Podcasts + Fulbright Alums: Our Guest Speakers
Up Until Fulbright releases a new episode every Tuesday. The first three episodes will be about our co-hosts, Wesley and Thyda, along with a brief introduction about the podcast, its origin and our sponsors. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us or our guests if you are interested in learning more about their experience or their current work post-Fulbright.
Introduction | Wesley Warshawer | Sokunthyda Long | Ann Kennedy | Muhammed Sabaz | Marietta Lopez Moreira | April Lim | Matías Jackson | Dini Noor Arin | Hercílio Zimila | Piphal Heng | Merzia Naeem Adamjee | Emmanuel Awohouedji | Nicole Jefferson | Angel Lira | Parul Srivastava | Eve Jones | Vannith Hay | Leland Lazarus | Wrap Up!
Episode 1: Introduction to the Podcast
We start with how the podcast turned from a dinner conversation into reality. Our goal is to get a deeper understanding into Fulbrighters’ lives before their Fulbright experience. What were their lives like? What neighborhood did they live in? Did they engage in any extra curricular activities? Did they move around a lot? In this episode, we discuss our vision for the podcast!
Introduction and the Podcast (11th November, 2025)
Episode 2: Wesley Warshawer (U.S. - South Korea, 2014)
Wesley Warshawer currently works in the semiconductor industry as a business analyst. Currently based in Silicon Valley, California, he has expertise in data analytics, project management, and supply chain.
As a Fulbright Scholar, Wesley completed his Master’s degree in Global Economy and Strategy from Yonsei University in South Korea. His Master’s program was incredibly global, with 450 students from 65 countries.
Wesley has always loved the Fulbright community; whenever he travels, he always finds nearby Fulbrighters!
You can find Wesley at wesley.warshawer@fulbrightmail.org or connect with him on LinkedIn!
Wesley Warshawer (18th November, 2025)
Episode 3: Sokunthyda Long (Cambodia - U.S., 2021)
Thyda grew up in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. After finishing a dual-degree in law at the American University of Phnom Penh and the University of Arizona, Thyda continued her legal education at Georgetown Law. Listen to this episode to hear about Phnom Penh in the 2000s through the lens of a 10 year old.
You can find Thyda at sokunthyda.long@fulbrightmail.org or connect with her on LinkedIn!
Sokunthyda Long (18th November, 2025)
Episode 4: Ann Kennedy, PhD (U.S. - Thailand, 2015)
Ann Kennedy is semi-retired after a 21-year career with Arlington (VA) Public Schools, where she served as a secondary ESL teacher and Reading Specialist. For the past 21 years, she has also been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, initially in the Department of Linguistics and currently in the Educational Transformation program. Ann has taught ESL through Art in India, Environmental Science through Art in Brazil, Coding in K–12 schools in Brazil, South Africa, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. She has been a teacher trainer in Guatemala, Jamaica, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and across the United States. Guided by a deep belief in the Fulbright mission, Ann has been an active member of the National Capital Area Chapter of the Fulbright Association for the past six years, where she currently serves as President.
You can find Ann at a.akennedy@gmail.com;
aak38@georgetown.edu or check her LinkedIn out!
Ann Kennedy (25th November, 2025)
Episode 5: Muhammed Sabaz (Turkey - U.S., 2021)
Muhammed Sabaz was born in 1989 in Norşên, Bitlis. He completed his undergraduate studies in Turkish Language Teaching at Pamukkale University in Denizli. In addition to his work as an educator, Muhammed is an active translator and editor, contributing to a wide range of projects. Currently he is doing a masters in Kurdish Language and Culture department.
You can find Muhammed at m-sbz@hotmail.com!
Mahammed Sabaz (30th December, 2025)
Episode 6: Marietta Lopez Moreira (Paraguay - U.S., 2023)
Marietta Lopez Moreira is a Fulbright alumna from Paraguay whose multidisciplinary background in the arts and nonprofit sectors led her to pursue graduate studies in the United States. She earned her Master of Public Administration in May 2025 and is now a PhD student in Public Administration in the Department of Public Policy, Management, and Analytics at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her research focuses on government–nonprofit collaboration in public service delivery, with a particular emphasis on arts and culture organizations.
You can find Marietta at mariettaalessandralopezm@gmail.com or connect with her on LinkedIn!
Marietta Lopez Moreira (6th January, 2026)
Episode 7: April Lim (U.S. - Cambodia, 2024)
April Lim is a Teochew-Cambodian American writer from Houston, TX. She has received fellowships and scholarships from Tin House, Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, The Watering Hole, and elsewhere. Her works have appeared in Honey Literary, Sweet: A Literary Confection, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She has an MFA in Poetry, and was a Fulbright Research Fellow in Cambodia
You can find April at aprillim.com!
April Lim (13th January, 2026)
Episode 8: Matías Jackson (Uruguay - U.S., 2019)
Matías Jackson is a lawyer from Montevideo, Uruguay. He holds a LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from The George Washington University, thanks to a Fulbright Scholarship. Born and raised in the coastal neighborhood of Malvín, Montevideo, where he still lives.
Matías is the co-founder of Jackson Bertón Legal + Contable, a firm focused on IP strategy, tech start-ups, entertainment law, and data protection. He is also a professor of Computer Law at the Universidad de la República, where he teaches topics such as internet governance, AI regulation, and the interplay between law and emerging technologies.
Recently, he became the father of a baby boy, and is now joyfully navigating the balance between a demanding professional life and the everyday adventures of parenthood together with his wife, Pía
You can find Matías at mjacksonuy@gmail.com or check his LinkedIn out!
Matias Jackson (27th January, 2026)
Episode 9: Dini Noor Arini (Indonesia - U.S., 2022)
Dini Noor Arini is a Fulbright Scholar and Ph.D. candidate in Language, Literacy, and Technology at Washington State University. She is pursuing her doctorate through the Fulbright Ph.D. General Program (2022–2026), with a focus on English as a Second Language (ESL), Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), and the ethical integration of artificial intelligence in education.
Before beginning her doctoral studies, Dini served for nearly a decade as an Associate Professor of English Language Education at Lambung Mangkurat University in Indonesia. Her teaching and research experience spans English for specific purposes, teacher education, curriculum development, and multilingual learning in resource-constrained contexts. These experiences shaped her long-standing interest in how technology—particularly AI—can expand access, engagement, and instructional quality for learners and educators.
At WSU, Dini’s work explores AI-supported language learning, task engagement, AI Literacy, and teacher preparation, with particular attention to multilingual learners, technology use, and classroom practice. She is also actively involved in academic service, interdisciplinary research, and professional development through conference presentations, journal publications, and collaborative projects.
Through Fulbright, Dini aims to bridge U.S. and Indonesian higher education by strengthening research-informed teaching, supporting educator capacity building, and contributing to more equitable and responsible uses of AI in language education.
You can find Dini at dini.arini@wsu.edu or connect with her on LinkedIn!
Dini Noor Arini (3rd February, 2026)
Episode 10: Hercílio Zimila (Mozambique - U.S., 2021)
Hercílio Zimila is a Mozambican Engineer (Ph.D. candidate), Fulbright Alumnus and the Co-Founder and CEO of Scholars2Scholars, an organization dedicated to expanding access to education and professional opportunities for underserved youth. He has over 14 years of experience across Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, Project Management, and Sustainability Analysis. His research focuses on modeling and optimizing sustainable water treatment technologies to deliver safe, affordable drinking water to vulnerable populations.
Hercílio is also a grantee of AEIF, the same sponsor as this Up Until Fulbright Podcast. His AEIF project focuses on using AI for applications, entrepreneurship, among other things, in Mozambique
You can find Hercílio at herciliozimila@gmail.com or connect with him on LinkedIn!
Hercílio Zimila (10th February, 2026)
Episode 11: Piphal Heng (Cambodia - U.S., 2007)
Piphal Heng specializes in the archaeology of Southeast Asia, with research interests in political economy, urbanism, and heritage. The region is renowned for its rich hominin evolutionary remains, its premodern kingdoms—especially the Angkorian Empire—and its long-standing role as a crossroads connecting the East and the West. Dr. Heng’s archaeological research centers on Cambodia, where he investigates the emergence and transformation of Angkorian states. His work traces Angkor’s protohistoric foundations, spatial expansion, and the organizational and ideological shifts that accompanied the transition from Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism to Theravada Buddhism during the late Angkorian and post-Angkorian periods (ca. 14th–18th centuries).
Drawing on archaeological evidence from the last 3,000 years in the Lower Mekong basin, Dr. Heng has led and co-led numerous field projects and training initiatives in Cambodia through close collaboration with Cambodian institutions and international academic partners. Committed to international collaboration, training, capacity building, and community engagement, his research also addresses the role and visibility of Cambodian scholars in shaping archaeological knowledge. His current initiative, Phum Archaeology, integrates remote sensing (including LiDAR), geophysical prospection, surface surveys, and excavation to investigate settlement patterns, urban development, landscape use, and temple economies in northwestern and southern Cambodia.
You can find Dr. Heng at piphal.heng@yale.edu or connect with him on LinkedIn!
Piphal Heng (17th February, 2026)
Episode 12: Merzia Naeem Adamjee (Pakistan - U.S.)
Merzia Naeem Adamjee is a machine learning engineer working at the intersection of data, automation, and artificial intelligence.
She currently works remotely in the property technology industry, where she develops AI-driven systems for the US multifamily housing market. Her work focuses on building systems that help transform unstructured data into structured knowledge to inform insightful decision-making and product development.
Merzia is a Fulbright alumna and earned her Master’s in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts. Born and raised in the coastal city of Karachi, Pakistan, she continues to work remotely from there while engaging with global technology ecosystems.
Before pursuing graduate studies, she worked at Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Limited as a Data Analyst, where she focused on quantifying the impact of on-ground merchandising efforts using data and software systems.
Her broader interests lie in the potential of AI to improve access to education, particularly through the power of linguistics and language technologies. She is interested in building systems that can deliver personalized learning experiences and make educational content accessible in people’s own languages, especially low-resource Pakistani languages.
You can reach Merzia at merzia.adamjee@gmail.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Merzia Naeem Adamjee (10th March, 2026)
Episode 13: Emmanuel Awohouedji (Benin - U.S., 2015)
Emmanuel Awohouedji is a practitioner-scholar working at the intersection of urban studies, environmental politics, and human geography. His work examines how complex urban and environmental challenges can be understood and translated into actionable policy and public knowledge.
His earlier research explored pathways toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through solid waste management. More recently, his doctoral research at the London School of Economics and Political Science analysed urban masculinities, peripheries, and place-making in Benin, deepening his engagement with questions of people, infrastructure, participation, peripheries, development and social transformation.
Beyond academia, Emmanuel has collaborated with independent research and civic organisations, including the Civic Academy for Africa’s Future (CiAAF) and SANUS NGO. He is also engaged in initiatives that support and narrate the work of local producers and small businesses.
He writes about People and Places on Substack https://emmanuelawohouedji.substack.com/ where he reflects on urban change, environmental questions, and the movement of knowledge between research and lived reality.
Outside of research and writing, he sings with a choir whenever possible. You can book a call with him here https://calendar.app.google/xaKfVPf8LTaxaapG6 to discuss possible collaboration.
You can find Emmanuel at emmanuel.awohouedji@gmail.com or connect with him on LinkedIn!
Emmanuel Awohouedji (17th March, 2026)
Episode 14: Nicole Jefferson (U.S. - Mexico, 2010)
Nicole is an International Educator with 23 years of experience. She has taught various subjects from PreK to University in Mexico, Costa Rica, and the USA. She has taught Spanish, French, English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Sociology, Psychology and AP Computer Science. As an elementary teacher, she has taught Pre K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th grades. In 2009 - 2010, she participated in the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program. She exchanged classrooms for a year with an English teacher from Mexico. She spent one school year teaching English at a public middle school in Mexico City to more than 280 students. During her exchange, she started her volunteer service at the Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin (US Embassy Library). One of her students from the library later earned a Fulbright and is now a career diplomat for Mexico. Nicole continues to volunteer at the library virtually or during her vacations to Mexico City.
She has served as a panelist on the selection committee for COMEXUS (Fulbright Commission in Mexico). In 2022-2023 & 2024- 2025, she was a Fulbright Teacher Exchanges Alumni Ambassador. She was also selected twice as a participant in Fulbright In the Classroom. For more than seven years, she has been in charge of the Facebook page of Fulbright Club de Mexico. In 2023 & 2024, she was selected as a Virtual Educator for English Language Programs, a program of the US Department of State. In 2023, she taught English for Tourism to students in Panama. In 2024, she taught English for Entrepreneurship to Access Alumni in Mexico. In 2024-2025, she served as an Alumni Ambassador of English Language Programs making her a 4 time alumnus of the US Department of State. In 2025, she met with 18 Fulbrighters in : Mexico City, Panama City, London, Los Angeles, DC, Denver, Houston, and Starkville, Mississippi. Nicole is fluent in Spanish and speaks Intermediate French. She is currently a high school teacher in Coastal Mississippi and a board member of the Fulbright Association Mississippi Chapter. Nicole is open to collaborating with others.
You can find Nicole at nicoleyolanda77@gmail.com or connect with her on LinkedIn!
Nicole Jefferson (31st March, 2026)
Episode 15: Angel Lira (U.S.-Paraguay)
Angel Lira is a Mexican American labor and community organizer in the Inland Empire in California, more specifically born and raised in Fontana and currently works in Pomona. He is an alumni of the University of California, Irvine where he completed a double major in international studies and political science.
As a Fulbright Research Grantee to Paraguay, he conducted research on the civic engagement of rural farmworker youth with the support of Fundacion Paraguaya.
You can find Angel at angel.lira75@gmail.com or check his LinkedIn out!
Angel Lira (21st April, 2026)
Episode 16: Parul Srivastava (India - U.S., 2021)
Parul Srivastava was born in Lucknow, India and completed her undergraduate from the University of Delhi followed by a Master's degree in History from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She's presently submitting her PhD at the University of Hyderabad. Parul was a Fulbright Nehru Doctoral Research scholar at the university of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2021 followed by which she worked in the EdTech industry. She's active in the higher education and university counselling sector and is extremely passionate about her research on the oral histories of India's partition. She enjoys travelling and loves reading, anything other than her PhD material, for a change.
You can find Parul honeyparul13@gmail.com or connect with her on LinkedIn!
Parul Srivastava (28th April, 2026)
Episode 17: Eve Jones (U.S. - Cambodia, 2020)
Eve was a part of the first Fulbright English Teaching Assistant cohort in Cambodia, where she taught at Phnom Penh's Preah Sisowath High School. She went on to spend four years at USAID, where she led a team in the Office of the Executive Secretariat — advising senior leadership, managing interagency coordination, and traveling with Agency delegations to Missions abroad. She is currently completing a Master of Public Administration at the London School of Economics, with a focus on international development, public economics, and global health policy.
You can find Eve at ejones8497@gmail.com or connect with her on LinkedIn!
Eve Jones (13th May, 2026)
Episode 18: Vannith Hay (Cambodia - U.S., 2021)
Growing up in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Vannith Hay witnessed firsthand how food safety challenges affect everyday life. These experiences sparked a curiosity that ultimately developed into a career dedicated to protecting public health through food science research and education.
Vannith is a Fulbright alumnus from Cambodia and currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. His research focuses on generating scientific evidence to support safer and more effective process validation practices for High Pressure Processing (HPP) systems used in the pet food industry. His work aims to improve the control of foodborne pathogens in raw pet foods while helping industry and regulatory agencies enhance food safety standards.
Vannith earned a Master of Science in Food Science from Kansas State University as a Fulbright Foreign Student Program Scholar (2021–2023). Before pursuing his Ph.D., Vannith served as a Research Associate and Lecturer at the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) in Cambodia. His research portfolio spans food safety, food microbiology, public health, and health systems research. Beyond his doctoral research, Vannith remains actively engaged in education by teaching an online food safety course for public health graduate students in Cambodia.
You can find Vannith at vhay2@huskers.unl.edu or connect with him on LinkedIn!
Vannith Hay (23rd June, 2026)
Episode 19: Leland Lazarus (U.S. - Panama, 2012)
Lazarus is the Founder and CEO of Lazarus Consulting LLC, an international geopolitical risk firm specializing in U.S.-China relations and China’s engagement in the Western Hemisphere. A renowned expert on China-LatAm relations, he has testified before Congress multiple times about China’s national security threats in Latin America, and taught U.S.-China relations and Chinese foreign policy at Florida International University.
Lazarus served as the Special Assistant and Speechwriter to two four-star Commanders of U.S. Southern Command (Department of Defense), where he advised on SOUTHCOM’s counter-China strategy. He was also a State Department diplomat in China and the Caribbean, representing U.S. interests and telling America’s story overseas.
Lazarus is the President and Chair of the Fulbright Association, which represents 400,000 Fulbright alumni around the world. He holds affiliations with the Council on Foreign Relations Term Member, the National Committee on US-China Relations, and the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub. His articles and commentary have appeared in NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Univision, Telemundo, The Miami Herald, Foreign Policy Magazine, and various international outlets.
You can find Lazarus at leland.lazarus@gmail.com or connect with him on LinkedIn!
Leland Lazarus (30th June, 2026)
Episode 20: Wrap up with Wesley and Thyda!
Listen to our last episode to hear our reflections on the podcast, the things we learn and appreciate along the way, and the many friendships we made during the podcast. Here is to maintaining those friendships beyond the life of the podcast.
