A New Model for Civilian Assistance in Fragile States

Featuring:

Sharon L. Morris
Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, United States Institute of Peace; and
Director, Youth & Conflict Management Office, Mercy Corps
 
Thursday, December 5, 2013
9:00 AM-10:00 AM
 
This Careers in Development session features Sharon L. Morris, a 2013-2014 Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace. She will discuss her current research, which builds a case for a new model of civilian assistance in fragile states that tightly integrates peacebuilding and development. She also argues that the peacebuilding field can improve its credibility by adopting more rigorous approaches to impact measurement, by focusing on outcomes such as reduction in violent incidents and decreases in extremist views, and by publishing negative findings.  Her work draws on her experience designing and implementing conflict management and stabilization programs in places such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Nigeria, and Somalia. She will also offer her advice for young people entering the field of development today.
 
Dr. Morris is the Director of Mercy Corps’ Youth & Conflict Management Office. Her assignments on conflict management have taken her to over 25 countries, including Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Central Asian Republics, Haiti, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. She is on the board of the Alliance for Peacebuilding and a member of Women in International Security. She holds a Ph.D. and Masters from the University of Chicago.
 
A light breakfast will be available.
 
Please RSVP to USLD@csis.org.
 
Join the conversation @CSIS_USLD and #CareersinDev
 
“Careers in Development” is a monthly series featuring U.S. senior-level government, multi-lateral and NGO officials who have worked in the field of development for at least twenty years. The series is aimed at young professionals who are interested in working in development and features speakers from a range of expertise, including humanitarian assistance, national security, and sector issues such as food security, health, and education. Through a roundtable discussion, each speaker offers remarks on their area of interest as well as their career path and influences along the way.