The Lloyd and Lilian Vasey Fellowship program is named after Pacific Forum founder, the late Lloyd R. “Joe” Vasey and his wife Lilian.
The Vasey Fellowship affords promising scholars from outside the US the opportunity to serve as researchers at the Pacific Forum and to develop hands-on expertise on US-Asia policy issues and gain an appreciation of Indo-Pacific economic and security affairs and policymaking challenges.
Applications for fellowships are currently closed. Please check back later to see when it re-opens.
Eligibility and How to Apply:
- Open to non-US citizens
- Have completed their undergraduate education and
- Have several years of experience in Indo-Pacific security issues, or
- Has completed or is completing their graduate education (master’s or doctoral)
- Proficient in English (verbal and written skills)
- Must be eligible for an extended stay in the US
To apply for the Vasey Fellowship, please complete the Non-resident Vasey Fellowship online application form and include all materials listed below. All materials must be written in English. Any statement in your application that is found to be false will be grounds for disqualification.
- A cover letter detailing interests and why the Vasey Fellowship will contribute to the applicant’s professional development.
- Curriculum Vitae
- A letter of recommendation
- A description of a research project to undertake as a Vasey Fellow (not to exceed 1,500 words)
Important Notice: Pacific Forum is closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and following the latest guidance from the Office of the Mayor, City and County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii.
Current Resident Fellow:
Sach Nguyen (VNM) is a research fellow at the Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. He was a contact point for Vietnam’s participation in several track II diplomacy networks in the Asia Pacific, including Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP), network of ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN ISIS) and some others. He gained his bachelor degree in international relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in 2010 and his master degree in public policy from the Australian National University in 2016. He works and writes on issues related to Vietnam’s foreign policy, non-traditional security issues and the Mekong subregion.
Current Non-resident Fellows:
Aaron Jed Rabena is Senior Lecturer at the Asian Center in the University of the Philippines, Research Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress in Manila, and a member of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR). He had served as Visiting Fellow at the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU) and ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. He is likewise a Pacific Forum Young Leader and is an alumnus of the East-West Center (EWC) in Hawaii, the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI-APCSS). Jed obtained his PhD in International Relations from Shandong University in China and has an Executive Education in Risk Management from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). His areas of interest include Strategic Studies, Greater East Asian Geopolitics and Multilateral Politics, Political Risk, and Chinese Politics and Foreign Policy. Email: [email protected].
Justin Kwan (CAN) is a Senior Program Manager at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, a think-tank focused on Canada-Asia relations. At the Foundation, he leads the APEC-Canada Growing Business Partnership, an international development project focused on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Asia-Pacific. Currently, Mr. Kwan is managing a C$2.31-million expansion of the Partnership aimed at fostering sustainable economic growth in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) emerging economies by improving business practices of MSMEs. Mr. Kwan holds a M.A. in Asia Pacific Policy Studies from the University of British Columbia where he was a Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholar, and an Honours B.A. (High Distinction) from the University of Toronto. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Education About Asia and Urban Studies, as well as featured in media outlets including The Diplomat, East Asia Forum, and The Globe and Mail.
Angela Min Yi Hou (CAN) is a policy analyst working in the Government of Canada. She works on Targeted Regulatory Reviews at the Treasury Board Secretariat as a participant in the Advanced Policy Analyst Program (APAP). She recently completed her Masters in International Affairs at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva, with specializations in trade and environment. Prior to this, Angela graduated from the University of Toronto in 2019 with a double major in International Relations and Contemporary Asian Studies. Angela has a Chinese- Canadian background with roots in Shanghai and Toronto.
William A. Stoltz (AUS) is the Policy Director at the National Security College. He is responsible for mobilizing the College’s research and resident expertise to influence and inform current public policy debates. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Robert Menzies Institute at the University of Melbourne, and an Associate Member of the Centre for the Study of Subversion, Unconventional Interventions and Terrorism (SUIT) at the University of Nottingham. Dr. Stoltz’s own research explores options for Australia to shape and influence international security, as well as Australia’s policy responses to a breadth of national security challenges. He joined the NSC after working across Australia’s defense, intelligence, and law enforcement communities. He holds a PhD and Advanced Masters of National Security Policy from the Australian National University as well as a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne.
Moksha Pillai (IND) is an aspiring Foreign Policy Analyst and master’s Student in International Relations from Amity Institute of International Studies, Amity University, India. She currently work as a Research Intern with the “Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies” (KIIPS), “Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement” (NIICE) and serve as an Online Content Writer for “Student Think-tank for Europe-Asia Relations” (STEAR). She was a Harvard Project for Asia and International Relations (HPAIR) delegate’22 and a WPP NEXT GEN Leader (Cohort’22). She was also selected as a representative for the Indian Delegation at the India-Israel Youth Dialogue 2022 (Track-II Diplomacy Event) and selected as a KAUTILYA FELLOW’22 in Foreign and Public Policy, by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India and India Foundation. She was one among the top 175 delegates (out of 7000 applications) to attend in the prestigious Yenching Global Symposium(YGS’22) organized by Yenching Academy of Peking University, China and Bai-Xian Asia Institute, China Moksha wishes to generate critical perspectives that not only help understand the current dynamics of the military and security grand strategy better, but also aid in offering new insights into ongoing research centered around the churning of the world order
Cherry Hitkari (IND) is a student of Postgraduate Intensive Advanced Diploma in Chinese language at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi, India. She holds a Bachelor’s (Hons.) in History from Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi and a Masters in East Asian Studies with specialization in Chinese Studies from the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi. She is an Advisory Board Member, ‘Tomorrow’s People’ at Modern Diplomacy, Greece; the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of an online student-led gender research journal called ‘Parwaaz’ and the Co- Founder and Editor-in-Chief of a student-led initiative called East Asian Dialogue. Her research interests range from Propaganda studies and ideological control; Cultural Semiotics; Gender perspectives on Disarmament and Nuclear Terrorism to politics and foreign policies of China, Taiwan, North and South Korea, particularly changes in China’s maritime security strategy. Her work has been published and featured in several Indian and International publications including Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Indian Defence Review (India); the Lowy Institute, Australian Naval Institute (Australia); Modern Diplomacy (Greece); The Geopolitics, International Policy Digest, Pacific Island Times, The Maritime Executive, Eurasia Review (USA); China-India Dialogue, Beijing Review (PRC); Channel News Asia, Straits Times (Singapore); Daily News (Sri Lanka); Centre for Governance Studies (Bangladesh), among others. She speaks Hindi, English, French and Chinese.