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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.
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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
Nadia Oweidat
Fellow;
Assistant Professor of History and Security Studies, Kansas State University
Assistant Professor of History and Security Studies, Kansas State University
Laura Robson
Fellow;
Oliver-McCourtney Professor of History, The Pennsylvania State University
Oliver-McCourtney Professor of History, The Pennsylvania State University
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
Amy Austin Holmes
Public Policy Fellow;
Associate Professor of Sociology, American University in Cairo
Associate Professor of Sociology, American University in Cairo
Hallam Ferguson
Public Policy Fellow;
Former Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID
Former Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID
Raphael Cohen-Almagor
Former Fellow;
Chair and Professor in Politics, University of Hull, The United Kingdom
Chair and Professor in Politics, University of Hull, The United Kingdom
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
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
Joby Warrick
Public Policy Fellow
Lindsay Benstead
Former Fellow
Read more from LindsayThe Wilson Center provided much more than time and space to write. The Wilson Center is a family. The connections I made here—and the skills that the staff imparted—shaped me into a more publically engaged scholar for the years to come.
