Semon Makar Zekry

Semon Makar Zekry is a Master of International Affairs (MIA) candidate at Columbia SIPA, concentrating on Economic Development with a specialization in Technology Policy. Semon is particularly interested in the semiconductor industry and the dynamics of emerging technologies and their impact on developing countries. 

Semon's experience spans both the public and private sectors, including positions at USAID, the Department of Justice, the United Nations, the World Trade Center, and J.P. Morgan Corporate & Investment Bank. She is an incoming Foreign Service Officer in the economic track,  stationed at the US Embassy in Seoul and focused on investment, trade, macroeconomics, and semiconductors. In this role, she has played a crucial part as a member of the American delegation, serving as the lead control officer for the EAC and ECC meetings under the U.S.-ROK Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). Previously, Semon worked at the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the Services, Investment, and Digital Trade Office and served as a fellow with the US House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade. Semon aspires to one day be at the forefront of negotiating American trade deals and protecting human rights through economic platforms at US embassies worldwide.

She completed her Bachelor's degree at the George Washington University with a double degree in International Affairs and Economics, and a specialization in International Economics. Semon graduated Summa Cum Laude, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa during her junior year, and received special honors for her economics thesis, "An Application of the Concept of Uncertainty in the Assessment of Richard Tol’s Meta-Analysis of the Social Cost of Carbon," which also earned her departmental honors in her graduating class.