CONTEXT OF ISLANDS

Pasquines is a nonprofit news organization, led and run by volunteers, dedicated to ending the insularity between the United States and its territories.

We believe that the United States territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands, are needlessly absent from national conversations involving politics, policy, design, and innovation. At the same time, local discussions negate the impact that federal issues have on life in these jurisdictions. That is why we are focused on bringing local issues to the national conversation, and national issues to local consideration. In the face of a challenging environment for journalism, we seek to pioneer innovative news publishing that is focused on rising students and journalists; raise awareness of the existence and conditions of the territories; and inspire inclusion of these citizens in all critical considerations. With ardent tenacity to eradicate the insularity between the nation and the territories, we publish the context of islands.

Creative Commons License
The work by Pasquines is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

LEADERSHIP
William-José Vélez González

William-José Vélez González

Editor in Chief

William-José Vélez González is a native from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and a graduate from Florida International University in biomedical engineering, engineering management, with a minor in international relations. He served as the national executive vice president of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association for 5 years. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works at the National Congress of American Indians and runs Opsin, a nonprofit design studio dedicated to making design more accessible. He is the founder and Editor in Chief of Pasquines.
POSTS
Daniel Ziebarth

Daniel Ziebarth

Economic Affairs Assistant Editor

Dan Ziebarth is a senior Political Science major at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is interested in research and advocacy pertaining to economic policy, financial sustainability, and educational policy, and is currently writing his thesis on economic retrospective voting. Dan is currently applying to graduate schools to pursue a graduate degree in either public policy or finance. When not in class or at work, Dan enjoys playing and watching sports, exploring the outdoors, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Holger Droessler

Holger Droessler

American Samoa Affairs Associate Editor

Born in Germany, Holger Droessler earned a PhD in American Studies from Harvard University in 2015. He is an Assistant Professor of History at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. A historian of 19th- and 20th-century US history, he studies colonialism, capitalism, and the Pacific Ocean. His current book project, Coconut Colonialism: Workers and the Globalization of Samoa, argues that the globalization of Samoa at the turn of the 20th century was driven by a diverse group of working people on and off the islands. Holger is an American Samoa Affairs Editor at Pasquines.

POSTS
Aras Troy

Aras Troy

Political Affairs Associate Editor

Aras Troy is a US Army veteran and journalist and based in Washington, DC. He studies Global Affairs at George Mason University and Economics at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Troy has worked in the US territories as well as internationally in Europe and Korea in national defense, humanitarian disaster relief, and archaeology. He is a Political Affairs Associate Editor at Pasquines.
POSTS
OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT
Ibukun Amosu

Ibukun Amosu

Human Resources & Recruitment Assistant Director

Ibukun is currently a student at Bestower International University Benin Republic, pursuing a degree in human resources management. He has led a non-profit organization, The Dominion Foundation steering the cause of providing a conducive environment free from health issues. Passionate about people development, he led HR related projects in a human capacity development and social enterprise supporting organizations discover their unique sustainability. Outside of work, he loves music and enjoys hanging out with friends.
Stephenie Glisson

Stephenie Glisson

Human Resources & Recruitment Senior Coordinator

Stephenie Glisson was born in Panama City, Panama, and moved to Colorado at a very young age. She is currently a student at Colorado State University-Global Campus, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in human resource management. Stephenie received her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 2012. Aside from being an intern and full-time student, Stephenie enjoys being with her family and her two cats.
Brian Gibson

Brian Gibson

Web Design & Development Coordinator

Brian Gibson is a Californian by birth and a Buckeye by choice graduating with a degree in Finance from The Ohio State University. Outside of work Brian enjoys traveling to experience different cultures. He currently resides in Washington, DC.
FUNDRAISING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT