Kaitlynn Cherry (Pardee ’27, BA International Relations & Affairs and Chinese) has been awarded a fellowship to participate in the 2026 APEC Youth Engagement Workshop, organized by the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston on behalf of the Taiwan Ministry of Education. Each APEC member economy is permitted to nominate just two participants, with Cherry being nominated by Professor Min Ye and will be representing the United States in the workshop taking place in Taipei, Taiwan in late June/early July.

Kaitlynn Cherry (Pardee ’27)

Cherry’s selection is closely tied to her ongoing research at Pardee. She currently holds a UROP under the guidance of Research Professor Jessica Stern, where she and a co-researcher examine how violent extremist groups, specifically nihilistic violent extremists, use social media platforms and AI, with a focus on the United States. That work has positioned her well for the conversations APEC member economies are increasingly having about related issues, such as child exploitation online, investment in emerging technologies, and the governance of AI. At the workshop, Cherry will participate in group discussions and present a proposal addressing an economic challenge facing one of the member countries, giving her a chance to bring her research expertise into a live diplomatic setting.

The timing of the fellowship is significant. Cherry was recently accepted to the Pardee Honors Program, where her thesis will extend her current research into Southeast Asia — a regional focus that maps directly onto the APEC context. “These groups know no borders, and our children need to be protected,” she writes, noting that the workshop will thread the needle between her functional track in foreign policy and security studies and her regional focus on Asia. She hopes the experience will deepen her understanding of the global technology landscape, the role of emerging tech as a lever of economic diplomacy, and how multilateral forums like APEC actually function in practice.

Cherry’s path to this fellowship has been shaped by a distinctive combination of academic research and policy advocacy. For the past two years, she has served as policy lead for Design It For Us, a US youth coalition focused on holding big tech accountable for online safety. In that role, she has testified in support of Age Appropriate Design Code legislation in Vermont and helped secure a significant win in Massachusetts by rallying support to urge Representative Trahan to reconsider AI preemption, an effort that led directly to a meeting with the congresswoman. She has also worked with Cortico, an AI company at the MIT Media Lab, on a collaborative project comparing coastal climate narratives on the East and West Coasts, and served as Vice President of BU’s International Affairs Association. This summer, she will join the City of Boston’s Digital Equity team to work on youth and parent education around online safety.

Cherry credits Pardee’s faculty and advisors, including Lt Gen Jack Weinstein, Professor Ye, and Dr. Stern , with creating the environment that made opportunities like this one possible. “Every single professor and advisor has just been so kind,” she writes. “Even if you show just a little bit of interest in a topic they’re an expert in, they are willing to give you the world and the space in their classroom to pursue your interest.” It is a generosity of time and mentorship, she says, that has given her the confidence to take risks, pursue unconventional questions, and now carry that work onto an international stage.

Congratulations to Kaitlynn on this accomplishment!