Current Fellows
Sean Lavender - 25/26 Procter Fellow to Princeton
Sean is a PhD student in Economics at the University of Cambridge. As a Procter Fellow, he is based in the Princeton Department of Economics.
Sean’s research focusses on the interactions between inequality and the transmission of fiscal and monetary policy. This includes theoretical work on the effect of fiscal policy on monetary transmission in economies with heterogeneous households, and empirical analysis of the unequal effects of monetary policy on consumer borrowing costs along the income distribution in Brazil. During his PhD, Sean has completed research visits at the Bank of England and Banco Central do Brasil.
Prior to starting his PhD, Sean achieved double first-class honours in the Cambridge Economics Tripos, and was awarded the Stevenson Prize for best performance in the MPhil in Economic Research.
Samuel Burry - 25/26 Procter Fellow to Princeton
Samuel is the Procter Fellow in Politics at Princeton University. He is a historian of political thought and primarily works on twentieth-century American and African American political thought. His research has been published in Perspectives on Politics, Modern Intellectual History, and The American Journal of Jurisprudence.
Sam’s current research focuses on the political and legal thought of Derrick Bell and his broader influence on African American political thought in the late twentieth century. He has also published articles on topics such as how American political and legal theorists drew on ordinary language philosophy in the 1960s, liberal conceptions of judicial decision-making in the 1970s, and Thomas Paine’s and Thomas Jefferson’s thought on intergenerational obligations.
His other research interests include twentieth-century American legal and intellectual history, and American political development (APD). He is also part of the editorial team for Anthroposphere: The Oxford Climate Review.
Prior to Princeton, Sam studied for his DPhil (PhD) in Politics at the University of Oxford. Before that, he completed an MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History and a BA in History and Politics at the University of Cambridge, where he graduated with a starred first (first-class honours with distinction) and was awarded the University’s History and Politics Prize for best overall performance.
Luca Geary - 25/26 Henry Fellow to Harvard
Luca graduated with a BA (First Class) and BCL (Distinction) in Law from the University of Oxford, where he received several academic prizes. At university, Luca participated in the Jessup International Law Moot, where he ranked as the second-best speaker in the world, and the Nelson Mandela Human Rights Moot, where he ranked as the best speaker in the world. These experiences inspired Luca to pursue a career in public international law, which he has prepared for by working as a research assistant for Jason Pobjoy KC at Blackstone Chambers. In this role, he assisted with international casework and helped update The Law of Refugee Status textbook, analysing comparative jurisprudence on refugee status determination and appeals from across the Globe.
At Harvard, Luca is working as a research assistant for the Program of International Law and Armed Conflict, specialising in the relationship between the jus ad bellum (the law governing the justification for resorting to armed force) and the jus in bello (the law governing the obligations of states during armed conflict). Additionally, Luca is coaching Harvard Law School’s Jessup Moot team, which has encouraged him to develop a start up company providing AI-based advocacy training. Next semester, Luca plans to engage in fulfilling and real-world advocacy through representing asylum seekers in Harvard’s Immigration and Refugee Clinic. This will prepare him for a career as a barrister in international law and strategic litigation.
Liza Kozharinova - 25/26 Henry Fellow to Yale
Liza Kozharinova graduated from LSE with First Class Honours in Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, where her work focused on developing a formal theoretical framework for the measurement of the effect of factual claims on political persuasion. Alongside her academic work, Liza has operated at the intersection of policy, democratic practice, and technology. During her time in London, she built and iterated early-stage products in start-ups, attended Entrepreneur First, Europe’s largest tech incubator, and gained experience in venture capital with a focus on AI. As a Product Manager at the United Nations OCHA, Liza contributed to improving digital infrastructure used by 18.2 million people annually, supporting more timely humanitarian responses worldwide. She has also worked closely with pro-democratic, anti-war Russian civil society and opposition networks in Europe. Liza spoke in the UK Parliament on blockchain elections in exile and at Chatham House on the role of Russians outside and within Russia in strengthening European resilience against the Russian threat, translating grassroots experience into institutional policy discussions.
At Yale, Liza studies political campaigning and the application of AI systems and knowledge graphs to political persuasion, targeting, and campaign strategy, drawing on her background in logic, political analysis, and technology. Additionally, she is pursuing coursework in Global Affairs at the Jackson School, focusing on strategic intelligence and peacebuilding. Liza also engages with US policymakers to bridge gaps in Russia expertise with timely regional and sectoral analysis to inform more effective, institutionally feasible sanctions policy and broader strategic coordination against the Russian regime.
Kate Lucas - 25/26 Choate Fellow to Harvard
Kate graduated with an BA (First Class) and MEng (Distinction) in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Cambridge. She was the recipient of a number of scholarships to support her studies including from the Royal Academy of Engineering, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and Institution of Engineering and Technology.
As President of Cambridge University Robotics Society, she established a number of new events and projects including the Unibots UK national competition, and led the society to win Engineering Society of the Year at the UK Engineering Talent Awards 2023. She is particularly interested in encouraging underrepresented groups in engineering and was awarded Vice Chancellor’s ‘Volunteer of the Year’ for her outreach work.
Building on her technical knowledge, Kate plans to spend her time at Harvard exploring what it means to be human in an age of robots. She wants to understand not only how we make things, but also what making things means to people and communities across space and time. She aims to immerse herself in US maker culture and travel widely to understand the landscape of US manufacturing outside of her studies.
Hannah Gillott - 25/26 Choate Fellow to Harvard
Hannah graduated with a Starred First in History from the University of Cambridge, where she also worked as editor in chief of Varsity, the university student newspaper. While at Cambridge, Hannah spent a year abroad in Spain and latterly Mexico, where she volunteered with refugee populations in Nogales, on the US/Mexico border. This inspired an interest in migration studies and surveillance and border capitalisms. Prior to studying at Harvard, she worked as a research assistant in Cambridge, focusing on American labour history.
At Harvard, Hannah is studying History alongside Comparative Literature and Science and Technology Studies, developing a specialty in the History of Capitalism and its discontents. She is also taking classes in migration studies, and hopes to return to the US/Mexico border this summer to work in the desert. In the Spring semester, Hannah will be working as a Teaching Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, leading seminars in the Philosophy of Technology, and taking courses in Narrative Journalism and Critical Theory.