Hometown: Sarasota, FL
Madelyn graduated from Smith College with a bachelor’s degree in Middle East Studies and Government, with a focus on international political theory and religion. As part of her undergraduate studies, Madelyn spent extensive time living abroad in the SWANA region. After beginning her Arabic studies while volunteering in a village in Masafer Yatta, Palestine, she received a Critical Language Scholarship to study Arabic in Amman, Jordan, and completed a semester in Rabat, Morocco, where she studied Arabic and researched history and human rights. She was an associate editor and contributor to Fusayfsa’, Smith College’s undergraduate Middle East studies journal, and a historical research assistant focused on medieval Palestine.
Madelyn currently works with Vital Voices Global Partnership in Washington, D.C., assisting women from the Levant with peacebuilding initiatives. At CCAS, Madelyn is interested in tracing how Western development frameworks intersect with Islamic modernist thought and local political imaginaries in shaping contemporary civic life. She is excited to continue pursuing Arabic fluency and to play rugby with Georgetown’s women’s team.