Jordan Laura Gouws-Dewar is a fifth 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. She has also served on the College Park Redistricting Commission as Vice-Chair. In her free time, she enjoys baking cakes and other pastries.