Research & Teaching Profile
Research orientation on refugees, conflict and the Middle East, using mixed quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
Teaching focus on student-led learning with a strong emphasis on participant discussion, debate and guided research.

Education
Ph.D. Candidate (ABD), Government & Politics
University of Maryland, College Park, MD

    Research Assistant for Prof. Shibley Telhami, including work on Zogby’s Arab Public Opinion Survey

    Studied research methods at the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (Syracuse, NY)
    Studied Arabic intensively at the International Language Institute (Cairo, Egypt)

M.A. Government & Politics
University of Maryland, College Park, MD

B.S. Psychology
University of Maryland, College Park, MD (summa cum laude)

JR Peace Scholar, United States Institute of Peace / Boren Fellow, NSEP Boren (Jordan), 2010 to 2011

Reader, Educational Testing Service - Advanced Placement Exam, 2010

    Graded AP exams in Comparative Politics

Program Analyst, General Services Administration, 2004 to 2006
    Coordinated the Property Management Intern program, including recruitment, planning and oversight for eight interns

Web Designer / Researcher, Masar Institute for Education (Israel), 2003 to 2004
    Researched Arab organization’s theoretical basis in promoting educational reform
    Built official organization website, including JavaScript, CSS and DHTML

Senior Operations Assistant & Head of Returnees Program, International Organization for Migration (Kosovo), 1999 and 2000
    Supervised team of five local escorts and eight local drivers

    Developed advanced MS-Excel program to track daily returns for all sub-offices of IOM in Kosovo

Instructor, Gettysburg College, 2008 to 2010
    Migration in World Politics

    American Government

Instructor, Johns Hopkins University – Center for Talented Youth, 2008 to 2011 (summers)
    Politics in the Middle East

    International Politics
    Model UN & Advanced Geography

Instructor, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 2007 to 2008
    Comparative Middle Eastern and North African Politics
    International Security
    Migration in International Relations

ESL Teacher, Peace Corps (Tonga) - Queen Salote College, 2001 to 2003
    Co-authored new Form 1 (Seventh Grade) English textbook
    Gained Tongan cultural understanding and language fluency

• 2011. Why Refugees Rebel: Militancy and Militarization among Palestinian and Iraqi Refugees in Jordan. Presented at the Embassy of the United States: Amman, Jordan.
• 2010. Why Refugees Rebel. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Studies Association: New Orleans, LA.
• 2009. Ethno-Nationalism and Violent Projects of Return: The Effect of Homeland Attachment on Refugees’ Engagement in Conflict. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Studies Association: New York, NY.
• 2008. Discussant, Graduate Student Conference on International Relations: College Park, MD.
• 2008. International Aid and Engagement in Conflict by States Hosting Refugees. Poster presented at the Annual Conference of the International Studies Association: San Francisco, CA.
• 2006. Voting Consonance in the UN Security Council, 1946-2005. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Studies Association - Midwest: St. Louis, MO.
• 2006. Applying Neorealist Theory to Domestic Environments: An analysis of Hamas and Palestinian politics, 1988-2006. Paper presented at the Middle East and Central Asia Conference: Salt Lake City, UT.

Awards & Honors

• United States Institute of Peace - Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar Fellowship (2010-11)
• National Security Education Program - David L. Boren Fellowship (2010-11)
• Martin O. Heisler Award for Best Graduate Student Paper (International Studies Association - Ethnicity, Nationalism and Migration section), 2010
• Behavioral & Social Sciences Distinguished Scholar Award, 2000
• University and Departmental Honors programs, 1997-2000

Languages

• English – Native
• Tongan – Fluent
• Hebrew – Advanced
• Arabic – Intermediate (learning)
• Hindi – Functional

Professional & Organizational Affiliations

• Reviewer for International Studies Quarterly and Foreign Policy Analysis
  
• International Studies Association
• American Political Science Association