Rachel Desch is pursuing a master’s degree in international policy as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar and is focusing on governance and development. Rachel graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) with majors in peace, war, and defense, and economics. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she interned with the U.S. State Department in Riga, Latvia, and the Institute for Defense and Business. 

Since graduating from UNC in 2016, Rachel has worked on a variety of national security issues within the U.S. government, including deploying to the Middle East. Most recently, she served as a policy advisor at the National Security Council, focusing on legislative affairs. Following her studies at Stanford, Rachel hopes to integrate international development, conflict resolution, and stabilization into U.S. and global policies toward counterterrorism. Rachel is a black belt in taekwondo, an amateur soccer player, and an avid reader.