Kate Alonso (Research Fellow) is an MA student with the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studies the impact of rapid digital mass mobilization in youth movements and its impact on political memory and civil society in Indonesia during the post-reformasi era. Most recently, Kate taught a course on the politics of human rights at UW-Madison as a lecturer, and continues to develop curriculum for future courses. She has worked extensively with human rights NGOs in both Indonesia and the US, monitoring and reviewing on-going humanitarian crises across Southeast Asia, and studied at the University of Malang from 2024-2025 as a Boren Scholar focusing on Indonesian language and culture studies.
SKILLS
- Languages: Indonesian (Advanced Working Proficiency), French (Limited Proficiency)
- Technical Skills: Microsoft Office, Google Suites, Canvas Course Creation, Canva, Adobe Photoshop, Clio Legal
Software - Involvement: Literacy Network Citizenship Teaching Assistant, President and Instructor of Synthesis Dance
Company, Historian of Arabic Honors Society, ESL Tutor
Education
- B.S. International Affairs – Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
- B.A. Philosophy, Minor in French – Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
- Global Citizenship Certificate – Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
- U.S. National Intelligence Studies Certificate – Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
- M.A. Southeast Asian Studies – University of Wisconsin – Madison
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Lecturer Student Assistant, IS434 The Politics of Human Rights – The International Division, UW-Madison, January 2026 – Present
- Graduate Teaching Assistant, PS347 Terrorism – Department of Political Science, UW-Madison, August 2025 – December 2025
- Research and Policy Intern – Asia Justice and Rights, Jakarta, Indonesia, June 2023 – August 2023
- Educational Outreach Coordinator – FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, Tallahassee, Florida, August 2023 – May 2024
- Legal Case Aide – FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, Tallahassee, Florida, September 2022 – May 2024
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
- David L. Boren Scholarship Awardee (2024)
- Summer Studies Fellow Recipient, USINDO (2024)
- Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society (2024)
- Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society (2024)
- Summer Human Rights Fellow, FSU CAHR (2023)
o Human rights monitoring in Southeast Asia and the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Boren Southeast Asian Language Flagship Initiative (SEAFLI) – Indonesian – Universitas Negeri Malang, August 2024 – May 2025
- Summer Internship: Jakarta, Indonesia – Asia Justice and Rights, June 2023 – August 2023
- ‘First Year Abroad’: London, England – Florida State University, London, August 2019 – March 2020