Rianna Pauline Starheim is a paramedic and writer. She lives and volunteers at a northern Virginia fire station. Rianna writes narrative nonfiction about human rights and wrongs, war, trauma, PTSD, and resilience. Her work has appeared in Foreign Policy, Pacific Standard, and the Virginia Quarterly Review. She has five years of work experience in Afghanistan, including as Managing Director of the multimedia communications company Rumi Consultancy. She has worked with the United Nations, United States Department of Justice, World Bank, and Afghan Palace. Rianna received her Bachelor’s degree in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies from Dartmouth College, where her honors thesis examined the shelter model of response to gender violence in conflict. She is a trauma-informed yoga teacher, marathon runner, avid traveler, and Vipassana meditator. In 2020, she was the Loudoun County Emergency Medical Services Provider of the Year, as well as the Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department Advanced Life Support Provider of the Year. She is working on her first book. "As a freelance writer, I've experienced firsthand the risks the media face, particularly as a woman and in a conflict context. As a paramedic, I have the training to help newsrooms and fellow journalists mitigate and prepare for risks. It's a longtime dream to combine my journalism and emergency response experience. I could not be more excited to be an International Women's Media Foundation Next Gen Safety Trainers Fellow."