Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (SFS) welcomed six new faculty members for the 2025-26 academic year, the university announced Sept. 23.
The new faculty represent a range of programs and disciplines, including international business, African studies, Asian studies and the environment, bringing both scholarly expertise and practical experience. Some of the new faculty include experts who the university previously announced would join this semester, including Michael Sulmeyer, the new director of cyber programs in the security studies program (SSP).
Sulmeyer, who was the assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy and principal cyber advisor to the secretary of defense, said he was excited to join the diverse community in the SSP.
“I have learned a lot from the international perspectives that so many students bring — not just students from other countries, but Americans who have lived abroad and have close interactions with those abroad,” Sulmeyer told The Hoya. “That international contribution to understanding cyber operations is not something you get a lot. Georgetown has a really top-flight set of faculty peers and world class students.”
Eddie Deschapelles (SFS ’82) will teach in the Landegger program in international business diplomacy, an honors certificate program in the SFS that trains students for work at the intersection of international public and private sector activities. He has spent the last 40 years in banking and investing, with a primary interest on how financial flows can be leveraged to address climate change.
Deschapelles said he is looking forward to helping Georgetown students with their future careers.
“I think that teaching unique skills to students is not only the most rewarding way to give back to Georgetown, but also the best way to give students a leg up in their careers,” Deschapelles told The Hoya. “I’m looking forward to getting involved with helping students with workshops, interview preparation, resumes and giving tips on how to look for jobs.”
“Careers are not a straight line, especially now with the rise of AI and the downsizing of different areas of the government,” Deschappeles added. “Work hard, stick to your guns, be very ethical and professional and if something happens you can land on your feet.”
Bulelani Jili, a new faculty member in the African studies program, specializes in Africa-China relations with a focus on emerging technology and governance.
Jili said he believes Georgetown will allow him more freedom in teaching interdisciplinary topics and he looks forward to engaging with students.
“I could have chosen a school with more traditional departments, but the nice thing about Georgetown is that disciplinary boundaries don’t define the learning and teaching experience,” Jili told The Hoya. “I want to learn more about the students and how they think about their time here, and I want to help craft an intellectual environment that feels both open and critical and tries to prepare students for a life that is embedded in practical outcomes.”
Yifan (Flora) He, a scholar of environmental politics, joined the SFS as a provost’s distinguished faculty fellow studying land and natural resource governance in the Global South, particularly in Latin America.
He said she was excited to join the Georgetown community.
“I am very excited to join Georgetown because it is an interdisciplinary school and a very global school, with a global vision and presence,” He told The Hoya. “There is a community that cares about these issues and being in D.C. gives a lot of opportunities to translate research into impact.”
The SFS also welcomed Sheila Smith, now a full-time faculty member in the Asian studies program, and Andrew Steer, a distinguished research professor of the practice in environment and economics.
Smith was previously an adjunct professor in the Asian studies program for the past five years and is a senior fellow for Asia-Pacific studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, a foreign policy think tank.
Steer held a number of roles related to environmental advocacy, including president and CEO of the philanthropic Bezos Earth Fund, director general of the United Kingdom Department for International Development and president and CEO of the World Resources Institute (WRI). In addition to joining the SFS, Steer will also join the Earth Commons, Georgetown’s hub for environmental sustainability.
Jili said being a part of the SFS — whether as student or faculty — was a world-class opportunity to be taken advantage of.
“Be bold, listen actively and engage rigorously,” Jili said. “The SFS allows you to explore political questions in a multidisciplinary setting and it’s a very unique opportunity.”
