Hometown: Oakland, CA

Research Interests: State-Interstate relations, Conflict Resolution, Intersection of Environment and Conflict, Mediation with Non-state Actors, Institutional Development. Post-war Settlements

Living between California and Yemen, Yehya has always been interested in why politics and conflicts operate differently around the world. His experience living in Yemen during the Arab Spring (2010-2013) led him to pursue Conflict Studies at UC Berkeley as a Regents and Chancellor's Scholar. He went on to write his undergraduate honors thesis "Ambitions in Yemen's East'' through which he studied GCC state competition in Yemen and was subsequently awarded the Departmental Citation from the International Area Studies Department. Afterwards he became a researcher at UC Berkeley where he studied climate displacement with a focus on environment and conflict. Yehya then interned at the U.S House of Representatives and later joined as a staff assistant where he wrote and researched foreign policy topics for the office. While at MAAS, he is pursuing a master's thesis focusing on international mediation efforts with non-traditional actors in the Middle East.