George Wong joined OEF in July of 2020 and is the Project Coordinator for Our Secure Future. He studied International Relations and Linguistics at the University of California, San Diego, and received a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University. His educational interests varied from public education policy to nuclear nonproliferation, before finally settling at international human rights law. While at Georgetown, he spent a summer interning at the Pat Finucane Centre in Northern Ireland, a human rights organization, where he produced social media content on human rights violations against civilians and prisoners of war during the Troubles and their legal consequences. He also had the privilege of participating in a study trip to Malta, where he facilitated a discussion with law students at the University of Malta on the intersection of migration and human rights law, among other things. For his master’s thesis, he produced a report for ICITAP on Ukraine’s maritime border security in the Black Sea, based on research and interviews with US and Ukrainian officials. His previous work experience includes internships at the World Faiths Development Dialogue, the Wilson Center, and the National Immigration Forum. His passion and career goals are to realize a world where human rights are truly universal and the use of force by any actor, state or non-state, is no longer a legitimate, profitable, or realistic function of international relations.
George is fluent in Japanese and English, and studied Russian in undergrad. As a San Francisco native living in DC, (before COVID) he enjoyed visiting new cafes, exploring urban spaces that are car-free and car-optional, and ranting about land-use and zoning restrictions in the US. Under COVID lockdown, he is refocusing his attention on improving his espresso game, cooking his favorite restaurant meals at home, and reading for leisure.
