Rachel Simroth

Rachel was the 2024-2025 Freedom in the World Junior Fellow covering North and East Africa. She graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.A. in International Relations and minors in Arabic and Civic Engagement. Rachel is interested in democratic backsliding and its effects on civil society, tactics of pro-democracy movements, and the role of public diplomacy programs. Prior to joining Freedom House, Rachel interned for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where she worked on the Middle East and North Africa policy portfolio for the Committee Chairman. She has also interned for the State Department, was the Editor-in-Chief of Ohio State’s undergraduate international affairs magazine, and has studied abroad in Jordan, the West Bank, and Israel.