Image Credit
Middle East Program
Program Staff & Fellows
Staff and fellows are the core of the Wilson Center's knowledge on the Middle East. Our current cohort of fellows joins us to pursue a variety of research projects, and our resident scholars contribute their extensive background and expertise.
Connect With Us
Program Staff
James F. Jeffrey
Chair of the Middle East Program, Slater Family Distinguished Fellow;
Former ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition To Defeat ISIS
Former ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition To Defeat ISIS
Featured
Merissa Khurma
Program Director, Middle East Program
Alexander Farley
Program Associate
Brooke Sherman
Program Assistant
Current Fellows
David Hale
Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow;
Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Former Ambassador to Pakistan, Lebanon, and Jordan
Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Former Ambassador to Pakistan, Lebanon, and Jordan
Raphael Cohen-Almagor
Public Policy Scholar;
Chair and Professor in Politics, University of Hull, The United Kingdom
Chair and Professor in Politics, University of Hull, The United Kingdom
Hind Al Ansari
Public Policy Fellow;
Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Education, Cambridge University
Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Education, Cambridge University
Lindsay Benstead
Public Policy Fellow;
Associate Professor of Political Science, Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University & Director, Middle East Studies Center (MESC), Portland State University
Associate Professor of Political Science, Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University & Director, Middle East Studies Center (MESC), Portland State University
Resident Scholars
Featured
Haleh Esfandiari
Distinguished Fellow; Director Emerita, Middle East Program
Featured
Marina Ottaway
Middle East Fellow;
Former Senior Research Associate and Head of the Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Former Senior Research Associate and Head of the Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Featured
David Ottaway
Middle East Fellow;
Former Washington Post Middle East Correspondent
Former Washington Post Middle East Correspondent
Featured
Robin Wright
USIP-Wilson Center Distinguished Fellow;
Author and columnist for The New Yorker
Author and columnist for The New Yorker
Alumni
Laura Robson
Former Fellow
Nadia Oweidat
Fellow
Asher Orkaby
Research Scholar, Transregional Institute, Princeton University
Dalia Dassa Kaye
Former Director of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy, and senior political scientist
