intersection of disinformation and democracy. During her two years at Yale, Elen served as a Kerry Fellow (2021–22), volunteered as a tutor with Bridges ESL, and was among the students leading Tsai CITY’s innovation workshops. While pursuing her MA, Elen served as a junior fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, and consulted for research centers and multilateral organizations focusing on democracy and technology. She began her career at Freedom House, where she was a research analyst for the organization’s flagship reports on political rights and civil liberties, and also led special research on modern authoritarianism. Immediately prior to Yale, Elen managed public programs at Columbia University’s Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy. Elen grew up between Armenia and the United States and earned a BA in history and government, summa cum laude, from Cornell University.