Announcing the 2026-2027 CFR Education Ambassadors

CFR Education is excited to announce the newest class of CFR Education ambassadors. Under the facilitation of CFR Education, the educational arm of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Ambassador program brings together educators from across the country who are dedicated to helping students make sense of the world around them.

The CFR Education Ambassador program is broken out into two distinct cohorts: a High School Ambassador program and a Higher Education Ambassador program. Each is an eight-month engagement that connects educators with free educational resources, professional development activities, and a vibrant network of like-minded professionals. As part of this collaborative, cross-disciplinary learning community, ambassadors champion global affairs literacy, ensuring that students not only understand global issues but also see their own role in shaping them.

“Educators are on the frontlines protecting America’s democracy,” said Caroline Netchvolodoff, Vice President of Education at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The Ambassador program allows us to bring together those who are leading the charge in advancing students’ global affairs literacy so that we can learn from their wealth of experience.”

The 2026-2027 ambassador cohorts include approximately eighty high school educators and eighty higher education faculty and administrators from forty-two states, representing a wide range of public and private institutions. From rural schools to major universities, this diverse network brings a shared mission to classrooms across the country: helping students engage meaningfully with the global issues that affect their lives. See the full list of ambassadors at the bottom of this page.

Together, ambassadors will discover creative ways to integrate global affairs into their classes, strengthen their teaching practice, provide feedback to the Council on Foreign Relations, and learn how to use CFR Education’s award-winning classroom resources to help students build global affairs literacy skills. But their work doesn’t stop at the classroom door. Many ambassadors will also share what they’ve learned about global affairs literacy with colleagues, presenting at their institutions or at regional and national conferences.

Returning Distinguished Ambassadors—veteran educators who have been through the program before and were selected to serve as mentors and leaders—will help guide discussions, offer teaching strategies, and co-present with CFR Education staff at events throughout the year.

Hear from two distinguished Ambassadors about their experience:

“The CFR Education Higher Education Ambassador program created the headspace for me to think about how I teach international relations and how I might redesign my approach. I am now in the process of redesigning my Intro to IR course with CFR Education materials at the core,” said Steve Elliott-Gower of Georgia College & State University.

Maggie Haas of West Chicago Community High School adds, “The CFR Education Ambassador program provides the tools needed to bring the world into the classroom. It has been a game-changer in helping my students connect abstract spatial concepts to real-world geopolitical shifts through the use of nonpartisan resources.”

What is CFR Education?

CFR Education, the educational arm of the Council on Foreign Relations, helps high school and higher education students understand and engage with today’s most pressing global issues. With over 800 free, nonpartisan, multimedia teaching and learning resources, CFR Education’s supplemental materials help students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspective needed to navigate today’s interconnected world. CFR Education also provides professional development and programming opportunities to support educators as they take on this crucial work.
 

Meet the 2026-2027 CFR Education Ambassadors

Higher Education Ambassadors 
*Distinguished Ambassadors 

Jean Abshire (Indiana University Southeast, IN)*
Mahesh Acharya (University of Alabama, AL)
Mahssan Afkhami (Capitol Technology University, MD)
Lady Ajayi (Utah State University, UT)
Harry Akoh (Greenfield Community College, MA)
Oladayo Bello (New Mexico State University, NM)
Bidisha Biswas (Western Washington University, WA)
Amanda Blewitt (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC)
Andrea Canepari (Penn State University, PA)
Ñusta Carranza Ko (University of Baltimore, MD)
Dean Chen (Ramapo College of New Jersey, NJ)
Matthew Clary (Auburn University, AL)
Matthew Cohen (Merrimack College, MA)
Luca Dal Pubel (San Diego State University, CA)
Mark Dalhouse (Duke University, NC)
Keandrys Dalton (Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, LA)
Francisco Del Canto Viterale (University of North Dakota, ND)
Sarah Dorr (University of Connecticut, CT)
Paul Edleman (Sauk Valley Community College, IL)
Steve Elliott-Gower (Georgia College and State University, GA)*
Pamina Firchow (Brandeis University, MA)
Benjamin Fong (UC Berkeley, CA)
Gaspare Genna (The University of Texas at El Paso, TX)
Tobias Gibson (Westminster College, MO)
Allan Erwin Goodman (New York University/Georgetown University, NY/DC)
Vance Gray (Pennsylvania Institute of Technology, PA)*
Melinda Haas (University of Pittsburgh, PA)
James Hamby (Johns Hopkins University, MD)
Holley Hansen (Oklahoma State University, OK)*
John Hennessey-Niland (Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University, TX)
Robert Hodges (Virginia Tech, VA)
Myra Houser (Ouachita Baptist University, AR)
Ans Irfan (Washington University in St. Louis, MO)*
Kathryn Jacobsen (University of Richmond, VA)*
Matthew Jagel (Waubonsee Community College, IL)
Laura Dudley Jenkins (University of Cincinnati, OH)
Bethan Johnson (The Citadel Military College of South Carolina, SC)
Indivar Jonnalagadda (Miami University, OH)
Eunice Kang (Vanguard University, CA)*
Daniel Katz (Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, NY)
Krister Knapp (Washington University in St. Louis, MO)
Britt Koehnlein (University of Tennessee at Martin, TN)
Eric Leonard (Shenandoah University, VA)
Zachary Martirano (United States Air Force Academy, CO)
Kathryn Maurer (Foothill College, CA)
Eric Merriam (University of Central Florida, FL)
Rogelio Minana (Drexel University, PA)
Julie Mueller (Southern Maine Community College, ME)
Susanne Mueller-Redwood (Montana State University, MT)
Pleasant Ogedengbe (Valencia College, FL)
Tamra Ortgies-Young (Georgia State University’s Perimeter College, GA)
Saemyi Park (University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, WI)
Malte Pehl (College of Charleston, SC)
Vanja Petricevic (Florida Gulf Coast University, FL)
Elizabeth Plantan (Stetson University, FL)
John Poffenbarger (Davis and Elkins College, WV)
Sarah Quinn (University of Georgia, GA)
Vanessa Ruget (Salem State University, MA)
Gulcan Saglam (University of Georgia, GA)
Giacomo Santangelo (Fordham, NY)
Seema Shekhawat (University of North Florida, FL)
Nicholas Sherwood (University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL)
Anastasia Shown (Bard College, NY)
Sidney Simonson (University of Denver, CO)
Henry Sivak (Arizona State University, AZ)
Eric Spears (Columbus State University, GA)
Emily Stacey (Rose State College, OK)
Boyka Stefanova (University of Texas - San Antonio, TX)
Taku Suzuki (Denison University, OH)*
Meagan Todd (Colorado State University, CO)
David Trichler (William & Mary, VA)
Zulfiya Tursunova (Guilford College, NC)
Erik Underwood (The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, TX)
Paul Vaky (Georgetown University, DC)
Everett Vieira (California State University, Fresno, CA)
James Waller (University of Connecticut, CT)
Kim Wang (Suffolk University, MA)
Dessie Zagorcheva (CUNY LaGuardia Community College, NY)

High School Ambassadors
*Distinguished Ambassadors 

Michael Aday (Gulf High School, FL)
Romel Agno (Tombstone High School, AZ)
Bonnee Breese Bentum (School District of Philadelphia, PA)
Caroline Bethea-Brown (Haywood Early College, NC)*
Alejandra Breeden (Sharyland Advanced Academic Academy, TX)
Anthony Brey (Garber High School, MI)
Samuel Brown (Miami Country Day School, FL)
Frank Bua (Great Neck Public Schools, NY)
Cynthia Cantu (Great Hearts Online, TX)
Jean Castellano (Princeton Day School, NJ)
Allison Cecil (duPont Manual High School, KY)
Jessica Chavarria (Atrisco Heritage Academy High School, NM)
Jeremiah Coraggio (Standley Lake High School, CO)
Richard Crosby (Harrison Central High School, MS)
Gustavo De Los Santos (Atlantic Technical High School, FL)
Carrie Dixon (Edmonds-Woodway High School, WA)
Katherine Duglin (Emma Willard School, NY)
Maria Paz Erker (Saint Louis University High School, MO)
Theodore Frank (Milwaukee Marshall High School, WI)
Bridget Gagne (The Potomac School, VA)
Sarah Gossett (Owensboro High School, KY)
Anna Grafton (Grace Church School, NY)
Margaret Haas (West Chicago Community High School, IL)*
Megan Hackworth (South Fayette Township High School, PA)
Amy Hansel (Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, CA)
Joshua Hengen (Durham School of the Arts, NC)
Jane Highley (Devon Preparatory School, PA)*
Chris Hughes (Oberlin Middle School, NC)
Shamita Johnson (Hampton High School, GA)
Faye Johnson (Florence Township Memorial High School, NJ)
Maria Keyes (Mandeville High School, LA)
Karen Ledet (Walt Whitman High School, MD)
Ray Leonardo (Middleborough High School, MA)
Michael Lindberg (Robert McQueen High School, NV)
Victoria C. Linker (Booker T. Washington High School, TX)
Ariana Luna (Donna High School, TX)
David Mabry (IM Terrell Academy, TX)
Natalie Mack (Homeschool Natalie Mack, VA)*
Lois MacMillan (Grants Pass High School, OR)
Rebekah Martin (The Linsly School, WV)
Barrington Martin II (Arabia Mountain High School, GA)
Hilary McDonough (Nightingale-Bamford School, NY)
Tracy McFarland (Jesuit Dallas, TX)*
Micky Miller (Corydon Central High School, IN)
Sarah Miller (Cannon School, NC)
Rebekkah Morrow (Westmoore HS, OK)
Christopher Murray (Bethesda Chevy-Chase High School, MD)
Will Muse (Greensboro Day School, NC)
Ronald Nash (Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, NY)
Jeff Neumann (Hopewell Valley Central High School, NJ)
Erin Palladino (Marshfield High School, MA)*
Maria Peden (Strake Jesuit College Preparatory High School, TX)
Amy Perkins (Lakeshore High School, MI)
Hannah Peterson (Whitefish Bay High School, WI)
Samantha Phelps (Marshall High School, VA)*
Thomas Reszka (Mount Olive School District, NJ)
Zachary Ritland (Braintree High School, MA)
Lindsey Rossler-Stolarsky (King School, CT)
JoCelyn Roundtree (Olympic High School, NC)
Douglas Royer (Cumberland Valley High School, PA)
Emily Salada (Boston Prep Charter School, MA)
Grace Scartz (Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, MD)
Donna Shrum (Central High School, VA)
Kyle Smith (Superior High School, WI)
Randy Snyder (Huntington High School, WV)
Kaycee Taylor (Bainbridge High School, WA)
Katya Villalobos (Palo Alto High School, CA)
Brande Vogele (Chaparral Jr/Sr High School, KS)
Adam Walsh (The Episcopal School of Dallas, TX)
Alison Walters (Frontier Regional School, MA)*
Carol Ward (Windsor High School, CO)
Ryan Werenka (Troy High School, MI)*
Mary Ellen Wessels (Gate City Charter School for the Arts, NH)
Patrick Wiggin (Forest Lake Area High School, MN)
Chanel Williams (Blanche Ely High School, FL)*
Drew Wilson (JP McCaskey HS, PA)
Maria Zuniga (Canyon Springs High School, NV)*