Ethan comes to MAERES from Michigan State University’s James Madison College, where he earned his B.A. in International Relations (May 2026) with minors in Russian and History. He has built his Russian proficiency through STARTALK, a U.S. government-funded critical language program in addition to his classes, and was named an ACTR Post-Secondary Russian Scholar Laureate. He most recently served as a student contractor in the Political-Economic Section of the Consulate General of Canada in Detroit, where he assisted with defense industry international collaboration efforts and public diplomacy. He’s also drawn to the region beyond policy, as literature from Russia and Eastern Europe has shaped how he thinks about the societies he studies. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing and playing basketball. Ethan is pursuing MAERES to deepen his Russian language training and sharpen his regional and analytical expertise ahead of a career in public service, with an eye toward the U.S. Department of State, the national security community, or the U.S. Department of Treasury’s sanctions and economic-statecraft work.
