Jessica Bissett joined the National Committee in September 2011 after receiving her M.S. in Global Affairs from New York University. While at NYU, Jessica was a research associate on a team of students that developed future scenarios focusing on what China, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine might look like in 2020 based on their current political, economic, social and demographic trends. Additionally, as an intern at Patricia Lynch Associates, she spearheaded the creation of an East Asia desk and worked on various projects at the firm’s office in Panama City, Panama.

Prior to studying at NYU, Ms. Bissett spent the summer of 2008 at Middlebury College’s prestigious Chinese Language School studying Mandarin. She originally began learning Chinese at Bucknell University, as a part of her double major in International Relations and East Asian Studies, and further studied the language in Beijing for six months while abroad. She graduated from Bucknell, summa cum laude, in 2005.