Summer Marion
PhD Candidate in Political Science, International Relations & Public Policy
Graduated in 2022
Summer’s research focuses on how philanthropic foundations influence governance institutions during global health emergencies. She holds specialities in global governance, international organizations, health security, and philanthropy. Her work on this topic began when she led a project on humanitarian response during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Prior to her time at Northeastern, Summer worked as a journalist and editor in Washington, D.C., held multiple research positions, and managed instructional development of online courses in Public Policy and Public Health at Harvard University. She is currently a predoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, where she contributes to a project examining cross-border measures states have taken in response to COVID-19 and prior disease outbreaks. She was drawn to Northeastern’s PhD program because of the unique combination of methodological expertise and policy relevance among the Political Science department faculty.
Summer received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Economics at the College of William & Mary in 2008
She worked as Associate Editor and Project Coordinator for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in Washington, D.C.
She received her Masters in Law and Diplomacy, Security Studies and Political Economy at the Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 2013.
She managed instructional development for online courses in Public Policy, Government, and Public Health at Harvard University from 2013-2016.
She participated as an editor for a case study and photo essay, titled “High Ground: Disaster, Risk, and Resilience in the Philippines" in 2017.
Summer engages in public commentary on her research as it relates to COVID-19. She has appeared on CNN International and published analysis on this topic in the Washington Post, among other outlets.
Summer's policy brief “How Funding the WHO Benefits US Foreign Policy,” was circulated on Capitol Hill by the Georgetown University O’Neill Institute for Global Health Law in 2020.
Later, she presented at the American Political Science Association ‘Lobbying is a dirty word,’ Advocacy is Not: Philanthropy and Policy Entrepreneurship in Global Health Emergencies" virtually in 2020.
Summer has multiple academic publications on her CV and is currently in the process of finalizing multiple peer reviewed papers.
She aims to pursue an academic career in a faculty role allowing her to continue conducting policy-relevant research.
“The interdisciplinary faculty both within and outside of my program have profoundly shaped my experience. I am particularly grateful to my dissertation committee, Professors Daniel Aldrich, Mai’a Cross, Emily Clough, and Richard Wamai, among many others, for their efforts beyond the scope of the classroom to support my development as a policy-relevant scholar.”
