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  • Meet Emma Stevenson, '23 Alum

    Emma Stevenson, a second-year student at the Patterson School, is currently pursuing a major in Diplomacy with a minor in Development. She received her bachelor’s degree in 2021 from Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. Emma found the Patterson School when researching a program she could pair with her MA in French studies.

  • Meet Dana Jaxylykova, '06 Alum

    Dana Jaxylykova, formerly Abilpeissova, is a 2006 alumna of the Patterson School. She is currently the Director of American Spaces Almaty and PPP (Public-Private Partnership) Coordinator.

  • Meet Wrenn Bellamy, '07 Alum

    Wrenn Bellamy graduated from Patterson in 2007 with a major in International Commerce and a minor in Development. Before entering the program, he earned an accounting degree from Asbury University. Between degrees, Wrenn gained financial and international experience working for a CPA firm in Chicago and later helping with the finances of a non-profit that managed a French abbey.

  • Meet Ryan Consaul, 2005 Alum

    Ryan Consaul is a senior international/defense researcher at RAND. Previously, he served as a subcommittee staff director on the House Homeland Security Committee's Oversight and Management Efficiency Subcommittee where he led the Committee's oversight of the Department of Homeland Security's management activities including acquisition management; information technology; financial systems; human capital; employee integrity; and issues of waste, fraud, and abuse.

  • Meet Thomas Niles, 1962 Alum

    Thomas M.T. Niles is Vice President of the National Defense University. A career Foreign Service Officer, Ambassador Niles joined the Foreign Service in February 1962. He served successively in Belgrade (1963-65), in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs of the Department of State (1965-67), Moscow (1968-71), United States mission to NATO (1971-1973), and again in Moscow as Director of the Commercial Office from 1973 to 1976.

  • Meet Katie Smith, 2021 Alum

    Katie Smith is a 2021 Patterson School graduate that is currently working at the Department of Commerce in the International Trade Administration as an International Trade Compliance Analyst. Her department is responsible for protecting domestic industries from foreign products that can outcompete with American goods.

  • Meet Blake Laytham, 2017 Alum

    Blake Laytham attended the University of Kentucky for his undergraduate studies and then went on to graduate from the Patterson School in 2017. During his time at Patterson, Blake majored in diplomacy and minored in international security. He started his current role at Walmart Headquarters as a Senior Manager on the Risk Intelligence team in April 2024.

  • Meet Catherine Putz, 2011 Alum

    In the decade since I graduated, I moved to DC and worked at a think tank, an international financial institution, and finally landed at The Diplomat, where I am now managing editor. My time at the Patterson School played a crucial role in refining and ultimately achieving this dream position.

  • Meet Cassidy Pearson, 2015 Alum

    Cassidy Pearson graduated from the Patterson School in 2015. While at Patterson, she received a NSEP Boren Fellowship in the Russian Far East. After graduation, she joined the Customs and Border Protection Office of Accountability. While there, she inspected CPB facilities to see if they were compliant with internal policy.

  • Meet Sarah Graves, 2013 Alum

    Sarah Trainor Graves ‘13, is currently the Chief Development Officer at the Louisville Urban League (LUL), where she is the youngest member of the organization’s leadership team. The mission of LUL is to assist African Americans and other marginalized populations in attaining social and economic equality through direct services and advocacy by focusing on jobs, justice, education, health, and housing.