By Tom Ellison
The Center for Climate and Security (CCS) is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 class of the Gordon R. Sullivan Climate and Ecological Security Fellowship. The Sullivan Fellowship is the preeminent opportunity of its kind to forge the next generation of climate-informed national security practitioners. It is named in honor of CCS Advisory Board Member General Gordon R. Sullivan, US Army (Ret.), who passed away in 2024 after a distinguished military career and was an early champion of integrating climate and environmental concerns in US national security.
The Sullivan Fellowship creates a space for early- to mid-career professionals to explore and develop expertise across the climate security field. This year’s fellowship is especially focused on supporting the pipeline of talented, multidisciplinary, young US leaders affected by changes in US federal policy.
The 15 fellows of the 2025-2026 class come from diverse educational and geographic backgrounds, with experience spanning state and local government; the military; diplomacy and development; energy and technology; private industry, and NGOs and community organizations. The CCS team looks forward to collaborating with them over the next nine months.
Giancarlo Ceja
Giancarlo Ceja, originally from Corona and the Inland Empire of Southern California, is a Staff Assistant for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce minority staff. He received two BAs from the University of Southern California in Environmental Studies and International Relations. Giancarlo is excited to explore further the security implications of the climate crisis and its relationship with the exacerbation of climate injustices.
Jonise Cromartie
Jonise Cromartie is a program strategist with experience leading multi-million dollar climate, health, housing, and equity initiatives across government, philanthropy, and grassroots sectors. She earned her Master’s in Communication Science from North Carolina Central University and most recently served with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she worked to ensure federal resources advanced community-driven priorities. As a Sullivan Fellow, she aims to deepen her expertise in climate finance and security; exploring how investment strategies can be designed not only to reduce ecological risk, but also to advance health equity, rebuild public trust, and strengthen the resilience of frontline communities.
Adam Despang
Adam Despang is a former Army Field Artillery Officer from Lake City, Florida with a B.S. from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from the University of Florida. Most recently he was a Presidential Management Fellow in the federal government where he supported the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s climate team and evaluated refugee programming in southern Africa with the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Before joining the civil service Adam managed a climate security program in Florida with the American Security Project. As a Sullivan fellow Adam is excited to explore how the financial costs of climate change and population displacement can weaken global economies and create instability that may threaten U.S. national security and international alliances.
Kennady Hertz
Kennady Hertz, originally from Long Beach, Mississippi, is an International Relations Specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. She holds an MS in Integrated Marketing Communications and a BA in Public Policy Leadership from the University of Mississippi. Through the Sullivan Fellowship, she aims to deepen her understanding of emerging climate risks on Earth and in space, including extreme weather impacts and orbital debris, and to explore how research and policy can shape more resilient and secure global systems.
Caitlin Jones
Caitlin Jones, originally from Princess Anne, Maryland, is a Senior Climate & Energy Resilience Analyst at Concurrent Technologies Corporation currently serving as contract support to the U.S. Department of the Air Force. Caitlin received her BA in Global Studies and BA with honors in Environmental Studies from Randolph College, and her MA in International Security Policy from The George Washington University. Caitlin looks forward to learning more about the intersection of strategic competition and climate change, in particular as it relates to security policy and resource competition amidst the energy transition and technological advancements.
Stephanie Mann
Stephanie Mann, hailing from Houston, Texas, is currently serving as the Indonesia Deputy Country Director with the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation. She received her B.A. from Boston University and her M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Stephanie is excited to explore how the intersection of forest conservation and sustainable food systems can mitigate global threats to ecological and food security.
Max Nathanson
Max Nathanson, originally from Boulder, Colorado, brings a decade of experience working across climate resilience, economic development, and national security in the Americas, most recently at the Pacific Disaster Center and the William J. Perry Center. He received his B.A. from the University of Colorado and his MPhil and DPhil (PhD) from the University of Oxford. During his fellowship, Max is especially excited to explore evolving frameworks for humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Rebecca Peters
Rebecca Peters specializes in bridging diplomatic, intelligence, and scientific communities to leverage Earth science applications for security priorities. She has a doctorate from the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar, authoring 20+ publications and now teaches a course on Water Science, Security, and Diplomacy at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. In July 2024, she completed the first source-to-sea rowing expedition of the Zambezi River with a crew of 30 hailing from 8 countries. She looks forward to deepening her expertise in security nexus issues, strengthening understanding of how security practitioners address risks operationally, and collaborating with fellows to identify novel approaches for strengthening national security partnerships.
Charles Scaife
Charles Scaife currently manages the Energy–Water Resilience Portfolio at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he leads a cross-sector initiative focused on securing critical infrastructure through integrated modeling, scenario planning, and stakeholder engagement. Trained as a geographer and environmental scientist, he has helped shape national resilience strategy through work on hydropower modernization, energy systems transitions, and climate-informed planning. A former Knauss Marine Policy Fellow and ORISE Science, Technology, and Policy Fellow, Charles joins the Sullivan Fellowship to explore how institutional fragmentation and ecological stress compound energy–water risks—and how systems thinking can strengthen national security planning. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia and an M.A. and B.S. from UNC Chapel Hill.
Caily Schwartz
Caily Schwartz is a Human-Environmental Scientist at the Global Water Security Center at the University of Alabama. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, she received her BS in Environmental Science from Auburn University, MS in Earth System Science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and her PhD in Natural Resource Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During the fellowship, Caily looks forward to learning from various experts and deepening her knowledge of the environmental, social and systemic drivers of instability.
Jahan Taganova
Originally from Turkmenistan, Jahan Taganova is a One Young World Peace Ambassador and Senior Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Specialist at the City and County of Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency (CASR). She holds a joint master’s in Water Cooperation and Diplomacy from the UN-mandated University for Peace, IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education, and Oregon State University. Jahan bridges research, policy, and practice through systems thinking and human-centered design. As a Sullivan Fellow, she aims to deepen her understanding of extreme heat as a climate security threat and its links to national and international security, focusing on geopolitical instability driven by environmental stressors such as heat, water scarcity, food insecurity, and forced migration.
Marley Wait
Marley Wait, originally from Macungie, Pennsylvania, is a First Lieutenant and Engineer Officer in the U.S. Army. After graduating with a BSc in Environmental Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2023, Marley was awarded a Marshall Scholarship. As a Marshall Scholar, she pursued graduate studies in the United Kingdom, completing an MSc in Climate Change at King’s College London and a Master of Public Policy at the University of Oxford. Marley is excited to learn more about the impacts of climate change on military planning and operations.
Joe Younkle
Joe Younkle is a descendant of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and serves as Water Resilience Tracker Senior Project Officer at the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA). Before joining AGWA, Joe served as Special Advisor for Climate Change at USAID, and Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Water & Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior, where he worked extensively on domestic and international water and climate adaptation issues. Joe received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Joe is excited to expand his network in ecological security and explore ways the private sector and NGOs can support environmental security globally as the United States Government retreats from international development.
Shafraz Zain
Originally from Sri Lanka and raised in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Shafraz Zain currently serves as an Emergency Management Specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), focusing on climate resiliency, mitigation, recovery operations, and hazard mitigation programs to strengthen community resilience. Shafraz earned a BA in International Studies from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, an MSc in Business, International Trade, and Diplomatic Studies from the University of Stirling, Scotland, and an MS in Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He holds multiple certifications, including Project Management Professional (PMP) and Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP). Shafraz is eager to better understand how climate risks and security challenges connect and work with peers to create practical solutions that strengthen resilience and support vulnerable communities.
Max Zandi
Max Zandi, originally from West Chester, Pennsylvania, is a Political Associate at Foreign Policy for America. He holds an MA in International Affairs from George Washington University and a BA in Political Science from Villanova University. Max looks forward to exploring the intersection of climate change and national security and to deepening his understanding of climate disinformation.