Courtney Blankenship (she/her) works as a program associate in the International Programs Division of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), where she has supported the implementation of federally funded access to justice and rule of law programs in Lebanon, Pakistan, the Philippines, Morocco, Tunisia, and North Macedonia. She earned a Master of Arts in International Relations from Syracuse University, with a concentration in Peace, Security, and Conflict, as well as Certificates of Advanced Study in Security Studies and Middle Eastern Affairs. During graduate school, Courtney interned with the Near East Foundation, studied Arabic through the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship program, and received the Downey Scholars Award. She spent a semester in Russia studying at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 2021 and later worked as a Research Analyst in the Ambassador's Office at the Embassy of Bahrain. After earning bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Communication, Courtney served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco in the Youth and Development sector. She recently completed the Climate Action Leadership course at Tidelines Institute in Alaska, and her professional interests focus on how people-centered justice systems build public trust, reduce corruption, and promote stability, as well as how climate change intensifies state fragility by increasing resource scarcity, disrupting livelihoods, driving displacement, and constraining institutional capacity to deliver critical services. Courtney is proficient in Arabic and is building proficiency in Russian.