Get to Know NTI: Grace Wankelman

Grace Wankelman joined NTI in March as a social media officer on the Communications team, bringing in an extensive background in content creation and grassroots advocacy. She spoke with NTI’s Communications Intern Cristina Panaguta about her career path, passion for using social media as a tool to drive tangible change, and her role at NTI. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CP: Your educational and professional background is impressive, from studying Political Science and International Studies at the University of Denver to researching armed conflict in the Balkans and Germany, to working for grassroots advocacy campaigns. Could you tell us more about the story of your professional passions?

GW: I have always been passionate about violence prevention and doing whatever is in my power to make the world a safer place. Growing up at a time when different social media movements paired with mass protests were catalyzing tangible change made me interested in social media and digital advocacy. The very first protest I was involved in was the 2018 student walkouts and the “March for Our Lives” following the Parkland shooting. I was a high school student—the same age as most of the students who led the movement from Florida. Coming from a very rural and well-armed community, seeing how engaged people were online about gun violence prevention made me realize how social media could be a tool to change minds.

When I got to college, I started working with two other students on a social media campaign to address gender-based violence on our campus. There was so much engagement with the campaign that it caught the attention of the press and led to an action plan from the university chancellor that over the last five years helped to reduce violence on campus. We started working with other students around the country and ended up founding a non-profit to help students use social media and other creative strategies to address persistent issues of gender-based violence in their own communities. For many movements, there is a lot of common ground and people want to see real change, be it on a campus or around the world.

CP: That’s really inspiring, and I agree with you. Social media is essentially a neutral tool, but it can be leveraged to create and define value. I’m curious, what drew you to NTI?

GW: Before NTI, my professional experience had focused on interpersonal violence. But guns to weapons of mass destruction is not as big a leap as you might think!

One thing that made me want to come here was the absurdity of the fact that just a few people have the sole power to essentially end the world. Working on gun violence prevention and gender-based violence allowed me to see the evil and destruction certain people can be capable of. Yet, comprehending nuclear weapons, their danger, and what could happen if just a single leader pulls the trigger, a terrorist gets their hands on them, or an accident happens sends chill down my spine.

When I was 15, I attended a summer camp that included a visit to United Nations headquarters in New York where I saw an exhibition about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The impression of how much damage nuclear weapons can cause stuck with me. Thank goodness they have not been used in 80 years, but we have to work on maintaining the taboo against nuclear use.

It is not only NTI’s mission that drove me here. I could tell when I was interviewing that NTI is an organization of incredibly competent, smart, and hard-working people. I just knew that I wanted to be surrounded by these people every day.

CP: During my interviews, I had a similar impression. Everyone I spoke to was so passionate, and it was clear that NTI is involved in some truly inspiring work. I would love to hear more about the projects you are currently working on. What is on your plate these days?

GW: The work we do at NTI is about incredibly serious issues. My job is to produce engaging social media content, such as informative threads, short-form videos and memes. We understand that our audience goes on social media not just to learn, but to unwind, be entertained, and connect with others. Many topics in international security, especially nuclear issues, do not always reach the most diverse audiences, whether young people or those not engaged in the community. We recognize the importance of reaching these audiences with accessible content. Using humor, in the form of memes and videos, has proven to be an effective way to engage people with NTI’s mission. It is always interesting to see a meme bring the issue of nuclear, biological, and emerging technology threats into people’s consciousness.

CP: What do you hope to accomplish through your work?

GW: I would like to see our posts driving tangible and meaningful change—whatever that might look like. The process of a social media campaign going from something just on people’s screens to a mass movement is possible. We have seen it happen.

While posting is not the same as physically getting up and doing something offline and does not change policy on its own, it does drive awareness, engagement, public support, and further action. Just in the past decade, some of the biggest movements have grown exponentially through social media. Whether it’s the #MeToo movement or the gun violence prevention movement, both reached their scales because of social media. They then led to huge public demonstrations, and following those, we saw policy changes.

I have always loved learning about the 1982 protest for nuclear disarmament, and I wonder what that would look like in the modern age. I know social media has to be a critical component.

CP: To wrap things up, could you share a fun fact or something about you that your colleagues at NTI might not know?

GW: I guess one thing that some people might not know is that I grew up on a ranch in Northern Colorado. So, if anyone ever wants to talk about pretty much any farm animal, I’m your person!