Thuy NGUYEN is the development manager for Pacific Forum and previously, an APAL scholar and APCSS Regional Security Studies Intern where she led seminar discussions with security practitioners to promote lasting peace, cooperation, and conflict resolutions in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. She is a recent graduate in the Diplomacy and Military Studies program at Hawaiʻi Pacific University and holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Hawaiʻi with a focus on international relations and foreign policy. She intends to utilize her skills and experience to facilitate further research and international dialogues to address present and future issues throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. In her spare time, Thuy enjoys rock climbing, catching up on her favorite sci-fi shows, and caring for her pets.
Nicholas Ciuffetelli
Nicholas Ciuffetelli is Director of Publications/Program Manager and has been with the Pacific Forum since August 2016. He assists with managing online content and the publishing of Comparative Connections, the Forums’ triannual e-journal of bilateral relations in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, Nick provides logistical support for overseas conferences. He received his BA in political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Jesslyn Cheong
Jesslyn CHEONG is senior program manager at Pacific Forum. She has been with Pacific Forum since August 2014 and provides support for local and overseas conferences. Previously, she was a program manager at Georgetown University’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. She received her BS in international politics from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Ariel Stenek
Ariel STENEK is Director of the Young Leaders Program at Pacific Forum. In addition to managing Pacific Forum’s next-generation engagements, she provides support on Women, Peace, and Security activities. As a WSD-Handa fellow she researched and presented on US Freedom of Navigation Operations, and marine environment considerations in the South China Sea. Previously she was a Regional Security Studies Intern at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, and worked at UNESCO in the division of Social and Human Sciences on The Silk Roads Online Platform.
She holds an MA in International Relations from Queen Mary, University of London. She received her BA in International Studies with a minor in European Studies from the University of San Francisco. Her dissertation, “Four Cases Examining the Role of Maritime Militias in China’s Maritime Strategy,” won the J. Ann Tickner Prize for Best Masters Dissertation, and was presented at the 2018 International Graduate Student Conference at the East-West Center in Honolulu.
Crystal D. Pryor
Crystal PRYOR is Director of Research at the Pacific Forum. Crystal works on nonproliferation in Asia while developing research agendas on technology policy and Women, Peace, and Security. She has researched U.S.-Japan outer space security cooperation, strategic trade control implementation in advanced countries, and Japan’s defense industry and arms exports. Crystal received her doctorate in political science from the University of Washington, master’s degrees in political science from the University of Washington and the University of Tokyo, and bachelor’s degree in international relations with honors from Brown University.