Josh Elias is a second-year GHD student specializing in Governance and Development from Miami, Florida. He studied International Relations at Miami Dade College (MDC) and Political Science at Columbia University. At MDC, he was in the Honors College, served as Vice-President of the Student Government Association, and studied abroad in Indonesia and Iceland. At Columbia, he was a Representative on the Student Council, volunteered as a teacher, and served with Columbia’s Housing Equity Project. Joshua was first introduced to international development work as an intern for Mumbai Mobile Creches in India through Columbia’s Experience Overseas program. He was a Global Leader Fellow with the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI) and has interned with the International Rescue Committee, an immigration law firm, and the Brookings Institution. After graduating from Columbia, he completed a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA member and was the first Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to serve in Lankaran, Azerbaijan. Before beginning his graduate studies, he completed a summer internship at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Western Hemisphere team. He spent the summer between his first and second year of graduate school as a political-economic intern at the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. He is a 2023 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellow and will join the U.S. Foreign Service when he graduates. In his free time, Josh enjoys following mixed martial arts and playing competitive board games. He speaks Spanish and some Azerbaijani. Josh is the proud grandson of Cuban-Lebanese refugees.

Why GHD?

As a future Foreign Service Officer who studied political science before attending Georgetown, Josh knew it would be beneficial to gain a different perspective on global affairs and expand his skillset. He chose the GHD program gain the perspective of a development practitioner, improve his analytical skills, and join a cohort of like-minded leaders who are dedicated to service.

Summer Internship

Josh had the privilege of interning with the Political-Economic Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan over the summer. He had the opportunity to assist with the Embassy’s advocacy to end forced labor during Turkmenistan’s annual cotton harvest, brief the incoming ambassador and political-economic chief on Embassy initiatives, assess grant applications to support marginalized communities, and represent the Embassy at various official events. His summer experience gave him a unique perspective on promoting development in difficult contexts; a topic he explores through his self-designed “Governance and Development” specialization. Josh returns to his second year at GHD energized to apply his experience in Central Asia to his courses and his internship with the Eurasia Division of the International Republican Institute (IRI). He also brings a newfound optimism on promoting development in closed societies.