Japhet Quitzon is an associate fellow with the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). His research interests include disinformation as it affects international democratic institutions, the intersection of trade and digital privacy, and the evolving role of the Philippines in Indo-Pacific security. His work has featured in The Diplomat, Asia Global Online, and Cambridge University Press, and he is a young leader with the Pacific Forum. Before joining CSIS, he was a research assistant with Dr. Sophal Ear at Occidental College. He received his bachelor’s degree in international relations with a minor in East Asian studies from Connecticut College.

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Mr. Philip Alegre is a Manila-based geopolitical analyst and Young Leader of Pacific Forum. He was among the 2022 cohort of the 2022 US-Philippines Next Generation Leaders in Security Initiative. He is a graduate of Political Science and holds a Master’s degree in International Studies from the University of the Philippines.

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Patrick Mansujeto is a graduate student of history with research focus on aviation and naval history. He is a member of the Young Leaders Program of the Pacific Forum

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Alynna Carlos is the Communications Branch Chief of the Presidential Office for Maritime Concerns. In her current role, she also works with the National Maritime Council of the Philippines.

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Jeff Otto coordinates Pacific Forum’s Young Leaders Program and next-gen engagements. He is an alumnus of the Master’s in Asian International Affairs (MAIA) program at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM). Prior to joining Pacific Forum, Jeff was a Research Fellow at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI-APCSS).

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Rocco Cartusciello is a recent graduate of Georgetown’s Master’s in Asian Affairs and focuses on Southeast Asian affairs and foreign policy. He is a current Young Leader with Pacific Forum

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Michal Aamaas Aurstad is the vice-lead coordinator of The Manila Dialogue on the South China Sea. He is Young Leader at Pacific Forum Young Leaders Program and International Relations student at Tokyo International University and Research assistant at Asia Maritime Index. His research interests revolve around US alliances, maritime security, and the South China Sea disputes.

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Ms. Kie Kang is a PhD student in Graduate Schools for Law and Politics and Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo. She had a M.A. in Graduate School of Public Policy at University of Tokyo. Previously, she was selected as an Asan Young Fellow in the Asan Academy, which was a special fellowship program to train future leaders of Korea with an understanding of humanities and knowledge across various disciplines run by Asan Institute for Policy Studies and the Asan Nanum Foundation. Through this fellowship, she was an intern at Hudson Institute, focused on the trilateral relations among the U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea. Prior to joining Hudson Institute and Asan Academy, she joined and focused on East Asian security as an intern at Asia Pacific Initiative, which is a Tokyo-based think-tank. Ms. Kang completed her B.A. in international politics at Keio University.

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Kar Lok Pang is a public communications generalist in the Singapore government’s Information Service. He has worked in media analytics and sensing for the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, and is currently curating online communications in the Prime Minister’s Office. As an ASEAN young professional, Kar Lok is passionate about contributing towards a rebalancing of how US-China relations come to bear on the region.

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