“In a world that so often decries the apathy of its youth, we can open our arms for the millions … eager to contribute their new ideas and bounding enthusiasm.”
— Nelson Mandela
Meet the team
Founded in 2022 at Duke University — the only school in the American South with a sister campus in the Global South, Duke Kunshan University — the editorial board of Nexus brings together passionate and thoughtful global citizens from around the world and across disciplines, from history and economics to engineering and data science.
Nexus is entirely student-led, which means we’re dedicated to the philosophy of being by undergraduates, for undergraduate-led research.
Get to know our editorial board below — informed by diverse faculty worldwide who are invested in the success of the next generation of Global South scholars.
NINO NADIRASHVILI
CO-FOUNDER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NEXUS
SOUTH-NORTH SCHOLARS CO-DIRECTOR
-
I’m a Kunshan Government Scholar at Duke Kunshan University from Tbilisi, Georgia, studying political economy and political science. Coming from a post-soviet country has been central to developing my interest in political and economic systems, and questions about the inherent inequities in our world. As Editor-in-Chief of Nexus, the world’s first undergraduate journal dedicated to Global South research, I’m passionate about fostering critical thinking and exploring decolonial perspectives on international political economy, history, and social movements. Please get in touch if you’re interested in serving as a fellow editor and working together to bridge the opportunity gap for undergraduates to pursue academic research!
CHARLIE ZONG
FOUNDING DIRECTOR, SOUTH-NORTH SCHOLARS
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER, NEXUS
CO-FOUNDER
-
I’m a Robertson Scholar at Duke University studying philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE) while pursuing a MicroMasters in Data, Economics, and Development Policy from MIT. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, where the American South meets the Global South, I saw intimately how the profound challenges my local community faced also impacted people around the world. In college, my search for systematic explanations and answers to these challenges led me on a journey through sociology, history, economics, philosophy, data science, and innovation studies. Along the way I’ve had many intellectual mentors, and for me, Nexus is one way to pay forward their wisdom.
Michelle Schultze
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER, NEXUS ISSUE I & II
-
I am a junior at Duke University studying Economics, Political Science, and the Russian language. With the extreme income, education, and opportunity disparities in my hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, I sought educational pathways to locate solutions for real, lasting, and systemic change. Growing up in the Greek-American community, I also grew passionate about immigrant rights and involving local voices in conversations about aid. I seek to center narratives from the Global South and underrepresented communities in discussions about US foreign policy — leading an expansion of Borderless Magazine for the 2023-24 cycle and co-founding the Abdullah Antepli fellowship for the Alexander Hamilton Society. My primary involvement with South-North Scholars is through arts outreach and graphic design. As a board member for Nexus Journal, I enjoy working on layout and editorial aspects in order to lend the best possible platform to our student voices.
JOSHUA SUH
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER, NEXUS ISSUE I
-
I’m a QuestBride Scholar at Duke University from Atlanta, Georgia studying Public Policy and French with a particular interest in the intersections between front-line, shorter-term humanitarian action with longer-term disaster resiliency against a wide range of humanitarian crises in the Global South.
I seek to augment my professional interests with sustainable development experiences spanning diverse roles, organizations, and geographies. I’ve worked in the offices of a large NGO in France, held advocacy roles with a political organization in the United States, and launched an insect-agriculture NGO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Amanda Niza Gonzalez Mejia
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER, NEXUS ISSUE I & II
-
Hey! I'm a Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar at Duke Kunshan University studying Political Economy and Public Policy. Hailing from Caracas, Venezuela, and later immigrating to Washington DC, international political and economic relations have long characterized my dinner table conversations. I first became involved in international initiatives by founding an Amnesty International chapter in my high school, later becoming Virginia Student Action Coordinator. I'm particularly passionate about international economic policy and its effects on Latin American internal politics, decolonizing law and policy frameworks, and sustainable financial development in the Global South. As a board member, I predominantly focus on outreach with scholars around the world, and any/all who have something to say. Through Nexus, I hope to provide a platform to amplify Global South voices and widen perspectives (including my own).
Cody Schmidt
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER, NEXUS ISSUE I & II
-
I’m a junior at Duke Kunshan University majoring in Environmental Science and Public Policy. I grew up in America primarily between the states of South Carolina, Oregon, and California. This allowed me to experience different economic, political, and cultural systems in my own country. Through this, I developed an interest in comparative politics, the expression of collective identities, and spatial inequities, while widening my lens to an international perspective. I am currently a part of research projects at the University examining international democratic participation and degrowth movements in the Global South, respectively. These have led me to Nexus, where I am looking forward to interacting with scholars across the globe as we examine what it means to live in a globalizing world.
MAXWELL SIMBUWA
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER, NEXUS ISSUE I
-
I'm a Robertson Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pursuing a major in Anthropology and a certificate in Documentary Studies. Having taken part, from age 10, in human rights advocacy at many levels and having experienced the aid economy firsthand in my home country of Zambia, I have developed an undying interest in global issues.
I'm very passionate about what it means for global south nations and their peoples to exist in a globalising world with the respect and dignity so often not afforded to them. With South-North Scholars, and particularly Nexus, I'm excited to reimagine sustainable development and contribute to decolonial discourse on the world and its systems, especially those of oppression.
WORK WITH US
Interested in co-leading the world’s first undergraduate journal on Global South research, as part of our editorial board?
Take 10 minutes to fill out the form below today, and we’ll be in touch.
