All things political, international relations, and travel.

Jessica Pham
M.A. Candidate and Pickering Fellow
Johns Hopkins SAIS and U.S. Department of State
M.A. Candidate at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in International Economics, International Relations, and Southeast Asia Studies, specializing in Emerging Markets. Recent Stanford graduate with a B.A. in International Relations. Thomas Pickering Graduate Fellow with the U.S. Department of Stat...
117
Followers
“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and dea...

The White House
Office of the Vice President Intern
September 2013 — December 2013
• Supported National Security Staff to the Vice President on research and administrative tasks.
• Researched East Asia, Western Hemisphere, Middle East, South Asia, and Eurasia for advisors to the Vice President.
• Assisted Executive Secretary team with logistics for VP trips and meetings, including on Asia, Mexico, and Panama.
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Embassy Rangoon Intern
July 2013 — September 2013
• Assisted Democracy, Human Rights, and Religious Freedom portfolio in Political/Economic (PE) section on projects including sectarian conflicts, prisoners, freedom of speech and protest.
• Assisted Rakhine and peace process portfolio in PE.
• Assisted civil societies portfolio in PE.
• PE liaison to Public Diplomacy (PD) section, namely on projects to promote religious tolerance. Also, research for social media use in-country.
• Outreach at the American Center, including mentoring Burmese students interested in applying to US colleges and universities and youth leadership.


U.S. Department of State
Foreign Affairs Campus Coordinator
September 2012 — June 2013
• Organized information sessions on student and career opportunities with the Department of State (DOS).
• Represented DOS at career fairs.
• Distributed information via email and at international relations events on the structure of, fellowship opportunities, career options, and Civil vs. Foreign Service with DOS.
Stanford University Branner Dormitory
Public Service Focus Assistant
July 2012 — June 2013
• Led 40 students in at-Stanford and post-undergraduate public service career planning.
• Organized and implemented career oriented workshops, liaising with the Haas Public Service Center and the Career Development Center.
• Mentored students on studying abroad, applying to internships, and taking advantages of Stanford resources for public service development.


National STAND (Student Movement to End Mass Atrocities)
Media Coordinator
May 2012 — June 2013
• Amplified STAND brand-name using social media, blogs, national emails, and news sources (e.g. PolicyMic, Huffington Post).
• Coordinated with Outreach team to train grassroots on media techniques.
• Worked with Education Coordinator to get weekly updates and blog posts and national emails out.
• Worked with Student Director and Advocacy Coordinator to set organization's policy and campaign priorities for the issue areas we work on: Syria, Burma, Sudan/South Sudan, and DRC.
Stanford Association for International Development (SAID)
Conference Director
May 2012 — June 2013
• Created and implemented blueprint for March 2013 Conference on International Women's Issues.
• Coordinated with leadership team to reach out to potential keynote speakers, panelists, and moderators.
• Initiated and maintained collaboration with Haas Public Service Center to plan NGO networking lunch event at the conference.
• Selected and led a team of interns to carry out tasks for the conference.
• Organized transition period and materials post-2013 conference, in preparation for 2014 conference and conference team.


Stanford in Government (SIG)
International Fellowships Director
May 2012 — June 2013
• Oversaw logistics of 15 international fellowships.
• Liaised between SIG and fellowship placement supervisors.
• Connected with faculty mentors for Fellows.
• Organized fellowship outreach and workouts for potential applicants.
• Led team of interns to carry out tasks for each fellowship.
Haas Public Service Center
Postgraduate and Alumni Program Student Assistant
May 2012 — June 2013
• Researched post-undergraduate and post-graduate opportunities for students.
• Coordinated the Center's outreach to graduating students: raise student awareness of fellowships to apply for, career workshops, and networking opportunities.
• Liaised between the Center's professional staff and the University's student body: survey what services the students would like, and relay the information back to the staff.


Stanford STAND (Student Movement to End Mass Atrocities)
Event Coordinator
October 2008 — June 2013
• Planned annual Darfur Fast to raise awareness and funds for cook stoves in refugee camps, preventing rape and sexual abuse against women.
• Executed awareness, advocacy, and fundraising events for Syria, Burma, Sudan/South Sudan, DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda.
• Collaborated with other student organizations and media outlets.
• Utilized social media to raise organization's profile.
U.S. Department of State
Demoncracy, Human Rights, and Labor Intern
June 2012 — August 2012
• Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Office of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
• Researched Burma, North Korea, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Pacific, and the UN.
• Planned programmatic events between USG officials and civil society organizations, including a Vietnamese-American information session and an LGBT Issues in Southeast Asia roundtable.
• Planned and attended meetings for internal and external organizations.
• Created daily cable highlights for office staff.


Simelela (Mosaic)
Volunteer
January 2012 — March 2012
• Managed data, summarize, and distribute information on domestic and sexual violence.
• Trained staff in data management.
• Observed workshops on health counselors' empowerment and on HIV/AIDS.
Oral Communications Program
Tutor
March 2010 — March 2012
Advised on designing effective visual aids, reducing speech anxiety, and practicing for job interviews.

Center for Victims of Torture
Intern
September 2011 — December 2011
• Collaborated with other human rights NGOs on anti-torture letters to Congress and Obama administration.
• Distributed news on US national security and accountability.
• Represented organization at Senate and House Foreign Relations/Affairs hearings and stakeholder meetings.
Invisible Children
Student Organizer
May 2005 — December 2011
• Organized movie screenings for various IC documentaries.
• Mobilized students to attend lobbying events, such as "Displace Me", "The Rescue" and "How it Ends" events.


United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Committee on Conscience
Intern
July 2011 — September 2011
• Facilitated "From Memory to Action" exhibition, which focused on contemporary genocides.
• Conducted literary review and monitored news on the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) cases to write a report on the ECCC and the international justice system.
• Prepped for and attended the meeting for the Working Group on the Responsibility to Protect, led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
• Prepped for and attended the museum’s "Voices from Congo" conference, open to the public.
• Monitored news coverage on Obama’s Presidential Study Directive on Mass Atrocities (PSD-10).
Hospital Universitario Clínica San Rafael
Volunteer
April 2011 — June 2011
• Companion to infants and children on fourth floor, as well as to adults on first through third floors.
• Practiced Spanish language skills.

Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee
Researcher
June 2010 — September 2010
• Developed project on ethnic Vietnamese minority experiences of violence and genocide.
• Conducted 13 individual interviews and three group interviews with survivors, in Vietnamese.
• Transcribed 23 interviews from Vietnamese to English.
• Produced reports on ethnic Vietnamese’s lack of Cambodian citizenship and statelessness.
Legal Aid Cambodia
Intern
June 2010 — September 2010
• Surveyed collection of binders and documented important facts from 46 ethnic Vietnamese civil parties to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) witness statements.
• Discovered common reparation requests for Cambodian citizenship.
• Produced advisory report on the ethnic Vietnamese for the ECCC’s Witness Expert Support Unit.


Education, Health, Training and Career Advancement Program
Tutor
October 2009 — June 2010
• Tutored Beginning class on computer skills, including operating a laptop; typing; mouse usage; Internet Explorer web browsing; and Word Document.
• Tutored Advanced class on computer skills, including Internet Explorer web browsing; checking and sending emails; axess.stanford.edu usage to check health benefits; course enrollment; and checking wages and paychecks.
WWII and Strategies of Persuasion in Wartime course
Project
September 2009 — December 2009
• Searched Hoover Institution archives for primary sources of Nazi propaganda and documents.
• Produced 28-page paper on the Hitler Youth’s educational system.

Foundation for Sustainable Development
Volunteer
March 2009 — September 2009
• Implemented two workshops in Setrawa Village on general health on sanitation and nutrition, and two on women’s health on menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.
• Collaborated with ophthalmologist from Jodhpur to organize eye clinic in Setrawa; provided paid-for transportation to Jodhpur and paid-for surgeries.
Wellness Room
Coordinator
January 2009 — June 2009
• Collaborated with peer staff members to develop and execute programs and activities that addressed barriers to wellbeing, such as sleep deprivation, fear of failure, and stress.
• Implemented on-going assessments, through surveys and questionnaires, to ensure that the room met students’ needs and improvements for the future could be made.


Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU)
Public Service Committee Executive Fellow
November 2008 — June 2009
• Organized and executed “Service Summit” workshops for (1) global poverty, (2) human rights, and (3) environment.
• Organized and executed “Big Problems, Big Ideas” workshops, specifically for Education and Global Poverty and Development.
Fountain Valley High School
Friends for Africa Founder and President
May 2005 — June 2008
• Executed awareness events, such as annual movie screenings with Invisible Children.
• Mobilized club participation in advocacy events, such as annual Gulu Walk.
• Organized fundraising events, such as 30 Hour Famine events, Operation Christmas Child shoebox drives, and Change for Change program.

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
M.A., International Economics, International Relations, and Southeast Asia Studies
2016
Stanford University
B.A, International Relations, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and Spanish
2013
Stanford in Cape Town, South Africa
International Relations
2012
Stanford in Madrid, Spain
International Relations
2011
Stanford in Washington, D.C.
International Relations
2011
Fountain Valley High School
2008