Ash Center Welcomes New Fellows

August 30, 2010
Ash Center Welcomes New Fellows

Roy and Lila Ash, Ford Foundation Mason, Democracy, and Rajawali Fellows to Study Democratic Governance and Innovation During School Year

Cambridge, Mass. – Today the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University announced its student and executive fellows to the 2010-2011 academic year. The Center welcomes its inaugural Democracy Fellow, five Ford Foundation Mason Fellows, two Roy and Lila Ash Fellows in Democracy, and 19 Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia Fellows. As both graduate and post-doctoral students along with executive and government officials, fellows will expand upon research related to innovation and democratic governance during the school year. The Center provides ongoing academic guidance and logistical support, connecting fellows with pertinent faculty and programs to enrich their research and their academic experiences at Harvard Kennedy School.

“We are pleased to welcome such an impressive group of academics, business executives, and government officials to the Ash Center this year,” said Anthony Saich, director of the Ash Center. “From low carbon policies in China to social justice in West Africa, the research this year’s fellows will explore is as diverse as the experiences they bring to the Center. We look forward to supporting them during their academic careers at the Kennedy School, and building upon their creative scholarship to foster more dialogue about democratic governance and innovation.”

Democracy Fellowship
In its inaugural year, the Democracy Fellowship is designed to support doctoral and post-doctoral students with scholarship focused on democratic governance that provides practical guidance to solving urgent social problems. This year, the Center welcomes Quinton Mayne as the Center’s first Democracy Fellow. Quinton Mayne holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and comes to the Ash Center from the European University Institute where he was a Max Weber Fellow. His research and teaching interests focus on comparative politics and address public opinion, political participation, and political institutions. While at the Center, Mayne will study the impact of institutional reform on democratic performance as it relates to deliberative and participatory mechanisms. His research will consider how such innovations improve the integration of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities in government and make elected politicians more accountable to such groups.

Ford Foundation Mason Fellowship
The Ford Foundation Mason Fellowship recognizes individuals who have a strong commitment to the principles of democratic governance and public service and a capacity to innovate and implement creative approaches to social and economic development. Such scholarships support mid-career professionals from some of the poorest nations in the world to attend Harvard Kennedy School for an intensive one-year master’s degree in public administration. The following students were selected as Ford Foundation Mason Fellows for the 2010-2011 academic year:

      • Abid, Sadaffe, Ford Mason Fellow ’11, was formerly the CEO of the microfinance organization KASHF, responsible for leading the company’s growth from 70,000 to 300,000 clients.
      • Gonda, Violet, Ford Mason Fellow ’11, has been a Zimbabwean radio journalist forced to broadcast to her country from exile in London because of media restrictions.
      • Jusu, Sahr, Ford Mason Fellow ’11, is the former head of the Public Debt Management Unit of the Sierra Leone Ministry of Finance.
      • Lafortune, Elie, Ford Mason Fellow ’11, most recently served as the deputy chief of party for a 47 million multi-year USAID-funded financial sector development project in Haiti called HIFIVE.
      • Sarabi, Humayun, Ford Mason Fellow ’11, served as the senior manager for the Act Now Children’s Fund (ANCF) in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Roy and Lila Ash Fellowship
The Roy and Lila Ash Fellowship in Democracy is awarded annually to students who demonstrate a strong interest in the overarching questions of democratic governance, a capacity for leadership, a commitment to research and inquiry, and a dedication to work for improvements that advance social justice and serve citizens of all countries and nationalities. The following students were selected as this year’s Roy and Lila Ash Fellows in Democracy:

      • González, Inez, MCP ’11, comes to the Center from the National Hispanic Media Coalition where she served as vice president of media policy.
      • Pearce, Caroline, MCP ’11, most recently served as the West Africa regional advocacy coordinator for Oxfam.

Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia Fellowship
This year’s cohort of Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia Fellows is made up of academics, government officials, and business executives from across Asia. While at the Center, Rajawali Fellows will pursue independent research projects on a range of issues to include China’s energy policies, the development of research universities, carbon emission policies, and urban-rural integrated pension systems. Now in its tenth year, the Rajawali Fellowship is instrumental in leveraging the considerable talent of academics and practitioners from around the world to generate and disseminate research around important policy areas in Asia. This year’s Rajawali Fellows and their respective research topics include:

      • Azuma, Yoshiaki, Deputy Chief Representative, Bank of Japan, will study the impact of Chinese local governments’ investments.
      • Bai, Ping, Ministry of Justice, will study U.S. recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments along with public and private international law.
      • Chareonwongsak, Kriengsak, Chair of Success Group of Companies, will study the relationship between executive board members’ compensation and performance.
      • Fu, Ziying, Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Commerce, will study the impact of international development assistance, both governmental and market-driven, on the least developed countries with a strong focus towards improving old funding mechanisms and identifying new ones.
      • Gan, Lin, Vice Governor of Hunan Province, will study the role of local governments in promoting investment and economic development.
      • Guan, Chenghua, Ph.D. Candidate at China University of Political Science and Law, will study the impact of urbanization on the suburbs as well as how to govern such areas as they urbanize.
      • Jiang, Xue, Ph.D. Candidate at Dalian University of Technology, will study the development of research universities in the United States and the respective roles of universities in the United States and China.
      • Ju, Lixin, Economics Professor at the Shanghai Administration Institute, will research changes in the U.S. economy since the 2008 financial crisis.
      • Lan, Yuxin, Ph.D. Candidate at Tsinghua University, will study INGOs in the global climate including their roles and mechanisms of influence.
      • Lee, Huay Leng, Senior Executive Editor of Singapore Press Holdings, will study the political, economic, and military relationships between Singapore and China.
      • Lee, Kun Chang, Professor of South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University, will study the relationship between creativity and corporate performance.
      • Li, Haiming, Ph.D. Candidate at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, will research proposals for outsourcing social security.
      • Li, Xiaopeng, Visiting Scholar of the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge, will research the relationship between property and tax reform and speculation in the real estate market.
      • Li, Xinjuan, Associate Professor, Henan Polytechnic University and a Ph.D. candidate in Safety Management at the China Institute of Mining and Technology, will research similarities and differences in crisis management in the public and private sectors.
      • Yao, Ning, Ph.D. Candidate at Tsinghua University, will study oil price fluctuation as a function of United States-China cooperation.
      • Yao, Yao, Ph.D. Candidate at Tsinghua University, will study soft power and United States communications.
      • Zhang, Lansong of the World Bank in Beijing, will study the concept of an urban-rural integrated pension system to address economic inequalities between urban and rural areas.
      • Zhang, Xiaomeng, Ph.D. Candidate at Tsinghua University, will study civil society, social enterprises, and philanthropy, including their formation, evolution, and influences.
      • Zhao, Erdong, Senior Lecturer at North China Electric Power University, will study low carbon politics in China and international influences on the developmental route.

For more information, please contact:
Kate Hoagland
Ash Center
617-495-4347
kate_hoagland@harvard.edu

About the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards, the Center fosters creative and effective government problem solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world’s citizens. For more information, visit www.ash.harvard.edu.