Meet DFP Spring Fellow, Devyn Escalanti, University of Central Florida

The APSA Diversity Fellows Program (DFP) is a fellowship competition for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds applying to or in the early stages of doctoral programs in political science. The DFP was established in 1969 (originally as the Black Graduate Fellowship) to increase the number of minority scholars in the discipline. Since its inception, the APSA DFP has designated more than 600 fellows and contributed to the successful completion of doctoral political science programs for over 100 individuals.

Devyn Escalanti is a PhD student studying security studies at the University of Central Florida. Devyn received a bachelor’s degree in global studies and a master’s degree in political science from UCF. She also worked as a research intern for One Earth Future, where she was on a team that promoted co-management fisheries systems among governments and local communities in the Horn of Africa and Somalia. Her research intersects the fields of political science, epidemiology, and geographic information systems to assess the impacts of non-traditional security threats on social and political outcomes from a comparative perspective. Currently, she is working towards her dissertation evaluating the implications of novel infectious pathogens on violent conflict in sub-Saharan Africa. Devyn aims to be a senior researcher in the public health sector, where she can advance contemporary research for future public health initiatives.