Perry World House announced its cohort of visiting fellows for the 2025-26 academic year.
Each year, PWH — Penn’s primary center for global affairs — invites scholars and policy experts to visit campus and discuss world issues. Through workshops, guest lectures, and feedback on academic research, the fellows link tangible policymaking with Penn's academic goals.
“The Distinguished Visiting Fellows Program began as a way to bring some of the biggest and most influential names in global policymaking to Perry World House and Penn so that we could begin to integrate our ideas into their work and vice versa,” PWH Faculty Director Michael Horowitz wrote in the announcement.
Horowitz added that "over time, the program has continued this trajectory and solidified Perry World House’s place on the global stage," noting several major global policy events including the Munich Security Conference and annual United Nations Conference of the Parties.
The announcement also detailed the fellows' responsibilities, including participation in conferences and meetings with students.
The 17 fellows have diverse backgrounds and interests ranging from foreign policy and journalism to public health and disaster preparedness. Among the cohort are Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard and former German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck.
Callamard serves as the Secretary General at Amnesty International, leading its human rights initiatives and guiding the organization’s relations with other national entities. As a renowned presence in the human rights space, Callamard was also the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary, or arbitrary killings, and the Director of Global Freedom of Expression at Columbia University.
Jyotsna Puri also specializes in international affairs and was similarly named a 2025-26 fellow. Beyond the Penn community, Puri works as an expert in climate finance and international development. She has previously served as the Assistant Secretary General at the United Nations and led the independent evaluation office at the Green Climate Fund.
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At the United Nations Environment Programme, Puri advocates for transparent and trustworthy markets and public policy decisions internationally.
Satoshi Ezoe, the Senior Assistant Minister for Global Health at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, will also join PWH this year. As a health diplomat and medical officer, Ezoe's career has spanned work in universal health insurance systems, mental health, and infectious diseases crisis management.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ezoe directed the Global Health Policy Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he engaged in global health strategies and diplomacy for institutions such as the WHO and the Global Fund.
Jason Edwards, who was also included in this year’s cohort, serves as National Geographic’s natural history photographer, with an extensive image portfolio of wildlife and other environmental subjects. Edwards’ work has been included in publications from Sports Illustrated to The New Yorker, and he has been commissioned for environmental campaigns and Hollywood projects.
Edwards has also won multiple awards for his photography, including the Eureka Prize for Science Photography, Communications Art Photography Annual, and the Australian Geographic Society Pursuit of Excellence Award.
The new cohort also features Vox senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp, former Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Kelley Currie, and Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habeck.
“We are delighted to welcome such a knowledgeable and accomplished group of experts to this year’s Distinguished Visiting Fellows cohort,” PWH Executive Director Marie Harf wrote. “Their presence on campus and at our events around the world are truly one of the most important pieces of what we do at Perry World House.”
