I am an Assistant Professor at American University’s School of International Service (SIS). Based on the 2011 TRIP Scholar Survey, Foreign Policy recently ranked SIS Master’s programs 8th in the world, behind Columbia/SIPA and George Washington University’s Elliott School and just ahead of LSE. Since January 2010, I have also been a Research Affiliate with MIT’s Center for International Studies (CIS). Since April 2010, I have been serving as one of three Directors of the Development Geographies Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers.
I graduated from the LSE’s Department of International Development with an MSc (Distinction, Best Performance Prize) in Development Management in 2003 and a PhD in Development Studies in 2008. My doctoral supervisor was Jo Beall (who has since moved on to work for the British Council).
Prior to graduate school I read Business Administration, Economics and International Affairs at the Richard Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario, London, Canada), the Universidad de San Andres in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in Germany. I also obtained a certificate in Conflict Mediation from Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation.
During my graduate studies I received very generous support from the German National Academic Foundation (grant for top 1% of German doctoral students), the German Academic Exchange Service (doctoral stipend and one-year grant for graduate school fees in the United Kingdom), the British Economic and Social Research Council (+3 Award for doctoral studies), the Mellon-MIT Program on NGOs and Forced Migration (field research grant), and the LSE Graduate School (Graduate Merit Award).
I grew up in the quaint northern German town of Lueneburg, locally known as the “city of salt”. According to Wikipedia, “Lueneburg has the second most bars per mile and per resident in Europe after Madrid, Spain; it has the most bars per resident in Germany.” I enjoy reading, cycling, skiing, and sailing. My seven-year old Vizsla ”Harry” is my almost constant companion (minus the slopes and transatlantic conference trips).
My curriculum vitae can be downloaded here:
