Emily moved to Argentina soon after graduating and has nurtured an unconventional, entrepreneurial career that involves international economic relations. She is one of the founders of, and now a Managing Partner in, DCDB Group, an international consultancy firm with offices in Washington DC, Dublin, and Buenos Aires that provides market and due-diligence research; advises on correspondent banking, anti-money laundering and compliance issues; and arranges for custody, safekeeping and clearing services.

David is an International and Economic Affairs Specialist with Aflac International, based in Tokyo, Japan. “Although Aflac is an American company,” explains David, “Japan is our largest market, which is one of the things that makes working for the company in Tokyo so interesting.” David is part of a multidisciplinary team operating in the U.S. and Japan that focuses on international public-policy issues, providing analytical and other support to senior company executives.

Katie, who is based in London, is Head of Regulatory Strategy and Liaison at HSBC, one of the world’s largest banking and financial-services companies, where she manages a team operating in three locations. As Katie explains, “in practice, this means examining existing and forthcoming regulatory initiatives, interpreting how they should be applied to the bank and will affect our balance sheet, or assessing how they will impact our business model in the future.”

Bobby’s contribution to international economic relations is to have founded Medics Europe and Castella Vacations, two start-ups which market travel to his native Romania to the American public. In the case of Medics Europe, the travel is for what might be called medical tourism – finding less expensive medical care in Romania for American patients needing to undergo procedures that are very costly in the United States. In the case of Castella Vacations, the goal is sightseeing and historical tours in Transylvania.

Noora is an Associate Research Fellow in the Accra, Ghana office of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). “My core responsibility,” says Noora, “is to carry out research that walks the line between what is academically rigorous and yet is policy-relevant for our government and development partners, such as we have in Ghana. I also spend plenty of time building relationships with government representatives, local collaborators and stakeholders, as a way of becoming part of the ongoing policy dialogue while supporting the application of our research findings.” 

Josh is Counselor for Agricultural Affairs with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. He travels throughout West Africa to understand agricultural production, consumption, and trade, as to report on economic and policy developments and create forecasts to help US farmers, exporters and the USDA understand what is happening in these markets. “The greatest enjoyment of working abroad,” says Joshua, “is learning about the countries where I am posted.”