2023 AACLF Fellows

Read more below about the alumni from the 2023 African-American China Leadership Fellows: Bryce Barros, Nicole Baden, Paul Dottin, Jamilia Grier, Nathan Gwira, Karl Jackson, Jamel Mims, Toochi Ngwangwa, Tiffany Talbert, and Rachel Washington.

Nicole Baden

International Diplomacy Fellow

Nicole Baden is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. Her previous positions include consecutive assignments in Shenyang, China and Beijing, China. Nicole will depart for her onward assignment in Taipei, Taiwan this summer. She received a B.A. from Howard University and an M.A. from the American University School of International Service. While in college, Nicole also studied Mandarin overseas at Beijing Language and Culture University. Her research interests and policy experience focus on East Asian security.

Bryce Barros

Rhodium Fellow

Bryce Barros is a China Policy & Strategy Analyst at HII Mission Technologies. He has over two decades of experience focused on the Indo-Pacific. He previously served as a China Affairs Analyst at the German Marshall Fund. Before that, he was an analyst at Kharon, researching sanctioned actors and related commercial activities tied to strategic trade controls, supply chains, and human rights abuses in the Indo-Pacific. He also interned at the Long Term Strategy Group, researching Sino-American Strategic Competition and the China-Britain Business Council, researching Chinese market entry for UK and EU companies.

Paul Dottin

Foreign Affairs Fellow

Dr. Paul A. Dottin is an Affiliated Scholar and Lecturer at The Johns Hopkins University – Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. Dottin holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Studies (Theory in Historical Context) from Florida Atlantic University, a M.A. in Anthropology and a M.A. in Ethnic Studies from U.C. Berkeley, a B.A. in Sociology from Binghamton University in New York, and a postgraduate Certificate in Chinese Philosophy and Culture from Fudan University in Shanghai.

Jamilia Grier

Dentons Global Advisors-ASG Fellow

Jamilia is a seasoned corporate and regulatory lawyer focusing on technology and data in the Asia Pacific region and the founder & CEO of ByteBao. She has led legal and compliance teams in-house at Fortune 500 companies in industries ranging from aerospace and defense to hospitality, to financial services. Her China experience includes international trade compliance, data protection, and cross-border data transfers. Her current involvement in China focuses on providing legal guidance on data and technology matters involving both inbound and outbound data flows.

Nathan Gwira

Cyber Policy Fellow

Nathan is a cybersecurity expert at CRDF Global with experience in cybersecurity from both technical and policy perspectives. At CRDF Global, Nathan has supported cyber-strategy, thought leadership, and cybersecurity-related security assistance growth efforts. Nathan previously worked as an analyst at Mandiant (now Google Cloud) and as a junior program analyst at the State Department. Nathan’s experience spans the areas of international security, foreign policy, and cybersecurity. Nathan received a B.A. from Rutgers University, a master’s certificate from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, and an M.A. from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Karl Jackson

International Trade Fellow

Karl Jackson is the Senior Operations Coordinator at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Beijing-Singapore office, Carnegie China. Previously, he served as the Curatorial Assistant for the Chinese Art Collection at The Cleveland Museum of Art. With extensive experience spanning over five years in international government and nonprofit operations, he is passionate about driving cross-cultural engagement, providing market entry advisory, and devising global organizational strategies. Karl received a B.A. in East Asian Studies, with a focus on Japanese, from Colgate University, and maintains full professional proficiency in Mandarin Chinese.

Jamel Mims

Public Diplomacy Fellow

Jamel Mims (MC Tingbudong) is a bilingual hip hop artist, multimedia storyteller, and activist with years of experience in Beijing’s hip hop scene. In 2008, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study hip hop culture in Beijing. In 2018, he was selected for Found Sound China, a state department funded program bringing American and Chinese producers together for a residency and collaborative tour. He has performed extensively, including at South by Southwest, China Week LA, Yue Space, and Modern Sky Music Festival. He is currently a Senior Fellow at USC Annenberg’s Innovation Lab, and advisor with the Bandung Residency. His work has been featured in The Nation, VICE, i_D magazine, Radii China, Goldthread and more.

Toochi Ngwangwa

Global Law Fellow

Toochi Ngwangwa is an International Trade Associate at Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, & Pittman. She focuses her practice on international trade and national security matters. She counsels foreign and domestic companies on cross-border transactions and regulatory matters, guides clients through CFIUS reviews and matters related to economic sanctions, export controls, and anti-corruption laws. Prior to joining Pillsbury, Toochi worked at another firm representing private equity sponsors in international trade, government contracts, and anti-money laundering. Toochi has advised multinational corporations based in the United States and in China and has worked within the United Nations Development Programme’s Beijing office and at General Electric’s D.C. office. Toochi is fluent in Mandarin, Chinese.

Tiffany Talbert

Fellow in Advanced Academics

Tiffany Talbert is a research analyst and linguist for the Department of Defense. Her professional background includes experience as a research associate at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), a Boren Fellow in Urumqi, China and Liu Xiaobo Fellow at CECC. She spent the majority of her early career as a multi-disciplined language analyst with the U.S. Department of Defense. Tiffany received an M.A. in Asian studies from Georgetown University, a B.A. in International Relations and French and an A.A. in Chinese Mandarin.

Rachel Washington

Global Public Affairs Fellow

Rachel Washington is a Foreign Service Officer in Muscat, Oman. She has served consular tours in Guangzhou, Chengdu (temporary assignment), Shanghai, Abuja, as well as consular and political tours in Washington, D.C. in the Office of Overseas Citizen Services and the Office of International Religious Freedom. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, Rachel lived in Kunming as an international student and later worked in international education in Xi’an for one year. She studied Mandarin at Yunnan Normal University and the University of Memphis. She earned a B.A. in Business from LeMoyne-Own College and an M.A. from American University in International Affairs: Comparative and Regional Asian Studies.

We are extremely grateful for our program sponsors, without whom this program would not be possible, and whose program support demonstrates their strong, active commitment to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The American Mandarin Society is dedicated to helping Americans develop and maintain their Chinese language skills, deepen their policy knowledge, and build the professional networks that allow them to engage in the vital work of strengthening U.S. competitiveness.