Our Board
Prince Osaji
President
Prince is a sophomore in Hopper College from Southern California, and is a prospective political science and history double major. His interests lie in the intersection of technology and foreign policy, and he is currently working with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on a research project focused on how African minerals shape international relations in the context of the push for clean energy technology. Outside of YFPI, Prince serves as the Advocacy Director of the Yale Undergraduate Legal Aid Association (YULAA) and the Treasurer of the Yale Nigerian Students Association (YNSA). Over the summer, he worked as a Move for America Summer Intern and as an Alliance for Citizen Engagement (ACE) Technology Policy Summer Fellow. In his free time, Prince enjoys playing basketball and spending time with friends and family.
Brandon Lee
Vice President
Brandon Lee is a sophomore in Branford College, planning on majoring in economics. Brandon’s foreign policy experience lies in semiconductor policy; he spent his freshman year researching the “Silicon Shield” in order to understand the true scope of leverage that Taiwanese semiconductor chips have over China. At the moment, Brandon is working with YFPI’s semiconductor research group to write a whitepaper to guide the United States government forward in its relationship with the global semiconductor ecosystem and its domestic chip production efforts. When he isn’t working on the Semiconductor Team with YFPI, he’s teaching basic striking and practicing with the Yale MMA club, or singing bass for Yale Out of the Blue, Yale’s premier all-gender a cappella group.
Valentina Raghib Charry
Secretary
Valentina is a sophomore at Davenport College pursuing a double major in Economics and Global Affairs. Originally a military brat from Colombia, she is passionate about the intersection between legal and military affairs. On Yale’s campus, she is a competitor on Yale Undergraduate Moot Court, a project member of the Yale Undergraduate Legal Association, and a fellow of the Peace and Dialogue Leadership Initiative She is also a research assistant for West Point as part of the Countering Terrorism Center to examine the modern utilization of violent extremist organizations worldwide.
Aidan Moran
Treasurer
Aidan Moran is a first-year in Branford College, hoping to major in Ethics, Politics, & Economics with a Certificate in Statistics & Data Science. From a foreign policy perspective, Aidan is interested in the intersection of the global economy and geopolitics, especially as it concerns emerging markets. He is also interested in the role that advanced technologies, including AI, will have on U.S. grand strategy. In his spare time, Aidan enjoys outdoor activities, including golfing and spending time on the water.
Anish Beeram
Head Director of Policy
Anish Beeram is a freshman in Davenport, prospectively double-majoring in Global Affairs and Computer Science / Economics. His interests lie in how techno-economic great power competition can impact national security, emerging technologies, and global financial systems. Anish is currently doing research with the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, and was previously the team lead for West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center, having studied how China might leverage Violent Extremist Organizations to disrupt American interests. On campus, Anish is involved in the Yale Undergraduate Consulting Group, Yale Debate Association, and Yale Review of International Studies. In his free time, you can find Anish beekeeping, listening to podcasts on 2x speed, coaching debate, watching tennis, and going on long runs.
Gryffin Wilkens-Plumley
Co-Deputy Director of Policy
Gryffin Wilkens-Plumley is a Sophomore in Hopper College studying Global Affairs and S&DS Certificate. He is currently leading a team studying PRC use of criminal organizations world wide, and especially their current and potential threats against Taiwanese democracy. Outside YFPI, Gryffin is a Head of Finance at the Yale Sustainable Consulting Collective and team leader of a project with a furniture company there. He is interested in the intersection of technology, democratic innovation, and international relations. He also has written for the YDN, and performs with the Yale Ballet Company and Yale Russian Chorus.
Addie Lowenstein
Co-Deputy Director of Policy
Addie Lowenstein is a sophomore in Grace Hopper college majoring in history with a certificate in Chinese. She became interested in foreign policy, specifically U.S.-China policy, after attending a Chinese immersion school in Washington, D.C and competing extensively in high school policy debate tournaments. Addie is a member of one of YFPI’s research teams that focuses on U.S.-China competition over semiconductors. She also enjoys painting and continues to be a mediocre tennis player.
Ryne Hisada
Co-Deputy Director of Policy
Ryne Hisada is a first year in Davenport College studying History. His primary interest is in U.S. foreign policy in East Asia. Having moved to Tokyo, Ryne studies postwar Japanese culture and global strategy. Outside of YFPI, he is a fan of Jazz history and makes frequent trips with friends to jazz clubs in New York.
Rafaella Liaw
Director of Communications
Rafaella Liaw is a sophomore from São Paulo, Brazil, pursuing a major in Global Affairs. Rafaella's foreign policy interests primarily lie in international law and governance, multilateral diplomacy, and conflict resolution, with a keen interest in the interplay between politics and other disciplines of study such as history and psychology. Rafaella also engages in pro-bono consulting with the Urban Philanthropic Fund and is part of the Yale Review of International Studies. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, drawing, and being an amateur cinephile.
Yvonne Agyapong
Director of Programming
Yvonne Agyapong is a sophomore in Benjamin Franklin College majoring in Cognitive Science as a pre-law student focusing on trauma, prejudice, and discrimination from the level of cognition to the level of foreign policy. She is a Ghanaian-American, born in New York and raised in New Jersey. Yvonne loves all things fashion, film, and food! She is currently on the YFPI’s Global Human Rights Research Project examining crimes against Uighur Muslims in China. Outside of the conference, Yvonne is also Treasurer and a founding member of the Yale Black Pre-Law Association, and a Co-Director of Mentorship for the Yale International Relations Association student teaching organization Hemispheres, and active in Yale MUN Secretariats.
Jack Maketa
Director of External Projects
Jack Maketa is a sophomore from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania majoring in Political Science. His interests lie in the relationship between domestic and foreign policy, specifically in America, and how legislative decisions can be made more responsibly due to the extent of their affects. Jack works as a research assistant for Yale Professor Ian Shapiro, studying foreign policy decisions and their implications for the modern political sphere. Eventually, he hopes to pursue a career in law and politics in order to shape the future of the US for the better. Outside of the YFPI, Jack is on the YDN Editorial Board and a member of the Yale Political Union. When he has time, Jack loves watching football, reading philosophy, surfing, and playing intramural sports at Yale!
Aiken Wang
Director of Events
Aiken Wang is a current freshman undergraduate at Yale University studying political science with an interest in national security and East Asian affairs. He is currently working as a foreign media analyst with the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and with the National Defense University on examining perceptions of the PRC in the Middle East. In high school, he also worked with Amnesty International USA’s executive team on a series of different issues, including the war in Ukraine, and researched democratization trends in ASEAN nations as an RA with UCSD’s School of Global Policy and Strategy.
Graham Bateman
Director of Development