Staff

Sean Dolan is the Assistant Programs Director for the Asian Studies Suite at the Elliott School. In his role, he oversees budgeting, grants management, and financial and administrative matters for the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS), the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, the GW East Asia National Resource Center (NRC) and for various Asian Studies programs and faculty members. Sean graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in International Affairs and French. After college, he first moved to Korea as an English teacher and then completed an M.A. in International Relations at Sogang University in Seoul. After graduate school, he spent several years working for an international education company in Texas, where he managed admissions for study abroad programs in Korea and several other countries. He later returned to Seoul to direct on-site operations for study abroad programs in Korea. Prior to moving into his current role, Sean previously served as the Program Manager for GWIKS.

Havin Baik is the Program Coordinator for the George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) at the Elliott School (ESIA). She earned her B.A. in International Affairs from GW, with concentrations in International Politics and Global Public Health, and is currently pursuing an M.S. in International Business at the GW School of Business. During her undergraduate career, Havin was deeply engaged with both ESIA and GWIKS as a researcher in the Dean’s Scholars Program, a published essayist in the GWIKS Media Essay Competition, and an active participant in Institute programming. Her research on South Korean university students’ views on Korean division and reunification was supported by ESIA Research Awards and showcased at the Elliott School Student Research Showcase. Havin brings extensive experience in event coordination, marketing, and administrative operations from her four years at GW’s Office of Student Life, where she led university-wide events and managed data-driven digital outreach campaigns. She also interned at the Hudson Institute, where she supported communications, archival projects, and policy research under Secretary Elaine Chao. Havin is passionate about supporting cross-cultural understanding and excited to contribute to GWIKS’s mission through impactful programming, student engagement, and academic collaboration.

Dr. Lisa Lackney is the Program Associate for the East Asia National Resource Center. She graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2020 specializing in Japanese cultural history; her primary research is on the emotional experience of modernity in Japan during the 1920s-1930s. She has written and presented on a variety of topics including transhumanism in anime, Boy’s Love manga, and samurai films.

Robert Kincaid is the Program Coordinator for the East Asia National Resource Center.  He graduated from American University in 2021 majoring in International Relations with a regional focus of East Asia and the Pacific and specializes in cross-strait relations and the U.S-China relationship. His research interests also include U.S- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) relations. He has previoiusly worked in international exchange programming and has experience assisting with the coordination and execution of the State Department’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Association (YSEALI)..