Annie Heitmeier is an honor student and senior at Michigan State University, majoring in international relations with a double minor in Korean language and Asian studies. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school to pursue a master's degree in security studies.

Annie studied abroad at Yonsei University in her junior year, taking graduate-level courses in humanitarian law and human rights. While abroad, she also worked as an advocacy intern at Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights. As an advocacy intern, she did extensive research on enforced disappearances committed by the DPRK and worked directly with families of the forcibly disappeared to raise awareness about their cases. This internship made her passionate about a career in North Korea policy and made her decide to apply as a research intern at HRNK.

Her main interests are in the realms of human security, nuclear proliferation, and regional conflict and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula. In her role as a research intern at HRNK, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding U.S. foreign policy toward North Korea while honing and enhancing her analytical research skills.