Fellows Research Spotlight: Meet Kellogg Visiting Fellows and PhD Candidates

Please join the Kellogg Institute in our annual tradition that introduces research of our new Visiting Fellows and selected PhD candidates in an informative and inviting atmosphere.
- Learn firsthand why Kellogg has invested in the work of these fellows from brief, two-minute research overview presentations in the Hesburgh Center Auditorium
- Delve deeper into research that interests you during an informal poster reception in the Hesburgh Center Great Hall following the Auditorium presentations
- Connect one-to-one with scholars and potential collaborators while you enjoy refreshments and conversation
Click below on individuals' names to learn more about our Visiting Fellows and selected PhD Candidates and their projects.

Katherine Bersch
Kellogg Visiting Fellow Katherine Bersch is the Nancy Akers and J. Mason Wallace Assistant Professor of Political Science at Davidson College. She is also an investigator with The Governance Project at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. Her research focuses on democratic quality in developing countries, with an emphasis on governance reform and state capacity in Latin America...
Alejandro Bonvecchi
Kellogg Visiting Fellow Alejandro Bonvecchi is an ordinary assistant professor at Torcuato Di Tella University in Buenos Aires, where he is also Director of the Program on Electoral and Legislative Studies, and an Independent Researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)...
Natália Bueno
Kellogg Institute Visiting Fellow Natália S. Bueno is an assistant professor of political science at Emory University. Her research interests are in comparative politics, public policy, elections, misinformation, and inequality...
Vladimir Chlouba
Kellogg Institute Visiting Fellow Vladimir Chlouba recently completed his doctorate in the Department of Political Science at the Ohio State University. His major field of study is comparative politics with particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa and political methodology...
Malu A. C. Gatto
Kellogg Institute Visiting Fellow Malu A. C. Gatto is associate professor of Latin American politics at the Institute of the Americas at University College London (UCL). Her work explores questions about the gendered dynamics of political behavior, representation, and policymaking, with a regional focus on Latin America, especially Brazil...
Margarita López-Maya
Kellogg Visiting Fellow Margarita López Maya is an historian and emeritus professor-researcher with the Center for Development Studies at Universidad Central de Venezuela (CENDES-UCV). Currently she also serves as president of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA). López Maya’s research delves into the contemporary socio-historical and sociopolitical processes of Latin America, particularly in Venezuela...
Vitor Martins Dias
Formerly a practicing lawyer, Kellogg Visiting Fellow Vitor Dias has just completed his PhD in the Department of Sociology at Indiana University Bloomington, where he was an affiliated researcher at the Center for the Analysis of Social-Ecological Landscapes (CASEL) and a research fellow at the Milt and Judi Stewart Center on the Global Legal Profession at the Maurer School of Law...
Danielle Terrazas Williams
Kellogg Visiting Fellow Danielle Terrazas Williams is associate professor of history at the University of Leeds. Her work focuses on the social and legal histories of African-descended people in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Mexico. Her research interests include women’s history, governance, slavery, family, and notions of class and status...
Benjamin Garcia Holgado
I am a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, a PhD Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and Graduate Associate in Learning Research at the Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence. I am also honored to be the recipient of a Notre Dame Presidential Fellowship. My research agenda focuses on regime change, populism, judicial politics, Latin American politics, and qualitative methods...
Marie-Claire Klassen
Kellogg Institute Dissertation Year fellow Marie-Claire Klassen is a PhD candidate in moral theology with a minor in peace studies. Currently, her research focuses on the role of religion and women in nonviolent resistance movements. Her dissertation explores these themes through examining how Palestinian Christian women have contributed to shaping liberation theology at Sabeel, an ecumenical theology center in East Jerusalem...