Columbia Global Scholars: 2026 Cohort
Meet the inaugural Columbia Global Scholars!
The 2026 Columbia Global Scholars reflect a remarkable mix of talents and ambitions. Each of these 10 scholars will use our eight-month program to develop the leadership skills necessary to turn their proposed action plans into meaningful real world impact.
As the first recipients of this new opportunity, they are also tasked with helping shape the future of the program, as the program evolves based on these initial experiences.
Learn more about the Columbia Global Scholars program!
2026 Scholars
Yana Balanchuk is pursuing a Master of Arts in Regional Studies - Russia, Eurasia and Eastern Europe (MARS-REERS) at the Harriman Institute at the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Her interests in geopolitical policy research are grounded in strengthening democratic resilience in Ukraine by countering Russian hybrid threats and reinforcing accountable institutions.
Yana holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Social Communication and Regional Studies from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Action Plan
Yana plans to pilot a Ukrainian parliamentary simulation and policy lab to train Ukrainian students in practical democratic governance and institutional reform.
Nannette Beckley is pursuing a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health. Her research on maternal health policy and community-informed advocacy has focused on expanding equitable, inclusive access to prenatal care in New Jersey. She has also examined the relationship between exposure to community violence during pregnancy in large cities across the United States and postpartum depression risk, proposing policy recommendations to make screenings and trauma-informed services more accessible.
Nannette holds a Bachelor of Arts from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Action Plan
Nannette founded the Safe Mothers Initiative, a nonprofit working to improve postpartum mental health outcomes in Sierra Leone through stigma-reduction education and integrated healthcare screenings. Through this work, she plans to expand her focus on maternal health disparities across Sub-Saharan Africa. As a Columbia Global Scholar, she looks forward to building the leadership skills and cross-cultural insight needed to advance and implement sustainable, community-driven maternal health systems.
Justin Herrera is pursuing a Master of Public Health in Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health. His work focuses on maternal and child health, reproductive health, LGBTQIA+ health, and global health law and governance, with particular interest in community-engaged, rights-based approaches to health equity. His research integrates qualitative methods and policy analysis to strengthen rights-based health systems and inform global health policy.
Justin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with a minor in Public Policy from Dartmouth College.
Action Plan
Justin plans to produce a community-engaged policy analysis examining how health systems and local advocates across Africa have adapted to global health funding disruptions.
Fauwaz Khan is pursuing a Master of Science in Urban Planning at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Trained as an architect, his work explores spatial justice, communal violence and displacement, and the role of mapping and documentation in understanding politically contested realities.
Fauwaz holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the Balwant Sheth School of Architecture.
Action Plan
Fauwaz's research focuses on the 2020 communal violence in Delhi, where he is developing a computational framework that brings together spatial tracking, digital records, and community testimonies to reconstruct and preserve timelines of violence. Through the Columbia Global Scholars Program, he hopes to further develop this work as a tool for documentation, accountability, and advocacy.
Aria Kovalovich is pursuing a Master of International Affairs at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. Over seven years across the U.S. Senate and House, she led major congressional climate and energy investigations, authored bipartisan legislation, and co-led Senate staff delegations to United Nations climate negotiations. She also founded Augusta Advisory LLC, advising energy, climate, and public-interest organizations on investigative and legislative strategy and data-driven policy analysis.
Action Plan
As a Columbia Global Scholar, Aria is designing a federal legislative framework for an AI-enabled data commons that standardizes and centralizes public energy data to improve accessibility, security, and resilience.
Milind Kudapa is pursuing a Master of Science in Climate at the Columbia Climate School. Milind has significant experience in building AI-based explainable weather models for high-altitude environments and predicting climate risks in the Himalayan region.
Milind holds a Bachelor of Technology in Industrial and Production Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
Action Plan
Milind plans to pilot a locally led adaptation initiative in the Himalayas that integrates traditional knowledge with low-cost sensor networks to deliver disaster-warning data to isolated communities.
Isabel Lewis is pursuing a Master of Science in Urban Planning at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Isabel has experience in nonprofit program coordination, real estate data strategy for mission-driven organizations, and spatial communications across local communities in New York City.
Isabel holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Princeton University.
Action Plan
Isabel's action plan is to establish a research and policy initiative that uses GIS mapping and visual storytelling to address coastal climate vulnerability and advance spatial justice in low-income New York City communities.
Anurag Mishra is pursuing a Master of Public Administration in Technology Policy and Innovation at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He has worked with the World Bank on education and workforce development programs and with the Delhi government’s Ministry of Education to drive systemic reforms aimed at improving public schools.
Anurag holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Delhi and a Master of Arts in Economics from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
Action Plan
Anurag plans to develop a policy and implementation framework for the responsible integration of artificial intelligence in public education systems, promoting technological equity and future-ready workforce development in India.
Sai Nadimpalli is pursuing a Master of Social Work with a specialization in Clinical Practice at the Columbia School of Social Work. Originally from Pune, India, Sai has a background in strategy consulting and school-based mental health, having left the corporate world to work directly with young people and pivot to social work.
Sai holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Policy and Biological Sciences from Northwestern University.
Action Plan
Sai plans to pilot a career exploration and mentorship program in urban Indian cities to expand student agency, access to opportunity and extracurricular opportunities before high-stakes academic tracking begins.
Pablo Alexander Rodríguez Rosales is pursuing a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. An Ecuadorian physician, content creator and activist, he currently supports global polio advocacy at UNICEF headquarters. He has worked as a rural physician, health center administrator and national campaign strategist for environmental and constitutional rights during several referendums in Ecuador.
He holds a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the Central University of Ecuador.
Action Plan
Pablo plans to establish a research and media lab that translates complex public health data into accessible narratives and provides seed funding to grassroots community leaders across Latin America.
