YCAPS, in partnership with the East-West Center, is excited to announce the outstanding individuals selected for the second cohort of the Maritime GENIE (Governance Expanded Network for Innovation and Education) program. This dynamic group of emerging scholars, hailing from multiple countries, brings diverse perspectives and fresh ideas to enhance maritime governance across the Indo-Pacific region.
Over the next year, participants will engage in a series of online and in-person workshops designed to strengthen their skills in policy development, leadership, and innovation. A key highlight of the program is a workshop in Yokosuka, Japan, where participants will take part in hands-on activities, site visits, and collaborative exercises. Upon completion of the program, each participant will publish a practical briefing aimed at informing policymakers and key maritime stakeholders.
Let’s meet the cohort:
Genevieve Donnellon-May (Australia)
Genevieve Donnellon-May is a scholar interested in regional resource governance (land, energy, water) and environmental conflict in Asia. Currently, she is the Asia-Pacific analyst at The Red Line, a Fellow at the Indo-Pacific Studies Center, and a researcher at the Oxford Global Society. Genevieve is also a 2023 CSIS Pacific Young Leader, an Australia-China Emerging Leader, and a 2023 Yenching Scholar. She was shortlisted by the Young Australians in International Affairs as one of the 2023 Young Women to Watch. Genevieve holds an MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management from the University of Oxford, and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) and a Diploma of Languages from the University of Melbourne. She has held positions at Young Australians in International Affairs Climate Fellow, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Rubiat Saimum (Bangladesh)
Rubiat Saimum is a graduate student of the department of political science at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He has previously worked as a lecturer in the Department of Maritime Security and Strategic Studies at BSMR Maritime University, Bangladesh and a researcher at Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development (BIMRAD). He is a Junior Research Fellow at NATO Association of Canada, a non-resident fellow at Indo-Pacific Studies Centre and South Asian Future Fellow at Council for Strategic and Defense Research (CSDR). He is also a young leader at Pacific Forum. His policy pieces have appeared in the East Asia Forum, International Policy Digest, Dhaka Tribune, Asia Times, and Modern Diplomacy. His peer-reviewed articles have been featured in China Report, Australian Journal of Maritime and Ocean Affairs, and the Journal of Bangladesh and Global Affairs. His core research interests are Regional Security Complexes, Maritime Security and governance, and South Asian regional politics.
Paul Chamberlain (Canada)
Mr. Paul Chamberlain is a PhD candidate at the Australian National University, in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre and Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs. His research topic is the role of sea power in statecraft in contemporary East Asia, with the case studies of Australia, Japan, and Singapore. He worked for the Government of Canada for over fifteen years in a variety of Defense, Security, and Intelligence positions. Between 2018-2021 he was the first civilian Policy Advisor to the Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) responsible for providing guidance on domestic and international issues affecting the navy as well as maintaining the strategic direction of RCN global activities. Immediately before starting his Doctoral studies, Mr. Chamberlain worked in the Directorate of Indo-Pacific Policy and was the lead for Canada’s Defence relations with states in Southeast Asia and ASEAN.
Aaron Magunna (Germany)
Aaron Magunna is a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland and a Research Associate at the Second Cold War Observatory. He has also previously worked as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. His research focuses primarily on how India and Japan respond to China–US competition by adapting their security, trade and technology policies. Aaron holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies and a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and worked in the think tank sector before re-entering academia. His research has been published in outlets such as the Australian Journal of International Affairs, the Lowy Institute’s Interpreter, and the Australian National University’s East Asia Forum.
Abhimanyu Singh (India)
Commander Abhimanyu Singh is a serving officer in Indian Navy's JAG Branch and currently holds the position of Judge Advocate (Naval Operations) at Naval Headquarters in New Delhi. In his current role, he is responsible for addressing the operational aspects of International Maritime Law and International Humanitarian Law from a naval perspective. Additionally, he has undertaken instructional duties on these issues for maritime forces of various nations. He has undergone training with Australian Defence Forces (Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law, Sydney), UN (Regional Course on International Law, Thailand) and has participated in various International Conferences as a speaker. Cdr Singh is currently pursuing a PhD on the topic of “Maritime and Naval Autonomous Systems: A Study of Governance & Regulatory Framework” and is an avid Polo player.
Sayed Fauzan Riyadi (Indonesia)
Sayed Fauzan Riyadi is an associate professor and Executive Director of the Center for Southeast Asia and Border Management Studies, UMRAH. Dr. Riyadi obtained his doctoral degree in International Relations from Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia. His main research areas are maritime security governance, international politics, and local politics in Indonesia, primarily Riau Islands Province. Dr. Riyadi currently serves Secretary General of the Indonesian Association of International Relations (AIHII).
Yuki Bito (Japan)
Captain Yuki Bito is a Japan Maritime Self-Defense (JMSDF) officer. She served as an aide to Administrative Vice-Minister of Ministry of Defense (MOD), a foreign liaison officer at Maritime Staff Office (MSO), a staff member of Defense Intelligence Headquarters (DIH), and a faculty member of the Maritime Command and Staff College in Tokyo. In the US, she served as a liaison officer/military professor at the U.S. Naval War College for four years. She newly established Information Warfare education at JMSDF 2nd Service School in 2023. Also, she has been appointed as a chief of Strategic Research Office at JMSDF Command and Staff College. She attended Sophia University, earning a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemistry (1996). She also attended the National Defense Academy of Japan, in Yokosuka, Japan, and holds a Master of Security Studies in International Security (2009), and holds PhD in International Security Studies, Takushoku University (2022). Her dissertation examined Chinese Military Intervention by rethinking deterrence theory.
Ivy Marie Ganadillo (the Philippines)
Ivy Ganadillo is a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at Ewha Womans University, South Korea. With over 13 years of experience, she has worked as a research analyst, academic lecturer, and program manager across sectors, including the Philippine Navy, Pacific Forum International, Ateneo de Manila University, and the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Her research focuses on maritime security, Philippines-China relations, ocean governance, and East Asian security dynamics. She has participated in several maritime and ocean-related trainings, such as the International Ocean Institute-Germany and Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research Monsoon School (2023), the Blue Security Program Singapore Workshop (2023), the Yeosu Academy of the Law of the Sea (2021), and the China-ASEAN Academy on Ocean Law and Governance (2018). Currently, she serves as a consulting analyst in Regional Relations and Policy Studies for a US-based firm. Ivy holds a master’s degree in Asian studies with a specialization in China and a bachelor's degree in Political Science focusing on International Relations.
De Xian Chong (Singapore)
De Xian is an Associate Research Fellow with the Maritime Security Program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. He holds a MSc in International Relations from RSIS, and a BA (Hons) in History from Nanyang Technological University. His research interests include the future of maritime security in ASEAN, with particular emphasis on the region’s naval and coast guard affairs, maritime cooperation and confidence-building measures in the Asia-Pacific, as well as great and middle power engagement and competition in Southeast Asia. Prior to joining RSIS, he served as a naval officer with the Republic of Singapore Navy. De Xian is also a member of the Pacific Forum Young Leaders Program.
Justin Rhee (USA)
Justin Rhee is a professional staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources. He handles the Insular Affairs portfolio, which covers issues relating to the U.S. territories in the Pacific and Caribbean, as well as the Freely Associated States. He was among the primary staffers supporting the Committee on Natural Resource’s Indo-Pacific Task Force and helped ensure the successful passage of the legislation renewing the Compacts of Free Association with the Freely Associated States.
Ngoc Minh Trang Pham (Vietnam)
Pham Ngoc Minh Trang is a research fellow at the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law, based in Heidelberg, Germany. Her work at the Max Planck Foundation includes delivering capacity-building workshops on the law of the sea topics for officials from the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). Previously, she was a lecturer at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, part of Viet Nam National University. Trang was also a Fulbright visiting scholar at New York University in 2019 and a Nippon fellow at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in 2015. Her research and publications primarily focus on dispute settlement mechanisms in the law of the sea, with a particular emphasis on resolutions for the South China Sea disputes, and ocean governance in the Indo-Pacific region.
Support for the program is generously provided by the East-West center via their RICE Partnership Program. Media inquiries can be directed to Isak Nordenberg (isak.nordenberg@ycaps.org).