Stacey Scolinos is the Fall 2019 Communications Junior Fellow. She is a recent graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received her BA in Political Science and studied foreign languages.

Prior to her fellowship at the Pacific Council, Stacey interned with the Consulate General of France in Los Angeles in their Film and Television Department. In 2018, Stacey spent a quarter in Washington, D.C., where she interned for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and wrote a research thesis on a comparison of the gender wage gap in the United States and European Union.

Stacey is a Southern California native and hails from Claremont, the City of Trees and PhDs, and loves all things international. She looks forward to learning more languages and for now hopes to pursue an internationally focused career in communications.

We sat down with Stacey to learn more about her passion for international affairs.

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Fast Facts

Name: Stacey Scolinos

Department: Communications

Hometown: Claremont, CA 

College/University and major: UCLA, Political Science concentrating in International Relations

Languages spoken: French, Russian, and Spanish

Go-to source for interesting takes on what’s going on in the world: The New York Times, NPR

Areas of interest: International relations, the European Union, the gender wage gap, dark money

Fun fact: I can speak backwards!

What drew you to the Pacific Council?

I was excited to learn that an international organization that discusses key political issues was located on the West Coast. Even as a former political science major, I still struggle to keep up with all the numerous issues going on around the world, and the Pacific Council is an organization that strives to tackle these key issues for the West Coast community. As someone who wants to keep up with current knowledge in international affairs, the Pacific Council and its many events are engaging and drew me in instantly. The Pacific Council’s commitment to inclusivity was also a motivator for me become a Junior Fellow here. All too often, international affairs organizations can be exclusionary or do not have an influence in the communities whose problems they are discussing, so a change to this status quo was quite refreshing.

When did you first realize you had a passion for international affairs?

All things international from music to languages to cuisine interested me from a young age, and I grew up in a household with parents who were constantly discussing current events and international news. Given this, it was unsurprising that I was drawn to studying something international. However, I became especially motivated to pursue international relations after taking coursework with some of the best French language teachers I ever had during high school who would tell the class about their travels and the effects of politics in Europe, Africa, and Canada in particular. Since that time, I have been especially interested to learn more about political motivations and the interactions between various countries.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve done since starting at the Pacific Council?

In my first week as a fellow I had the opportunity to attend the PolicyWest conference where I heard and saw so many experts in the field of international affairs. My favorite talk focused on the rising power of China and the response of the United States to the evolution of this power dynamic. Hearing opinions from people in a wide range of industries from various political backgrounds was an eye-opening event, and a great way to get to know the Pacific Council team.

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The Pacific Council’s Junior Fellowship program offers students and recent graduates the unique opportunity to work alongside our staff of non-profit and foreign policy professionals. Learn more about the Junior Fellow program here.