John Chappell is from Albuquerque, New Mexico and received his B.A. in International Studies and Arabic from the University of Mississippi, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He is now pursuing a joint J.D. and M.S. in Foreign Service at Georgetown University. John is particularly interested in progressive foreign policy with a focus on conflict, human rights, and climate change.

As an undergraduate, he spent a year in Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and the UAE. While overseas, John completed research projects on grassroots water democracy in the Sahara Desert and U.S.-Jordan relations. He also worked as a political organizer in Mississippi, where he founded a voting rights nonprofit, advised political campaigns, launched a successful racial gerrymandering lawsuit, and advocated for the removal of a Confederate statue. He previously worked at the Middle East Institute and has been a policy fellow with Foreign Policy for America and National Security Action. John speaks several Arabic dialects.