Desirée Winns is the Foreign Policy and Democracy Intern at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington, DC. She is responsible for assisting the directors of the Democracy Program and the Foreign & Security Policy Program on current projects including ongoing publications and study tours. In addition, she supports the Office Manager’s operations through administrative contributions.

In 2022 Desirée graduated with honors with her Bachelor's in Political Science from the University of Central Florida. Now, she is a master's student of International Affairs at the George Washington University, concentrating in Democracy Studies. Since enrolling, she has been selected for the GWU-US Institute of Peace mentorship program, the GW Generations Dialogue Fellowship, and as a semifinalist for a Fulbright research grant to Lithuania. Prior to coming to the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington, DC, Desirée worked at Hostage US, where she supported families of American hostages and wrongful detainees. Desirée also interned at NASA's Office of International and Interagency Relations, the Aspen Institute, the Carter Center, the US Helsinki Commission, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Desirée is interested in the study of authoritarian decision-making in the post-Soviet space and plans to pursue a PhD in Political Psychology after completing her Master's.