Institute Staff

Gisela Sin is Professor of Political Science, with a courtesy appointment in Spanish and Portuguese, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she currently serves as Interim Executive Director of the Illinois Global Institute. She specializes in comparative political institutions, with a particular focus on the separation of powers, legislative organization, and executive-legislative relations in the Americas.

She is the author of Separation of Powers and Legislative Organization: The President, Senate, and Political Parties in the Making of House Rules (Cambridge University Press, 2015), winner of the American Political Science Association's Alan Rosenthal Prize for Best Book in Legislative Studies, and co-author of Congreso, Presidencia y Justicia en Argentina. Her article "The Line-Item Veto as a Coordination Mechanism" (Legislative Studies Quarterly, 2025, with Valeria Palanza and Evangelina Reynolds) received the 2026 Jewell-Loewenberg Prize for the best article in comparative legislative studies. Her work has also appeared in the Journal of Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Theoretical Politics Electoral Studies, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organizations, and other leading journals.

Sin holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She previously directed the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Illinois (2020–2024, 2025–2026) and founded the Women in Legislative Studies initiative. 

Maureen E. Marshall is the deputy director of the Illinois Global Institute. She leads efforts to build student experiences within IGI, supports IGI operations, leads IGI programming, and builds IGI connections. Prior to taking on this position she was the associate director at the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (REEEC). Maureen is also a research associate affiliate in anthropology and an associate director of Project ArAGATS. Her research focuses on the bioarchaeology and lived experiences of early complex polities and empires in the South Caucasus and Eurasia.

Katrina Chester is the assistant director of IGI and oversees all aspects of the Institute's operations. Prior to coming on board, she served as the grants and contracts specialist at Illinois International. In this position, she served as the primary contact in support of proposal writing, grant administration, and required reporting for Illinois International centers and programs. Before joining Illinois International, Katrina served as the outreach/program coordinator for the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (REEEC). She holds an MS in education from Indiana University and a BS in journalism from the University of Illinois.

Allyson Magno is the grants and fellowships coordinator for IGI. She completed her bachelor’s in speech and hearing science at the University of Illinois and then her master’s in speech pathology at the University of Iowa. Before joining IGI, she worked in the public schools, providing speech and language therapy services to students in grades pre-K to 12. Allyson manages and coordinates federal grants and gifts, including those associated with the U.S. Department of Education's National Resource Center (NRC) grant administration and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) undergraduate scholarship and graduate fellowship programs. She works with the IGI centers and programs, various departments, colleges, administration offices, and funding groups to ensure effective and efficient management of funds.

Sarah Pierson is an office support specialist for the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (REEEC) and the Program in Arms Control and Domestic & International Securities (ACDIS). Prior to her IGI position, Sarah was an executive chef, having spent over 20  years in various aspects throughout the food service industry. She is an alum, from the college of ACES – Food Science and Human Nutrition Program. Desiring a career shift that would afford her a new work-life balance, she was glad to assume her administrative role. Sarah is glad to work near the Quad, see all the changes that have happened to campus over the years, and looks forward to trying new campus restaurants (and some of her old favorites, of course!)

Maha Chahine is the Program Coordinator at the Illinois Global Institute. As a long-time resident of central Illinois, she brings a wealth of diverse professional experience spanning education, administration, business, and community engagement.

Rosa Pullen is an office support specialist for the Center for Global Studies (CGS) and the Center for East Asian & Pacific Studies (CEAPS). She assists with center events, programs, and business needs. Her interests include Korean language and culture and music composition. Currently, Rosa is working toward a BA in elementary education. 

Sam Ham is an office support specialist for the Center for African Studies and the Center for South Asian & Middle Eastern Studies. In his spare time, Sam likes to play basketball and travel to visit family and friends.

Joshua Williams is the accounting and operations associate for the Illinois Global Institute.

Rajinie Alexandre is an Office Support Specialist at IGI. 

Rebecca Barry is the inaugural Illinois Scholars at Risk program coordinator. Prior to moving to Champaign, she served as a digital learning subject matter expert and learning delivery specialist with the Yale School of Management's executive education team. Her projects included coordinating sustainability training for engineers across the U.S. and Europe, managing a global women’s entrepreneurial summit, and launching exec ed's flagship podcast, Long Life Learning. Before that, Rebecca spent seven years teaching in Shanghai, Brussels, and Connecticut. She holds an MA in English from the University of Virginia and a BA in English from St. Olaf College.