Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul, KOREA
Amarynth Sichel will be placed at the Seoul Metropolitan Government in Seoul, Korea. The Mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, had been a social justice and human rights activist for three decades before his election in 2011. He inspired the 2012-2013 class of Luce Scholars at a meeting in the City Hall during their wrap-up meeting. Amarynth will be working in the International Exchange Division of the International Cooperation Bureau. Among the Division’s program areas are Sister Cities, international organizations, and multicultural family support. The City Hall is also expanding its cooperative and exchange-based initiatives and maintains a close network with major cities around the world to promote inter-city friendships and joint city development in fields including the humanities, culture, economy, and urban administration.
Amarynth Sichel is manager of government relations and public policy at ML Strategies, a Boston-based government relations consulting group, where she specializes in analyzing local and international political environments as they impact business opportunities for clients ranging from large corporations to small nonprofits. Prior to joining ML Strategies, she was an analyst for the consulting group’s law firm affiliate, Mintz Levin. As an analyst, she worked on a wide range of matters, including documenting political conditions in Guatemala to substantiate a client’s claim for asylum, drafting affidavits for victims of domestic violence, and closing merger & acquisition transactions. During her time at ML Strategies and Mintz Levin, Amarynth sought professional opportunities to work for women’s empowerment. For the past two years, she has worked with a pro bono client dedicated to ending teen dating violence, effectively lobbying the Massachusetts Legislature to pass a budget amendment that funds healthy dating education programs in public schools. While at Mintz Levin, she coordinated the firm’s signature pro bono initiative, the Domestic Violence Project, working with firm attorneys, women’s shelters, and legal aid organizations to provide victims of domestic abuse with free legal representation. Since moving to Boston in 2011, Amarynth has volunteered with Discovering Justice, an organization that provides supplemental educational opportunities for students in low-income schools. She also volunteers as a tutor and mentor, helping eighth graders from underperforming Boston Public Schools improve their writing skills and apply to high school. Amarynth graduated from Barnard College in 2011 with a B.A. in History, and a concentration in Rights, Citizenship and the Law. While at Barnard, she was President and Donations Manager of FeelGood, a student-run food business that raised money and awareness to help end poverty and world hunger. She also served as a Speaking Fellow at Barnard, leading interactive public speaking workshops teaching students to become effective communicators, negotiators, and public speakers. In her senior year of college, she was selected to help develop content for and teach the lab component of the college accredited course, “Rhetorical Choices: Theory and Practice of Public Speaking,” the required training course for all Speaking Fellows. A running enthusiast, Amarynth delights in exploring both her home city of Boston and new places on foot. She also enjoys cooking and designing recipes that emphasize locally sourced ingredients.