IGE is pleased to welcome new staff to its team as we continue our work this fall. As IT/Web Program Officer, Anshu Khullar provides technical support and maintains the Institute’s website. Anshu completed high school in India and attended Adelphi University in New York. He was previously an application support, help desk, and communications engineer for a financial company; served as high-speed internet support person for a cable company; and ran help desk support for a cellular connections company. He lives with his family in Northern Virginia.

Kristen Lundquist joins IGE as its third Graduate Fellow for the 2009-2010 session. Graduate Fellows typically serve a particular program for 9 months while also contributing to IGE’s operations. They are full-time members of the IGE team and are encouraged to bring their expertise and education to bear on IGE’s program work. Kristen received a B.A. in Ancient History and a B.A. in Biblical Studies with an Ancient and Classical Languages minor from Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She recently obtained her M.A. degree in History from Eastern Illinois University in May, 2009. During these programs of study, Kristen performed an examination of both ancient and modern Middle Eastern history and language, specifically focusing on Egypt. Kristen has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, residing in Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. While in these countries, she had the opportunity to study Christian-Muslim relations and U.S.-Middle East foreign policy. Kristen plans to continue this course of study when she enters Hartford Seminary’s Islamic Studies graduate program in the fall of 2010.