Development Circle
School of Public Policy

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Dr. Francisco H. G. Ferreira, is a Senior Economist in the World Bank’s Development Research Group. He is the co-leader of the 2006 World Development Report (WDR) on the role of equity in development. His research focuses on income distribution dynamics during economic development. He sits on the boards of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA), the Instituto de Estudos do Trabalho e da Sociedade (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and the Institute for Public Policy and Development Studies (Puebla, Mexico). He is a Visiting Professor at the Economics Department of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) and an Associate Editor of Economia, the journal of LACEA, and holds a PhD from the London School of Economics.

Gerson Sher, an independent consultant and specialist on the policy and ethical aspects of Russian science program.

Peter Byrne, Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, specializes in academic freedom and is the author of “The Threat to Constitutional Academic Freedom,” The Journal of College and University Law (2004).

Carolyn Byerly, formerly a journalist and feminist political activist, teaches in the Department of Journalism at Howard University, Washington DC. Formerly on the faculty at the University of Maryland, Professor Byerly gave a presentation to the Development Circle last spring on "Women's Media Activism in Development and Democracy".

Stuart McPhail, a recent graduate of the University of Maryland served as chair of the Student Government Association on the Student Bill of Rights and was a leader of the American Civil Liberties Union at the University.

Olaf Kula is Senior Technical Advisor and Manager of ACDI/VOCA’s Financial Services and Enterprise Development Unit. He has 25 years of experience promoting micro and small-scale enterprises through improved access to business and financial services worldwide. He provides technical support in BDS and rural and microfinance for the organization’s projects and initiatives. Mr. Kula sits on various Boards, including on the SEEP Network. He is also manager of the Accelerating Microenterprise Advancement Program – BDS. In the financial services area, he has worked with commercial banks, established a factoring program for microfinance loans, and created a rural loan brokerage service, an inventory credit facility, and multiple loan products adapting best practice to local environments. Olaf was first elected to the SEEP board in October 2002.

Dr. Gabriel Murillo is a Professor of Political Science at Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. Among his most cited works is his article titled "Can Colombia Cope?" Journal of Democracy. January 1999.

Dr. Arnab Acharya is a Senior Technical Advisor at the Research Triangle Institute. Since 1994, RTI has pioneered the application of advanced computer technologies and performance-based training strategies to adult learning. They apply the benefits of technology to help people learn safely and effectively, so that they retain skills and achieve proficiency less expensively. RTI develops learning materials, presents and distributes these materials in learning environments, and measures the effectiveness of materials. At RTI, they create applications that allow students to "learn by doing," using realistic, interactive environments. They have developed and fielded more interactive, 3-D simulation training than anyone in the world. Their portfolio of advanced technologies includes virtual reality, computer-generated personalities, and photo-realistic scene-rendering techniques to create applications that allow users to learn in a variety of environments.

Max Gimbel is the Director of Research and Anne Snouck-Hurgronje is the Development Coordinator of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA. This is a non-profit, humanitarian organization founded in 1982 to monitor, document and report on the human rights situation in Guatemala. GHRC/USA also promotes advocacy for and aid to victims of human rights violations in Guatemala. The Commission was founded in 1982 by Sister Alice Zachmann, SSND, after visiting the country in 1975. Concerned about the plight of the people and their persecution by the Guatemalan military, Sister Alice received the support of her order and opened the first office of the Commission at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Today, the commission's work has expanded to encompass additional Programs. The Commission operates on both individual contributions and institutional grants.  

Thomas Carothers is a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He manages the Global Policy Program and the Russia/Eurasia Program, major Endowment initiatives incorporating research projects on a wide range of transnational policy issues. Mr. Carothers is also Co-Director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Project, a research endeavor that analyzes the state of democracy in the world and the efforts by the United States and other countries to promote democracy around the world. The Democracy and Rule of Law Project gives special attention to analyzing the effectiveness of U.S. democracy assistance programs. Mr. Carothers, an international lawyer, has worked on democracy promotion programs for over ten years in many parts of the world for a variety of organizations including the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (Stockholm), the U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Democratic Institute, and the International Foundation for Election Systems. He has also worked on international corporate and financial law at Arnold & Porter and as an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State. Educated at Harvard College, the London School of Economics, and Harvard Law School, Mr. Carothers is the author of Aiding Democracy Abroad: The Learning Curve; In the Name of Democracy: U.S. Policy Toward Latin America in the Reagan Years; Assessing Democracy Assistance: The Case of Romania; and numerous articles on U.S. foreign policy and international relations.

Dr. Ronald Walters wears three hats at the University of Maryland. He is Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership (now part of the School of Public Policy), Director of the African American Leadership Institute, and Professor in the Department of Government and Politics. Dr. Ronald Walters is internationally known for his expertise on the issues of African American leadership and politics, his writing and his media savvy. Walters is a frequent guest on local and major media as an analyst of African American politics. Dr. Walters is the author of over 100 articles and six books. His book, Black Presidential Politics in America (SUNY Press, 1989), won the Ralph Bunche Prize, given by the American Political Science Association and the Best Book award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientist (NCOBPS). Pan Africanism in the African Diaspora (Wayne State University Press, 1993) also won the NCOBPS Best Book award. His most recent books include White Nationalism, Black Interests: Conservative Public Policy and African American Leadership. The recipient of many awards for teaching and research, Walters has taught at Howard, Brandeis, Syracuse, Princeton, and the Kennedy School. Walters has also served as the senior policy staff member for Congressman Charles Diggs, Jr. and Congressman William Gray.

James Riker is the Associate Director of the Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland. Among his publications are two books titled: Restructuring World Politics: Transnational Social Movements, Networks and Norms (with Sanjeev Khagram and Kathryn Sikkink, editors) and Government-NGO Relations in Asia: Prospects and Challenges for People-Centered Development (with Noeleen Heyzer and Antonio B. Quizon editors)

Dr. Andrea Boggio received his doctorate in law from Stanford University in 2003 and a law degree from the Catholic University in Milano, Italy. His dissertation addressed the compensation of asbestos victims from a comparative and socio-legal perspective. Dr. Boggio is currently a postdoctoral researcher with the Ethics Department of the World Health Organization at the University of Geneva. (Switzerland). He is investigating the ethical and policy aspects of human research genetic databases.

Ms. Nicole Ball is a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, DC, and a Visiting Senior Research Scholar at the Center for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland. For much of her career, she has worked on issues relating to security-sector governance in non-OECD countries. Since 1998, she has consulted for the UK, US, German and Netherlands governments, UNDP, the OECD Development Assistance Committee, and the World Bank on issues relating to security sector governance. Among her numerous publications are Enhancing Democratic Governance of the Security Sector: An Institutional Assessment Framework and "Enhancing Security Sector Governance: A Conceptual Framework for UNDP." Ball recently helped evaluate the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process in Sierra Leone for the Government of Sierra Leone and the World Bank. She has worked with African colleagues on a handbook that addresses democratic governance in the security sector; the process of policy development and implementation; the process of financial management; and the management of the defense, police and intelligence bodies. She also advises a Swedish project that is examining the defense budgeting process in Africa by undertaking case studies of eight African countries.

Dr. Laura McGough received her Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University in 1997 and a B.A. in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago. Her dissertation addressed responses to the first European syphilis epidemic during the 16th century. She has taught at the University of Ghana, the College of Charleston, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. McGough is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University with a joint appointment in Infectious Diseases & History of Medicine.

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