Jordan Laura Gouws-Dewar is a third year PhD student in the Department of Government and Politics with a focus on comparative politics and methods. She has a B.A. in Political Science, a B.S. in Economics, and a certification in the study of advanced military technology and innovation from the University of Pennsylvania. Her areas of interest include the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, national identity, and civil and ethnic conflict. In addition, Jordan is interested in building networks using social media data and studying and using machine learning. Prior to joining the department, Jordan worked for the Penn Wharton Public Policy Initiative on Capitol Hill as a research assistant on automation, cryptocurrency, and trade regulation. She has also served on the College Park Redistricting Commission as Vice-Chair and is proficient in English, Spanish, Albanian, and Bosnian. In her free time, she enjoys baking cakes and other pastries.