Cornelius Sanford
International Affairs: Comparative and Regional St (MA)
Degrees
American University School of International Service - M.A. International Affairs Candidate
University of Louisville - B.A. Psychology and Pan-African Studies
Bio
Cornelius Sanford was born in Houston, TX but grew up across rural Kentucky. He attended the University of Louisville and double majored in Psychology and Pan-African Studies. As a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar, he focused on social justice work and community engagement. Cornelius interned for Kentucky Refugee Ministries and Americana, helping resettle refugee families into the Louisville community. He also studied abroad in the Dominican Republic and South Africa, where he studied race relations, community development, and activism. In addition, Cornelius attended the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Program at UC Berkeley as a Law Fellow.
Cornelius is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Madagascar. His primary work was Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) educator, but he also facilitated various public health awareness campaigns and sports workshops in his village. After Peace Corps, Cornelius returned to South Africa to conduct policy research, writing recommendations to the Western Cape Government on increasing economic development and community resiliency across Cape Flats townships.
As a 2022 Charles B. Rangel Fellow, Cornelius completed a congressional internship in the Office of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, where his profile consisted of national security and foreign policy matters. He then completed an internship at Embassy Kingston in the Pol/Econ section. Cornelius collaborated with U.S. and Jamaican law enforcement agencies to investigate Jamaican financial scamming operations that target U.S. citizens and wrote policy recommendations to enhance security and economic stability within U.S.-Jamaica relations.
Cornelius is enrolled in the Comparative Regional Studies program at American University’s School of International Affairs. His concentration is Political Economy and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cornelius will join the Foreign Service as a political officer upon completing his degree.
