Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

Executive Master’s Student Named Eisenhower USA Fellow

Wednesday, August 9, 2023, By News Staff
Share
facultyMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairsresearchstudent
person outside with Capitol building in background

Heather C. Fischer

Heather C. Fischer, a graduate student in the executive master’s in international relations (E.M.I.R.) program in Washington, D.C., has been named a 2023 Eisenhower USA Fellow. One of 11 recipients of the honor by the organization Eisenhower Fellowships, she was selected for her work fighting human trafficking and other human rights crimes in the national security space.

Named after the U.S.’s 34th president, Eisenhower Fellowships was founded in 1953 to provide mid-career leaders from around the world the opportunity to travel to different countries to connect with fellow professionals of their respective fields.

Fischer works as the senior advisor for human rights crimes at Thomson Reuters Special Services, a D.C-based data and technology company. As a contractor for the federal government, she helps inform the company strategy to combat human trafficking, safeguard children from online sexual exploitation, pursue human rights violators, and promote women, peace and security.

The fellowship supported Fischer’s recent travel to Malaysia and Thailand to study best practices to address forced labor in global supply chains and develop a U.S. public awareness campaign to educate consumers about making ethical purchasing decisions for goods and services free of forced labor. Her academic research work during the fellowship was supervised and supported by Jay Golden, Pontarelli Professor of Environmental Sustainability and Finance and director of the Dynamic Sustainability Lab.

three people walking down a store-lined street

Heather C. Fischer is shown with, from left, Ekachai Pinkaew of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner, and human rights activist Sompong Srakaew of the Labor Rights Promotion Network, on a tour of a migrant Burmese community outside of Bangkok, Thailand. During the tour, Fischer spoke with workers about conditions in seafood processing factories.

“Heather and I are working with Thomson Reuters to develop a technical bulletin to educate multi-national corporations, governments and NGOs as well as consumers on the important issues of forced labor in supply chains,” says Golden. “A key component of our work is to provide both public policy and business strategies to assist in identifying and eliminating products that are derived from forced labor around the globe.”

Before joining Thomson Reuters, Fischer worked for the McCain Institute, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House. She was a special advisor for human trafficking and the inaugural human trafficking czar during the Trump administration.

Fischer enrolled in the E.M.I.R. program in August 2021 to enhance her policy-based perspective in support of her work.

“Obviously, my time in government provided valuable public affairs experience, but I was really thrown into the deep end of the pool,” she said in a Fall 2022 Maxwell Perspective article. “When I saw Syracuse was offering an executive master’s program in conjunction with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, I knew this would be a great opportunity to work on the theory around the intersection of national security and human rights.”

Story by Sophia Moore

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • What’s New at Campus Dining in Fall 2025?
    Friday, August 29, 2025, By Jennifer DeMarchi
  • DPS Pilots License Plate Reader Technology to Enhance Campus Safety
    Friday, August 29, 2025, By Kiana Racha
  • IDJC Welcomes Fall 2025 Visiting Fellows Nathaniel Rakich and Miranda Spivack
    Friday, August 29, 2025, By Genaro Armas
  • Libraries Announces Fall 2025 Workshops
    Friday, August 29, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Maxwell’s Baobao Zhang Awarded NSF CAREER Grant to Study Generative AI in the Workplace
    Friday, August 29, 2025, By Jessica Youngman

More In Media, Law & Policy

IDJC Welcomes Fall 2025 Visiting Fellows Nathaniel Rakich and Miranda Spivack

The Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship (IDJC) has named Nathaniel Rakich and Miranda Spivack as visiting fellows for fall 2025. The IDJC Visiting Fellows program brings in thought leaders in journalism, politics or public affairs to collaborate with Syracuse…

Newhouse Advanced Media Management Master’s Program Earns STEM Designation

The advanced media management master’s program in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications has received STEM designation, placing it among a select group of graduate programs nationwide that blend media, technology and business strategy under the federal classification for…

Maxwell Welcomes International Professionals for Anti-Drug Trafficking Program

Twenty distinguished leaders from around the world will soon convene at the Maxwell School for an intensive, three-week academic program to cultivate technical expertise and deepen engagement to combat the production, trafficking and use of illicit drugs. The school’s Executive…

NASCAR Internship Puts Jenna Mazza L’26 on the Right Track to Career in Sports Law

A lifelong NASCAR fan, Jenna Mazza L’26 has a photo of herself at age 4 standing with legendary driver Jimmie Johnson’s diecast car. So, imagine her elation when she had the opportunity to take a photograph with Johnson himself this…

New $1M Gift to Build Bridges and Create Global Map to Enhance Democracies

With a new $1 million gift from The Reynolds Foundation, researchers at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs hope to create a new global map, one that provides a clear pathway to strengthening democracy and freedom throughout the…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.