Alonna Despain is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Public Policy. Her research interests focus on policy applications of the UN Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, gender and climate security, and environmental peacebuilding.

Prior to her doctoral studies, Alonna served as a Program Officer for the Middle East and North Africa for the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders where she worked on WPS policy applications in Lebanon and Yemen. She has also held positions with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United States Department of State in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Consulate General of Canada New York, and a plethora of civil society organizations. Additionally, Alonna spent a year in public social studies education.

Alonna is a native of Oklahoma. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Area Studies with minors in history and Arabic from the University of Oklahoma, and a Master of Science in Global Affairs in International Human Rights and Law from New York University.