Rooney

Rooney is a resident fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin, where she contributes to the institute’s impact and outreach strategy of being seen, felt, and impossible to ignore. Her main research interest is in the nesting patterns of field rodents. 

Rooney came of age in Romania where she developed an early interest in frisbee, ostensibly on the beaches of the Black Sea. In her work at GPPi, she has leveraged her frisbee passion and expertise into the development of an innovative new form of boomerang diplomacy that aims to utilize non-linear models for understanding and achieving impact. Rooney also exemplifies a uniquely counterintuitive approach to communications and outreach, leveraging her professional certifications in body language interpretation and tactical silence to shift power dynamics in her favor. 

Rooney is part of an annual fellowship program with the North American Squirrel Kinesiology Association and is an environmental activist, campaigning for car-free cities and firework bans.