Yazen Zarour is a Master of Arts in Arab Studies candidate at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he focuses his research on Middle East security architectures, foreign policy, and diplomatic strategy. He is currently advancing his field experience as an intern with the Government Affairs team at the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), supporting their advocacy project. Prior to his graduate studies, Yazen graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University in 2024 with a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science, a minor in Arabic, and a specialization in Middle East politics. His passion for diplomacy, justice, and regional affairs was fundamentally shaped by living in Palestine for five years. His professional background in Washington, D.C. also includes serving as a John Glenn Fellow and interning in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he formulated foreign policy memos and supported legislative work on foreign affairs. He later interned with A New Policy, an organization advocating for a U.S. foreign policy rooted in human rights, peace, and accountability in the Middle East. Yazen leverages his fluent Arabic linguistic capabilities, regional insights, and direct legislative background to inform his research, aiming to advance human rights, transparency, and people-centered diplomacy within modern Middle East policy dialogue.