Freedom in the World Junior Fellowship Current Class

2021–22 Junior Fellows

Matthew Barak

Matthew is the 2021–22 Freedom in the World Junior Fellow for Europe and Eurasia. He is a 2020 graduate of Georgetown University, where he majored in government and minored in history and sociology. Matthew is particularly interested in democratic decline in Hungary and Poland, and how the European Union can effectively confront rising authoritarianism from within. Before joining Freedom House, he interned in the US House of Representatives and worked as a campaign field organizer.

Alex Dent

Alex is the 2021–22 Freedom in the World Junior Fellow for sub-Saharan Africa. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2021 with a major in government and minors in geography and public policy. She is particularly interested in the process of postcolonial democratic transitions, and the role of institutions in peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts post-conflict. As a fellow, she has been able to research coups and their effects on civil liberties in sub-Saharan Africa. Before her time at Freedom House, she worked on several political campaigns in her hometown of Chicago.

Alessandra Restifo

Alessandra is the 2021–22 Freedom in the World Junior Fellow for the Americas. She graduated from Temple University in 2020 with a degree in political science and global studies. She is interested in the role of civil society in social movements, specifically those in Latin America and among displaced populations. Before joining Freedom House, Alessandra engaged with local and international civil society organizations through a series of internships at NGOs, most recently studying how misinformation and disinformation campaigns affect civil society networks as an intern at InterAction.