Staff
The director of the Institutions for Fragile States/Innovations for Successful Societies (ISS) initiative is Jennifer Widner, Professor of Politics & International Affairs. The associate director is Amy Mawson.
Jennifer Widner, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Director of the Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace & Justice and Innovations for Successful Societies
Before joining the Princeton faculty in 2004-5, she taught at Harvard and the University of Michigan. Her current research focuses on constitution writing and constitutional design, as well as institutions and service delivery in developing countries, especially Africa. Her most recent book is Building the Rule of Law (W. W. Norton), a study of courts and law in Africa and other developing country contexts. She has published articles on a variety of topics in Democratization, Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Development Studies, Current History, Daedalus, the American Journal of International Law, and other publications. Email. jwidner@princeton.edu
Amy Mawson, Associate Director, ISS
Amy joined ISS as an elections administration research specialist in October 2009. She has a Master's degree in Globalization and Development and a B.A. in Economic and Social Studies from the University of Manchester, UK. Prior to joining ISS, Amy spent two years working with the Government of Burundi as an Overseas Development Institute Fellow in Bujumbura. She has also worked at the European Commission's Delegation to the UN in New York and the European Parliament's Development Committee in Brussels. amawson@princeton.edu
Rick Bennet, Senior Research Specialist, ISS
Rick most recently served as a research associate in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. His areas of interest and research include counterinsurgency, security force assistance, and the social foundations of warfare. He holds a master’s degree in war studies from King’s College London and a bachelor of arts from Yale University, where he majored in political science and philosophy. He has spent three summers working with local NGOs in Bosnia-Herzegovina, has interned with the government of the Czech Republic, and has conducted research trips to a variety of locations, including East Africa, the southern Philippines, and Colombia. His writing has appeared in Foreign Policy, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Times, The Weekly Standard, The Huffington Post, International Affairs, and on washingtonpost.com. rbennet@princeton.edu
Jim Golder, Production Specialist, ISS
Jim is a graduate of Rider University where he earned his Bachelors degree in Business Administration. He joined Princeton University in 1998 working in the Woodrow Wilson School Finance Office. Prior to joining IFS/ISS, he worked in the Woodrow Wilson School as the Grants Manager. As the Production Specialist, he is responsible for logistical planning and data management associated with the oral history program, as well as budget and finance for the program. jgolder@princeton.edu
Deepa Iyer, Senior Research Specialist, ISS
Deepa holds an A.B. in the Woodrow Wilson School and South Asian Studies from Princeton ('09), and an M.Sc in Economics for Development from Oxford University ('10). Her undergraduate research focused on international migration and the role of remittances in promoting household level financial development, while her graduate work focused on the empirical determinants of leadership tenure. Before joining ISS, she previously held summer positions with an urban affairs NGO in India, the Center for Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania and with a hedge fund in London. Deepa has a strong interest in institutional reform and service delivery. diyer@princeton.edu
Rushda Majeed, Senior Research Specialist, ISS
Rushda came to ISS from her position as Program Director of the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLT) program at the American Society for Muslim Advancement. As Program Director, she was in charge of overall MLT programming while focusing on scaling up and expanding its global reach. In the past, Rushda has reported for Al-Thara, an e-magazine highlighting women's rights in Syria, been on a team specializing in developing methodology for international conflict resolution and negotiation, and completed a project assessing community-based law and development initiatives in Southern Zambia. Rushda has a Masters from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University where she specialized in Economic and Political Development with a regional focus on the Middle East. She has a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Eastern Kentucky University. rmajeed@princeton.edu
Michael Scharff, Senior Research Specialist, ISS
Michael holds a bachelor's degree in politics from Princeton University. Previously he worked in Cambodia where he researched the contributions of faith-inspired organizations to the country's development for the World Faiths Development Dialogue, an organization based at Georgetown University. He has also worked in Uganda at the International Rescue Committee, a global relief and development agency, and interned at the White House. His academic interests are in global development, with a particular emphasis on U.S.-Africa relations. mscharff@princeton.edu