Abbie Zislis is a second-year J.D./M.S. in Foreign Service dual-degree candidate concentrating in Global Politics and Security. She is from Denver, Colorado and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Political Science and minors in History and Spanish. Before Georgetown, Abbie lived in southern Mexico and worked on the La 72 Migrant Shelter’s legal team, where she handled asylum cases. Abbie also spent time in Medellín, Colombia, where she researched organized crime and Central American security policy for InSight Crime, an investigative think tank.

At Georgetown, Abbie has interned with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy team. She is a member of the Global Law Scholars program. Abbie is fluent in Spanish and is interested in international human rights and security, with a focus on Latin America. She enjoys hiking, salsa dancing, and pickup soccer.

“I chose MSFS for its public service ethos, its tightly-knit community, and its access to world-class practitioners.”