Democracy and Governance Studies

Education:
B.A. International Development & Political Science, UC Davis
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2008)

Interests:
Africa, Former Soviet Union, institutional reform, decentralization, economic growth.

Languages:
English, Russian

Danny currently serves as a Project Manager in the Africa sector at DAI where he originally started in 2010 in the new business team. He has previously worked for ABA Rule of Law Initiative, Open Society Institute, Democracy International, and the California State Assembly. His work currently focuses on projects based in East Africa that support economic growth through institutional reform and private sector capacity building.
 

Education:
B.A. Middle East Studies, George Washington University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Middle East, accountability, and alternation of power.

Languages:
Arabic, English

Lara serves as the Executive Director of the Safadi Foundation USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a national and strategic vision for Lebanon's development. She has previously worked as a consultant for a government relations and foreign policy firm whose clients included the United Nations, Middle East NGOs and governments. She has also served as a staffer for the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on International Relations.
 

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Vassar College
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Democracy and good governance in post-conflict environments, civil society development, combating corruption, relationships between economic and political development, humanitarian assistance, Russia and Central Asia, Afghanistan.

Languages:
Dari, English, French, Russian
 

Education:
B.A. Government, Georgetown University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
The Middle East, internet governance, semi-authoritarian regimes, elections and referenda, democracy promotion.

Languages:
Arabic, English

Geneve is a Program Assistant at the United States Institute of Peace, where she works in the Center of Innovation for Science, Technology & Peacebuilding.

Education:
B.A. Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
African development, refugee and humanitarian emergencies.
 

Education:
B.A. Philosophy, Wuhan University, China
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Economic development and institution-building, specifically the dynamics between economic growth and institutional development. China's investments in developing countries and the political and social impacts resulting there from.

Languages:
Chinese, English, German

Education:
B.A. Political Science/Human Rights, Barnard College, Columbia University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Electoral systems, civil society in the Middle East.

Languages:
Arabic, English, French

Deborah is currently the first Leo Nevas Human Rights Fellow of the UNA-USA, a program of the United Nations Foundation. In this position she advocates for constructive American engagement with the UN and its UN human rights mechanisms. Before attending Georgetown, she was a Program Reporting Officer for the National Democratic Institute in Beirut, Lebanon and a Program Associate for the International Foundation for Electoral System supporting programs in Europe and Asia. She has served as an international election observer in South Sudan in 2010 and Lebanon in 2009.
 

Education:
B.A. Politics, The Catholic University of America
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Theory, comparative systems, religion and democracy, government and culture.

Languages:
English, French

Maggie is a Program Associate at the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA).
 

Education:
B.A. Political Science and Economics, Vassar College
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Transitions from authoritarian rule, political economy, electoral systems and Latin America.

Languages:
English, Italian, Spanish

Marcelo currently works on issues of international development for the World Bank.
 

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Economics, and Finance, Hanyang University, Seoul
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Economic and political reform.

Languages:
English, Korean
 

Education:
B.P.S. Sogang University
M.A. National University of Singapore
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Languages:
English, Korean

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Scripps College
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Political and institutional development, civil society and democracy in South Asia. The intersections of race, religion, class and gender in contexts of political and institutional change, development, and democratization.

Languages:
English, French, Hindi

Education:
B.A. Political Science, History, Washington University in St. Louis
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Middle East and North Africa, political transition in post-conflict states, public sector capacity building.

Languages:
Arabic, English, French

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Brigham Young University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Religion and developing countries.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Mrs. Crisler currently works for the Department of State in the Political Section of the Embassy of the United States in Beijing, China.

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Rutgers
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Political institutions and economy, impact of technology on governance, democratic development and transition.

Languages:
English, Mandarin, Spanish

Education:
B.A. Politics, Occidental College
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Civil society, U.S. foreign policy, foreign aid and democracy assistance, media and politics, campaigns and elections.

Languages:
English, Spanish
 

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Philosophy, Colorado State University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Emerging systems of federalism, diplomacy, critical infrastructure development, poverty reduction, political science, Northern Iraq, Latin America.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Kevin J.D. Wilson serves as an Associate Researcher for the Center for Kirkuk Referendum Operations, an international electoral rights and public policy think tank.  Wilson is a longtime Congressional observer and frequently provides analysis of Function 150 (International Affairs) appropriations measures.  Prior to attending Georgetown, he served as chief of staff to a senior member of the Colorado General Assembly where he worked on legislative initiatives ranging from public health and safety to business development.

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Public Policy, Universidad Diego Portales
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Institutions for development, Latin-American democracy.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Education:
B.A. Political Science and History, Rochester Institute of Technology
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Advocacy of a proper Islamic democracy and understanding where abstract political theories meet practical reality.

Languages:
Arabic, English, Japanese
 

Education:
B.A. International Relations, History, University of Delaware
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Religion, U.S. foreign policy, democracy promotion, the Middle East.

Languages:
Arabic, English, German

Education:
B.A. Political Science, University of Delaware
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Southeast Asia, the Middle East, American policy.

Languages:
Arabic, English, Spanish

Education:
B.A. Government and Politics, University of Maryland - College Park
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Asia-world relations, China.

Languages:
English, Italian

Education:
B.A. Political Science, North Carolina State University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Electoral institutions, political party systems, the Middle East and North Africa.

Languages:
Arabic, English, French

David currently serves as a Research Coordinator for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Washington, D.C. In this position, he supports IFES' programs through public opinion surveys, program evaluation, and technical leadership initiatives. Prior to living in Washington, David worked as a media consultant in Cairo, Egypt and a campaign consultant for Democratic candidates in the states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
 

Education:
English Literature, Oxford University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Political journalism and government.

Languages:
English, French

Education:
Political Science, Ewha Womans University (Korea); American University in Washington, D.C.
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Democracy promotion, peace-building, and media; democratization in China.

Languages:
English, Korean

Sookyung is a research Assistant at Developing Radio Partners; Journalism intern at CBS Network in Washington D.C.; Assistant editor for United Press International.

Education:
Political Science and Diplomacy, Pukyong National University (Korea)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Social welfare systems, democratization.

Languages:
English, Korean

Education:
B.A. International Relations and Religion, College of William & Mary
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
state-civil society interaction, technology, economic development, sub-Saharan Africa.

Languages:
English, French
 

Education:
TV Production, Communication University of China
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Democratic transition in China, media, civil society, ethnic equality, India, post-communist countries.

Languages:
English, German, Mandarin

Mr. Li currently serves as Program Coordinator for the Brookings Institution-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy.  Before joining Brookings, Yuan Li worked as a research assistant at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Education:
B.A. International Affairs, James Madison University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
Developing civil society, transitioning to democracy in post-conflict countries, systems of foreign aid.

Languages:
English, Hebrew

Education:
B.A. History, Brown University
J.D. Washington and Lee School of Law
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Interests:
The role of democracy in counterinsurgency, legislative support.

Languages:
English, Japanese
 

Education:
Social Communications and Journalism, Federal University of Minas Gerais
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
U.S. foreign relations, Middle Eastern politics, political science, journalism.

Languages:
English, Portuguese, Spanish

Education:
B.A. International Affairs, University of Georgia (2006)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2010)

Interests:
State development and political organization in non-state spaces; critical views on state failure; political economy of finance and financial crises; monitoring and evaluation methodologies for development and stabilization programs.

Languages:
English, French, German

Danielle currently serves as a Monitoring & Evaluation Officer for USAID/ASI-East, Kabul/Jalalabad, Afghanistan. She has previouly worked in project management support for USAID governance contracts at DAI and analytical services contracts at Democracy International; election observations with Democracy International (in Afghanistan 2009 as a short term observer), SHARE Foundation (El Salvador 2009, short term observer) and OSCE/ODIHR (United States 2008, administrative support). Danielle has also been a program development volunteer with Amani Africa (in Rwanda 2008), and a Project Assistant for Elections and Political Processes for the National Democratic Institute.
 

Education:
B.A. History, The George Washington University (2005)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Democratic transitions, civic education, human rights, foreign assistance, legislative strengthening, constitutions, and youth empowerment.

Languages:
English, French.

Liza currently serves as Deputy Director of Strategy and Business Development at Democracy International. Previously, she served as a Technical Specialist in the Civil Society and Governance Division at World Learning and as Assistant Director of the Washington D.C. office at the Center for Civic Education. She is on the Board of Friends of European Humanities University, a Belarusian university in exile in Lithuania.
 

Education:
Political Philosophy, University of Zimbabwe
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
African development and politics, human rights, journalism, democracy promotion.

Languages:
Arabic, English, French, Shona

A Zimbabwean political activist, Zvisinei has been exiled to the United States where she continues to take an interest in African politics and to write widely about on the topic of human rights.
 

Education:
B.A. International Relations, African Studies, University of California - Davis
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
Post-conflict reconstruction, institution-building and civil society, Africa.

Languages:
English, Kiswahili

Education:
B.A. Political Science, McGill University (2005)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)
Ph.D. Government, Georgetown University (ongoing)

Interests:
Political parties and electoral systems.

Languages:
English, French, Italian, Spanish

Jack is a Ph.D. student in Government at Georgetown University and occasional consultant in the democracy assistance field. He has worked at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and FairVote on comparative electoral systems, comparative political finance, and electoral reform in the U.S. As a student, he held assistantships, internships, and consultancies with various U.S. and international election reform NGOs. His website is: www.jacksantucci.com.
 

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Bucknell University
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2012)

Interests:
Israeli-Arab Conflict, Middle Eastern politics.

Languages:
English, Hebrew, Spanish
 

Education:
B.A. Sociology, Hamilton College (2007)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Women's empowerment / leadership and behavior change.

Languages:
English, French, Japanese

Meghan serves as a Program Development Officer for PDCI (Partners for Democratic Change International) in Brussels, Belgium.
 

Education:
B.A. Political Science, International Relations, The American University in Cairo
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Middle East, Islamism, religious freedom.

Languages:
Arabic, English

Samuel serves as a Research Fellow at the Hudson Institute and is a Professorial Lecturer at SAIS.
 

Education:
B.A. Political Science, Loyola University Chicago
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2011)

Interests:
Human rights and constitutional frameworks.

Languages:
English, Italian, Spanish

From 2007 to 2012, Guillermo worked as a Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He is currently pursuing a JD at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
 

Education:
B.A. English Literature, Media Studies & Psychology, Christ College, Bangalore, India (2005)
B.A. Journalism & Mass Communication, Arizona State University (2007)
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2009)

Interests:
Nationalism, ethnic conflict, technological innovation.

Languages:
English, Hindi, Malayalam

Anand Varghese is a Senior Program Specialist in the Center of Innovation: Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). The Center develops strategies for applying science and technology to the challenge of peacebuilding in fragile states, active conflict and post-conflict societies.
 

Education:
B.A. Political Science (Law, Societies, and Justice), University of Washington
M.A. Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University (2013)

Interests:
Governmental transitions, electoral systems, rule of law in the Middle East / South Asia.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Ms. Velamoor will begin as a first-year law student in Fall 2013 with a special focus on international law.

Education:
B.A. Political Science, English, SUNY Binghamton

Interests:
The impact of religion on civil society and governance.

Languages:
Arabic, English, Spanish