Joe Martin is a former graduate research fellow for Vandenberg Coalition. He received an M.A. in U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), from American University’s School of International Service (SIS). While at SIS, Joe researched China’s growing influence in LAC and its use of foreign direct investment to chip away at Taiwan’s diplomatic relations with countries in LAC. Joe recently finished his capstone report with a team of five other master’s candidates on U.S. Policy Options to Counter Democratic Backsliding in Central America, with a focus on Guatemala. He briefed the Department State Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and USAID Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean on his team’s report.
While with the Vandenberg Coalition, Joe drafted letters to Congress on the security and humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan, the global supply of fentanyl, and the Origin of Covid Report by researching biased reporting that dismissed the theory that Covid originated from a lab in Wuhan China.
Joe is now a Staff Assistant for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HFAC) under Chairman Michael McCaul. He finds Congress’s role in foreign policy making and oversight interesting and fulfilling and values the responsibility immensely. Prior to becoming a staff assistant, he interned for HFAC, Representative Mark Green, and Senator Ben Sasse. In his free time Joe enjoys swimming, reading, watching spy thrillers, and travelling.