Jessica is a Major in the United States Air Force Reserve (USAFR) and a Ph.D. student in Security Studies at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs. Prior to coming to Princeton, Jessica was in the U.S. Department of Defense civil service serving as an Indo-Pacific International Relations Strategist. In this capacity, she was a geopolitical advisor to the senior leaders of Headquarters United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea. While she continues to serve in the USAFR, Jessica’s military service spans both the Reserve and Active Duty whereas she has experience focusing on alliance dynamics during her time in the Pentagon and while serving in the U.S. Indo-Pacific, European, African and Central combatant commands. In addition, Jessica is a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Nuclear Scholar and is a part of the Program for Emerging Leaders 2021 cohort at the U.S. National Defense University’s Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Jessica holds a B.A. in biology from Baylor University and a M.S. in foreign service from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. While at Princeton, she will focus her research on the resiliency of U.S. alliances and will serve as the deputy director and later the director of Princeton’s Center for International Security Studies (CISS). Among her passions are amplifying the voices of historically underrepresented populations in international security through her work with the Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS) and the National Association for Black Engagement in Asia (NABEA). She is an avid pup lover and is a pup mom to a Korean Jindo mix named Ranger and a Labrador Retriever mix named Riley.