Our Team

Dean’s Professor of Political Science, International Affairs, and Diplomacy; Director of the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures

Mai’a K. Davis Cross is the Dean’s Professor of Political Science, International Affairs, and Diplomacy and Director of the Center for International Affairs & World Cultures at Northeastern University. She is also a Member of the Council on Forei…

Center for International Affairs and World Cultures Graduate Fellow

Matthew F. Fleming is a PhD student at Northeastern University and a Graduate Fellow at the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures. He is part of the research team for Mai’a K. Davis Cross’s Carnegie project, “Transnational Political Networks and the Future of Global Order.” Beyond Northeastern, he is a Non-Resident James A. Kelly Korea Fellow at the Pacific Forum and an inaugural member of the U.S. Department of State’s Young Trilateral Leaders Network. Fleming holds master’s degrees in Global Affairs and Policy from Yonsei University (South Korea) and in Media and Governance from Keio University (Japan). He has held positions with the Indo-Pacific Strategy Team in the Office of Regional and Security Policy at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP/RSP), the East Asia Institute, and the Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies’ journals. His research focuses on Indo-Pacific security, minilateralism, and strategic competition in Northeast Asia, with particular attention to U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateralism, Indo-Pacific strategies, and U.S. foreign relations with South Korea and Japan. His writing on Indo-Pacific security and minilateral cooperation has been published in outlets including The Diplomat, Pacific Forum, the CDA Institute, and the East-West Center.

Center for International Affairs and World Cultures Graduate Fellow

Margarida S. Rodrigues is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at Northeastern University. Her research touches on the economic governance of the European Union, industrial policy, and democratic resilience. She has held positions at the European Investment Bank, the European Parliament, and the World Bank Group. Margarida holds a masters’ degree in European economic integration from the College of Europe (Belgium) and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown University.

Administrative Coordinator, Center for International Affairs and World Cultures

Diana Atoui is the Administrative Coordinator for the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures (CIAWC). Her responsibilities include budget management, event planning, and managing website content. Diana is a Boston University alumna; she …