Samantha Kiernan graduated from Brown University in 2019 with a degree in International Relations and focused on China. She previously worked at the Council on Foreign Relations. She researched COVID-19, global health, economics, and development, and served as a consultant at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. Her research has been published in Foreign Affairs, the Lancet, Health Affairs, Nikkei Asia, Lawfare, Think Global Health, Global Asia, and others. As a Schwarzman Scholar, Samantha intends to explore the geopolitics of international development through the lens of U.S.-China relations. Samantha is from the United States.