Read the new SID brochure - Heller School for Social Policy and ...

The Master of Arts in Sustainable
International Development
The Graduate Programs in Sustainable
International Development
Brandeis University

“I think that you are here today because
you search for a community devoted
to the lessening of suffering, because you
see yourself as an agent of change in your
own land, because you have faith in the
unfolding of a world without poverty and
preventable disease. You also recognize the
need for rigorous skills to forge enlightened
policies, implement effective programs, and
nurture the dignity and full potential of
every child on earth. This is a universal
morality and is your calling.”
From his orientation talk
Laurence R. Simon
Professor of International Development
Executive Director, Graduate Programs in Sustainable
International Development
One billion children live in deep
poverty. Six hundred forty million
people lack decent shelter. Four
hundred million lack safe water. Two
hundred seventy million have no
health services. Climate change and
loss of biodiversity threaten the web
of life. Today over 1400 graduates
of our Master of Arts in Sustainable
International Development (SID)
program are working throughout the
world to solve these problems – in
tiny villages, in large urban slums, as
leaders of organizations and ministries,
and as advocates for equitable
global policies on aid and trade.

The Pioneer in
Sustainable
International
Development
Begun in 1994, SID led the way for graduate training
on sustainable development. We built a holistic and
innovative professional curriculum that integrates
development with the study of political and economic
institutions, the allocation of scarce resources, the
connection of policy and practice with ecology, demography,
human rights and capabilities – and that draws
upon intellectual and cultural histories of justice and
social change. We equip our students with practical
skills in project and program planning and implementation,
monitoring and evaluation, and organizational
management. The second year of our degree program
applies that learning to real world problems through
field practicums within host development organizations
throughout the world. An option for second year
advanced study furthers learning through facultydirected
independent study. An accelerated 1 year
degree is available for advanced professionals.

“The poor person does not exist as an
inescapable fact of destiny. His or her
existence is not politically neutral,
and it is not ethically innocent….
Hence the poverty of the poor is not a
call to generous relief action, but a
demand that we go and build a
different social order.”
Dr. Gustavo Gutierrez, O.P.
A Distinct and Diverse
Community of Practice
SID is among the world’s largest and
most diverse development graduate
training programs with over 140 students
in residence and many others
in field practicums. Each year approximately
two thirds of our students come
from developing nations, typically
representing more than 60 countries
and speaking over 100 languages - it is
truly a global community embracing
and celebrating the world’s cultures and
religions and learning from each other.
A Seasoned and
Accessible Faculty
Our faculty includes renowned scholars
and seasoned international development
professionals. They are committed to
working closely with students on and
off campus and continue their deep
involvement in cutting-edge research
and program planning. Many have held
key positions in such organizations as
UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNIFEM,
USAID, the Oxfams, the Ford Foundation,
InterAction, World Education, John
Snow Inc., Abt Associates, and the Aga
Khan Development Network.
Partnering with Leading
Institutions to Educate
Tomorrow’s Leaders
SID has achieved an exceptional reputation
with competitive scholarship programs
including the Joint Japan/World
Bank Graduate Scholarship Program,
Ford Foundation’s International Fellowship
Program, Soros Foundation/Open
Society Institute, Fulbright, AMIDEAST
and Rotary International. We have a long
history of working with international
sponsors to bring talented young and
mid-career professionals to SID.
An Innovative and
Pioneering Curriculum
SID is recognized globally as a leader in
the training of development practitioners
and policy makers. Our interdisciplinary
curriculum is based on real world problems
and experience and incorporates
into courses current research on the underlying
causes of poverty, environmental
degradation, preventable disease and
other challenges. Our curriculum encourages
students to think about global
problems, and the roles that institutions
as well as village and urban communities
can play in finding solutions.

Laying the Foundations of
A World
Without Poverty
SID’s curriculum recognizes that the world of development
is changing rapidly with new models of development
emerging in the global south and a redistribution
of wealth. This is the most exciting time to train for a
career in development for the potential has never been
greater for a triumph over poverty and inequality. Yet
enormous challenges exist if that new world is to be
humane, equitable and sustainable. The challenges are
not just about growth, but about human happiness and
dignity. There are challenges of social transformation
and of harnessing the power of knowledge to advance
social, economic, and environmental rights.
SEE:
http://heller.brandeis.edu/SID
for more details.

Development Ethics
SID is the first development graduate
training program in the world to present
its curriculum in a global liberal arts and
human development framework. Ideas
have histories and cultures and are considered
at SID for their potential to help
solve development problems. Our goal is
to broaden and deepen critical thinking
skills and to assist students to consider
the ethical dimensions of development
theory and practice and how ethics influence
their own work.
The Year-in-Residence
• Core courses that build a knowledge
and skills foundation within an
integrative and interdisciplinary
environment
• Numerous electives that offer a choice
of interests both at SID as well as
throughout Brandeis and at other
Boston-area universities
• Course offerings that foster breadth
and depth at a master’s level in development
theory, planning, management
and policy influence; a year that
encourages students’ self-reflection on
the purpose and impact of their professional
lives in development
• A multicultural and multinational
environment that transcends divisions
of nation, religion, race, ethnicity,
class, gender, caste, or other particular
identities
The Second-Year: A Live
Case Study or Advanced
Academic Training
• A six to nine month practicum within
a recognized development organization
that nurtures new ideas, deepens
field experience and professional
growth and is suited to a student’s
background, level of experience and
career path
• A practicum that is focused on a
development issue or problem and
that yields a Master’s Paper in the
form of a case study
• Hundreds of practicum organizations
have included major global institutions
such as the UN Development
Programme, the FAO and the World
Bank; international NGOs such as
Oxfam, Catholic Relief Services and
the Aga Khan Foundation; human
rights and policy advocacy organizations;
and national and local governments
and NGOs throughout the
developing world.
• The second-year practicum makes the
Master’s Degree program affordable as
there is no course tuition during the
off-campus year
• The second year advanced study
option includes coursework and
independent study at SID under the
mentorship of a senior professor
• The second year culminates in a
program-wide Capstone Conference
at which students present their case
studies on professional panels

Dual and Joint Degree Options
• The MA/SID and the Master of Business
Administration dual degree is a five semester
program that strengthens strategic organizational
and financial skills in the context of global and
national development.
• The MA/SID and the Master of Arts in Coexistence
and Conflict dual degree is a unique
program that gives students the opportunity to
train with expert faculty and practitioners in the
fields of development and conflict resolution.
• The MA/SID and Women’s and Gender Studies
joint degree offers students additional tools
needed for incorporating interdisciplinary
women’s and gender studies, knowledge and
methodologies into their learning and research.
• The MA/SID and Juris Doctorate with Northeastern
University School of Law dual degree
is an accelerated four-year program that provides
law students with exposure to issues of globalization
and international development policy and
practice.
In addition, the Graduate Programs in
Sustainable International Development
include:
• The M.S. in International Health Policy
and Management
The MS/IHPM degree program trains
students in state-of-the art approaches
and techniques to develop sound health
policies, evaluate health programs
and to manage implementation. The
program addresses the critical gap that
often exists between the planning and
implementation of health programs.
And are affiliated with:
• Doctoral Studies in Global Health
and Development
The Doctor of Philosophy in Social
Policy with a Global Health and Development
Policy concentration prepares
graduates for challenging careers
developing and implementing research
and policy that address the problems
of poverty and ill health throughout the
developing world.
“Massive poverty and obscene
inequality are such terrible
scourges of our times – times
in which the world boasts
breathtaking advances in science,
technology, industry and wealth
accumulation – that they have
to rank alongside slavery and
apartheid as social evils.”
Nelson Mandela

Meet A Few of Our
Faculty
Laurence R. Simon, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, MA/SID
Dr. Simon began his career in Latin America and served
as Oxfam America’s director of global policy analysis. He
was the Founding President of the American Jewish World
Service and founded GrainPro, Inc. that developed the first
practical grain storage technologies for relief and development
that met the terms of the Montreal Protocol. He
later worked on poverty alleviation in Asia for the United
Nations Development Programme and the World Bank
and throughout his career has worked on disaster relief
and rehabilitation in Southern and Eastern Africa, Latin
America, and Bosnia. Dr. Simon served as Senior Adviser
on Global Poverty at the Google Foundation. He teaches
theories of development, land poverty and reform, NGOs
and civil society, and an annual seminar on Paulo Freire.
SEE:
http://heller.brandeis.edu/facultyguide
for bios on over 100 Heller and affiliated faculty

Susan Holcombe, Ph.D.
Professor of the Practice and
Director, Learning Across Borders
Dr. Holcombe’s teaching and publications
highlight a distinguished career
of practice and a focus on building
capabilities for human development.
She was Global Program Director for
Oxfam America and has served in
various positions with UNFPA,
UNIFEM and UNICEF in field
postings in Asia, Africa and Latin
America. Dr. Holcombe currently
directs SID’s Learning Across Borders
inter-university courses on Aligning
Development Policy and Practice, and
teaches demography and theories of
change. She is the SID team leader for
collaborations in China and Ghana.
Joseph Assan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Assan is an African development
specialist from Ghana. He has
extensive field research experience
in international development with
particular interest in the political
economy of sustainable development.
He was the director of the
Global Master’s in Development
Practice program at Trinity College
Dublin. His recent research examines
the interaction between sustainable
livelihoods, environmental
variability and human security within
the context of poverty reduction.
Lisa Lynch, Ph.D.
Dean
Dean Lynch is Maurice B. Hexter
Professor of Social and Economic
Policy. She is the former Chief
Economist for the U.S. Department
of Labor, chair of the board of
Directors for the Federal Reserve
Bank of Boston and president-elect
of the Labor and Employment
Relations Association. Her research
examines investments in education
and training, youth unemployment,
and the impact of technological
and organizational innovation. She
teaches “Poverty, Inequalities and
Development.”
Ricardo Godoy, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Godoy is a cultural anthropologist
who draws on insights from
evolutionary biology and economic
theory to formulate hypotheses
about the effects of market exposure,
globalization, or modernization on
the well-being and the use of natural
resources of indigenous people. Dr.
Godoy manages the Tsimane’ Amazonian
Panel Study that measures
annually socioeconomic, demographic,
health, and psychological
indicators. He teaches household
economics, survey design and data
analysis, natural resource planning,
and measures of inequality.

Marion Howard, M.A. ’04
Associate Professor of the Practice
and Associate Director
Ms. Howard lived in the San Andres
Archipelago, Western Caribbean for
over 25 years and serves as environmental
adviser to Colombia’s sustainable
development agency for the archipelago,
CORALINA. Ms. Howard
coordinated the development of the
country’s first marine protected area,
the Seaflower, which was awarded
the top conservation prize by the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
Ms. Howard teaches planning and
implementation, as well as integrated
conservation and development and
environmental treaties.
Anita F. Hill, J.D.
Professor
Dr. Hill teaches courses on law and
society, gender equality, race and
class, legal history and social justice.
She is the author of numerous
articles on international commercial
law and civil rights. Her book,
Reimagining Equality: Stories of
Gender, Race and Finding Home
explores the roots of belonging in
the aftermath of the housing crisis in
America. Dr. Hill’s memoir, Speaking
Truth to Power, chronicles her experience
as a witness in the confirmation
hearing for Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas.
Eric Olson, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Dr. Olson’s research focuses on the
ecological consequences of invasive
species, and the policy framework
to protect and restore wild habitats.
He is a specialist on tropical forest
food webs and has 15 years of field
research in the forests of Costa Rica.
Dr. Olson teaches courses on climate
change and adaptation, major ecological
threats, water, ecology of health,
environmental impact assessment
and ecotourism.
Ravi Lakshmikanthan,
M.A. ’99
Lecturer and Assistant Dean
Mr. Lakshmikanthan is a specialist
in Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) and teaches introductory and
applied GIS. He has worked on
water and sanitation projects in India
for the World Bank and at United
Nations headquarters in New York
and has been a consultant to Pathfinder
International for a GIS project
in Bangladesh. Mr. Lakshmikanthan
is the SID team leader for collaborations
in India.

Phillip Martin, M.A.
Adjunct Lecturer
Cristina Espinosa, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Rajesh Sampath, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Jeffrey Ashe, M.A.
Adjunct Professor
As the founder and executive
producer of Lifted Veils Productions,
Mr. Martin has pioneered efforts
to bring race relations programs to
mainstream radio and is a frequent
reporter on global issues for both
National Public Radio and the BBC.
Previously he spent 4 years with
Oxfam America as the National
Projects Director. He is currently
spearheading The Color Initiative,
an ongoing BBC/WGBH radiojournalism
project funded by the
Ford Foundation, the Massachusetts
Foundation for the Humanities and
the Funding Exchange (Paul Robeson
Fund). Mr. Martin teaches effective
communications for impact.
Dr. Espinosa worked for 25 years
as a researcher and program manager
in sustainable development
with diverse social groups in Peru.
She focused on the links between
gender and livelihoods and changing
macroeconomic contexts and
has researched the role of culture
and ethnicity in social hierarchies.
Dr. Espinosa headed the Global
Social Policy Program for IUCN, the
international conservation organization.
Her courses link gender with
the environment, globalization and
education, and indigenous peoples
and development.
Dr. Sampath is a philosopher and
ethicist building SID’s Development
Ethics Initiative. His research interests
are in twentieth century Anglo-
American and European philosophy
with comparative studies to African,
Asian and Latin American traditions,
theories of modernization and social
change, the sociology of knowledge
and their intersections with topics
in comparative religious studies. Dr.
Sampath teaches ethics, rights and
development, theories of justice,
religion and development, and social
theory of Amartya Sen and the human
capabilities approach.
Mr. Ashe directs the Community
Finance Program at Oxfam America
and oversees the Saving for Change
initiative in Mali, Senegal and Cambodia.
He was founder of Working
Capital, once the largest micro-enterprise
program in the US. Mr. Ashe
also designed, assisted and evaluated
micro-enterprise programs in 25
countries throughout Asia, Africa,
Latin America and Eastern Europe
for the World Bank, USAID and
many NGO clients. Mr. Ashe teaches
micro-finance and entrepreneurship.

A.K. Nandakumar, Ph.D.
Professor of the Practice, Director,
MS/IHPM and Director, Institute for
Global Health and Development
Dr. Nandakumar served as a Senior
Program Officer in Global Health
Delivery at the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation. Prior to coming to
the United States, he worked for the
Indian Administrative Service where
he held senior positions in government.
Dr. Nandakumar has over 20
years of technical and managerial
experience in health care financing
in the U.S. and developing countries
with a specific focus on long-term
care financing, national health accounts,
and the impact of aging on
health systems.
Wu Zeng, M.D., Ph.D. ’09
Scientist, Lecturer and Assistant
Director, MS/IHPM
Dr. Zeng’s research focuses on health
financing, HIV/AIDS financing, cost
and cost-effectiveness analysis of
health interventions, and program
evaluation in both developed and
developing countries. Dr. Zeng has
worked extensively with UNAIDS
to evaluate the efficiency of national
HIV/AIDS programs and has conducted
research in China, the Gambia,
Haiti, Rwanda, Singapore, and the
United States.
Donald Shepard, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Shepard is an internationally
respected health economist concerned
with maintaining and improving health
in the United States and developing
countries. His current research interests
include cost and cost-effectiveness
analysis in health and health financing,
especially concerning dengue, HIV/
AIDS, cardiovascular disease, vaccines
and environmental measures to control
disease. He teaches cost-effectiveness
analysis.
Clark Abt, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor
Dr. Abt is an engineer, educator,
environmentalist, entrepreneur,
and social scientist. Trained as an
industrial engineer at MIT, he
completed seven years at Raytheon’s
Space Systems Division as Manager
of its Strategic Studies Department.
He founded an interdisciplinary
socio-economic policy research
company, Abt Associates Inc., which
he grew into one of the leading
international research firms. Dr.
Abt teaches courses on renewable
energy and its cost-effectiveness, and
seminars on social experiments and
disaster management.

Meet A Few of Our
Students
Aloysius Toe
Liberia, MA/SID and COEX Dual Degree
Aloysius Toe is one of Liberia’s leading human rights
activists. During Liberia’s civil war, Mr. Toe led the
Movement for the Defense of Human Rights. Mr. Toe
started over 100 human rights clubs, called attention
to abuses and promoted human rights education in
Liberian schools. In 2001, he led non-violent protests
against the politically-motivated murders of Liberian
activists. Mr. Toe has worked in various capacities and
managed several projects for Oxfam Great Britain, Concern
Worldwide and other organizations. He holds a
B.A. in Political Science from the University of Liberia.
Mr. Toe is founder and Executive Director of the Foundation
for Human Rights and Democracy in Liberia.
SEE:
http://heller.brandeis.edu/alumni/profiles.html
for some of our 1400 graduates.

Jarnail Singh
Feldman Fellow, India, MA/SID
Born and brought up in a small town of
Bihar, India, Mr. Singh holds a Master’s
in Environmental Studies from TERI
University, New Delhi. He has managed
solar energy projects across India
for three years under TERI’s Lighting
a Billion Lives campaign. His expertise
lies in linking biodiversity conservation
with energy access within un-electrified
villages around protected areas of India.
His expectation from the Heller SID
program is to develop critical thinking
skills to analyze and ensure that the
policies in the industrialized and developing
countries actually lead
to sustainable development.
Azizou Atte-oudeyi
Thomas R. Pickering Graduate
Foreign Affairs Fellow, Togo/USA,
MA/SID
Azizou Atte-oudeyi is founder and
secretary general of Ligue des Jeunes
pour la Promotion de la Paix, an
organization in Togo with a mission
to educate youth in non-violent
protest. He has had a deep engagement
in social and humanitarian
activities since his youth and at
the Universitie de Lome where he
earned his Bachelors in English.
Ola Haddad
AMIDEAST Fulbright Scholar,
Palestine, MA/SID
Ola Haddad has worked for the
United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestinian Refugees in
Gaza since 2006. She has served as
the community development officer
(youth and children) for the relief and
social services department as well as a
training coordinator for community
mental health programs. Ms. Haddad
has an MBA from Islamic University
of Gaza and a Bachelors in economics
with a minor in accounting.
Jin Hu
China, MA/SID
Jin Hu has extensive experience
containing the spread of HIV/AIDS
in China. She was the HIV/AIDS
Program Officer with Oxfam Hong
Kong prior to joining the SID Program.
Earlier she was on the staff of
Save the Children U.K. as HIV Prevention
Project officer in the China
Program. She has a Bachelors degree
from Yunnan University’s
Foreign Language College.

Sustainable International Development
Research and
Practice
We are bringing the best research in global development
and health to leaders and policymakers in
government and civil society to build equity for the
poor and advance social justice.
A Faculty Engaged in Critical Research
Renowned experts in their fields, our faculty are
engaged in applied research on urgent issues of
poverty, health and environmental stress faced by
low and middle income countries. Here are a few
examples of our work.
Left: SID graduate Monisha Mukherjee ’09 of India works in poor rural
villages. Photo coutesy of Ford Foundation International Fellowships
Program, India. Photo by Vidura J. Bahadu.

Estimating The Costs of
Mosquito-Born Disease
Dengue poses a deadly health threat for
millions of people and carries a heavy
economic cost. Donald Shepard is
leading a series of studies assessing the
total burden imposed by dengue, a viral
febrile illness transmitted by mosquitoes.
Shepard and colleagues published
the first cost-effectiveness study of a
potential dengue vaccine in 2004 and
recently led an eight-country study of
dengue’s impact. A recent special issue
of the World Health Organization’s
Dengue Bulletin included seven papers
with Heller co-authors.
Scaling-Up Innovative
Models in Agriculture
and Rural Development
At the request of the World Bank, Susan
Holcombe led a study of 22 agriculture
and rural development projects funded
by the Development Marketplace to
determine which have the most potential
to be scaled up. The first stage involved
an extensive literature review and an
initial appraisal of each project. Next,
Holcombe led a team of faculty and
graduate students in developing and
applying an analytic framework for
assessing the scalability of innovative
projects in India, Mongolia and Nigeria.
These field studies yielded recommendations
that were submitted in a major
report to the Agriculture and Rural
Development Department of the World
Bank and that have contributed to
shaping their future operations as well
as to the theory and case study literature
on scaling-up.
Evaluating Different
Models of Health Service
Delivery
Wu Zeng is an expert on performancebased
financing and conducts research
in both Latin America and Africa.
He served as a core researcher for a
UNAIDS-funded impact evaluation of
community-based health insurance and
performance-based financing of primary
care services. Currently he is working
on evaluations of performance-based
financing in Haiti and the Republic of
the Congo.

Understanding How
Indigenous People
Perceive Development
For nearly a decade, Ricardo Godoy has
visited Bolivia to study the Tsimane’,
a native Amazonian people who live
deep in the foothills of the Andes. After
thousands of years hunting, fishing and
practicing basic subsistence agriculture,
their life is being reshaped by exposure
to trade, education and jobs. To measure
these changes, Godoy and his team drawn
from other universities are using data
gathered through the Tsimane’ Amazonian
Panel Study (TAPS) funded in part
by the National Science Foundation. The
study collects biological, economic and
social observations from the same people,
households and villages over many years.
Implementing New
Approaches to Microfinance
Jeffrey Ashe pioneered and heads up Saving
for Change (SfC), Oxfam America’s
innovative savings-led microfinance
program. By facilitating the training of
autonomous savings groups rather than
delivering credit and savings through
institutions, SfC delivers better services
to the rural poor. Working over the last
five years through NGOs in five countries
SfC has created 25,000 savings groups
with over 530,000 members. In turn
these interventions have generated both
money and power for some of the world’s
poorest women. In its second stage, these
groups are introducing opportunities for
health and business training, ecologically
sound agriculture and interventions to
strengthen collective enterprises for building
village economies.
Advancing Ethics
of Development
Rajesh Sampath’s research explores the
epistemological foundations of ‘development
ethics’ and theories of global economic
distributive justice. He is exploring
current dialogues between Global
North and Global South thinkers on justice
and ethics including developing new
ways to think about the right to development,
new schemes for equitable global
economic distributive justice, the ethical
foundations of the obligation to eradicate
severe poverty, the interrelations of political,
civil, social, cultural and economic
rights, the rights of indigenous peoples,
and the viability of inter-faith dialogue
as a compliment to such secular instruments
as the capabilities approach and
international human rights.

Breaking The Barriers
of Separation
Laurence Simon’s research focuses on
the psychological and cultural barriers
to social change and on the role of social
and religious movements in development.
He is exploring social pathologies
that block development and lead to or
perpetuate dehumanization, poverty
and dependency. And he is studying the
processes by which people have liberated
themselves from these limitations
and mindsets. This work has led him to
introduce social epistemology into the
field of development and to help agencies
think through the conceptual and
analytical frameworks of their policies
and practices.
Integrating Conservation
with Development
Colombia’s San Andres Archipelago is of
global importance to marine biodiversity
and its people are poor. Marion Howard
led a 5-year participatory process combining
science with indigenous knowledge
to develop Colombia’s first marine
protected area (MPA) with ecosystems
zoned for strict preservation to controlled
commercial fishing. The Seaflower MPA
is now the largest protected area in the
Caribbean with 53% of the Archipelago’s
coral reefs, 100% of its mangroves, and
61% of its seagrass beds closed to extractive
uses. This approach to conservation
and poverty alleviation was recognized by
the IUCN as one of the 60 most significant
approaches that will influence conservation
in the 21st century; and won
the top honor at the 2010 Conference
of the Parties as the initiative that best
implemented the goals of the Convention
on Biological Diversity.
Envisioning A New Path
for Africa
Joseph Assan, with funding from the UK
Department for International Development,
has initiated round table discussions
in Africa with key individuals and
organizations to critically engage with
the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General’s
High Panel on Global
Sustainability. The panel’s 2012 report
formulated a new blueprint for development
and low-carbon prosperity stating
that the current global development
model is unsustainable and condemns
up to 3 billion members of our human
family to a life of endemic poverty. Responding
to the challenge to develop “a
new political economy”, the Independent
Ideas for an Independent Africa meetings
are creating a platform and legitimacy
for a vision of a uniquely African
development that will meet both the
needs of her people and of planet Earth.

Sustainable International Development
Partnerships
Learning Across Borders (LAB)
The Graduate Programs in Sustainable International
Development launched the LAB Program in 2009.
LAB brings together students and faculty from selected
universities across the world for joint courses and field
experience. The partner university programs share a
commitment to promoting people’s livelihoods, reducing
poverty and promoting social equity and justice in a
world of rapid and dramatic globalization.
TO LEARN MORE CONTACT:
LAB@Brandeis.edu
or visit our website.
Right: SID graduate Bibiana Bangpuori ’04 of Ghana working
with rural women. Photo courtesy of the Ford Foundation.
Photo by Wendy Stone.

LAB Inter-University Courses
A partnership between SID, The School
of Social Development and Public Policy
at Beijing Normal University, and The
University of Development Studies at
Tamale, Ghana provides graduate students
at the three universities with common
readings and videotaped lectures by
outstanding development experts on the
LAB course website. Students prepare
for a weekly live video conference that
connects all partners in lively discussion
and sharing of ideas.
New LAB Inter-University Courses are
being developed with an expanded group
of partner institutions. LAB is developing
tracks within each of our partner universities
for student and faculty exchanges
and joint research and publications.
Beyond the Classroom
SID’s professional practicum experience
is being shared with LAB partners.
Joint field placement and supervision of
advanced students extend and ground
classroom study in the real world of
development organizations.
SID China Track
Among the many options for their
second year practicums, SID students
may now choose a China Track with
special preparation during their year-inresidence
to spend their second year in
China on poverty alleviation programs
under the supervision of Beijing Normal
University. This option is available to all
SID students.
Staff Training Modules
Keeping up with current thinking and
best practices is a challenge for staff in
fast-paced development organizations.
Our Learning Across Borders Consortium
(LAB) offers short-term trainings
for local and international NGOs, and
official aid organizations including newly
emerging ODA agencies. Faculty are
drawn from SID as well as major development
studies programs and agencies
worldwide.
Training modules are tailored to the
staff needs of the host organization from
entry to advanced levels. Programs are
offered at Brandeis or at the organization’s
headquarters and missions and
range in duration from one day to two
months.
Certificates are awarded and academic
graduate credit is available for staff
pursuing continuing education or degree
programs. Trainings can be designed to
lead to internationally recognized certification
in such fields as Monitoring and
Evaluation.
Modules are targeted to critical skills and
methods or packaged for more comprehensive
training. Offerings include Project
Planning and Implementation, Monitoring
and Evaluation, Capacity Building,
Scaling-Up, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis,
and Aligning Policy and Practice.
Others study state-of-the-art models for
Integrated Conservation and Development,
Land Reform and Rural Development,
Urban Informal Settlements,
Community and Micro-Finance, Inclusive
Education, Human Development
and Capabilities.
Trainings for professional staff development
include Effective Communications,
Policy Advocacy, a range of offerings on
Organizational Management, Strategic
Planning for ODA agencies and NGOs,
orientation to Human Rights and Environmental
Treaties, Climate Change, and
critical issues in Health, including briefings
on Major Health Threats tailored
to specific regions, primers on National
Health Accounts, and Impact of Aging
on Health Systems.

Meet a Few of Our SID
Alumni
Shannon Oliver, M.A. ’05
Shannon Oliver embarked on his international
humanitarian career as a Peace Corps volunteer in
Ivory Coast and went on to join the world’s largest
UN humanitarian consortium (Operation Lifeline
Sudan). Prior to studying at SID, he was a program
manager for the Carter Center’s Guinea worm disease
eradication program. He also served refugees
and vulnerable populations as a volunteer with
Doctors Without Borders in post-conflict Sierra
Leone. He came to study at SID to acquire advanced
skills and broaden his knowledge of development.
Since graduation, Mr. Oliver was appointed to the
senior staff for Catholic Relief Services’ mission in
Haiti and now serves in South Sudan.

Kaniz Fatima, M.A. ’11
Kaniz Fatima has worked for international
and local NGOs, government
and donors in the area of sustainable
livelihood development for rural communities,
women’s empowerment
and NGO partnership. Ms. Fatima
most recently worked for the United
Nations World Food Programme in
Bangladesh where she headed the
Vulnerable Group Development
program, one of the largest social
safety net and socio-economic development
programs in Bangladesh. She
completed her Bachelors in Urban
and Rural Planning from Khulna
University, Bangladesh. Ms. Fatima
currently works for Save the Children
as Deputy Chief of Party for a multimillion
dollar poverty alleviation
project in Bangladesh.
Akiko Mera, M.A. ’05
Akiko Mera has been with Oxfam
Japan since completing her Master’s
in Sustainable International Development
in 2005, and has held the
position of Executive Director since
2009. Previously, Ms. Mera worked
in marketing and communications
both internationally and domestically
with experience in Indonesia,
Thailand and Cambodia. Ms. Mera
has experience managing small startup
organizations in the private as
well as in the NGO sector. Ms. Mera
was a founding member of FMYY,
the first multi-lingual radio station
in Japan.
Bibiana Bangpuori, M.A. ’04
Bibiana Bangpuori recently joined
Venture Strategies Innovations, a nonprofit
organization working in Ghana,
where she coordinates women’s health
programs to reduce maternal mortality
due to postpartum hemorrhage – a
complication prevalent among women
who give birth without the services
of a midwife or nurse. Previously,
Ms. Bangpuori worked as a resource
person for Danish aid to district assemblies
in the Volta and Upper West
regions of Ghana. She has also assisted
community-based water and sanitation
development boards in managing
mechanized water schemes.

What Our Graduates are
Doing: A Small Selection
Most of our international students return
to their home countries or are employed
by international organizations. Many
U.S. students go overseas. Our graduates
are employed by leading development
agencies including UNDP, UNICEF,
USAID, the World Bank, the Oxfams,
Save the Children, numerous governments,
and local and international
NGOs. Some of our graduates go on
to complete a Ph.D.
Government
• Chief of Party, Medical Injection Safety
Program, USAID, Namibia
• Education and Health Development Adviser,
USAID, Afghanistan
• Deputy Director, Peace Corps, Paraguay
• Education Finance Adviser, Netherlands
Development Organization, Zimbabwe
• Health Officer, USAID, USA
• Training Coordinator, Peace Corps, Thailand
• Planning Officer, Central
Tibetan Administration, India
• Program Development
Officer, USAID, USA
• Program Specialist, U.S. Department of
Education, USA
• Education Adviser, Department for International
Development, Pakistan
Nongovernmental Organizations
• Associate Team Leader, Winrock International,
South Sudan
• Project Coordinator, Santa Barbara County
Youth Corps Program, USA
• Micro Insurance Program Associate, Oxfam,
USA
• Boston Regional Director, New Israel Fund,
USA
• Vice President of Grant Development, Northeast
Parent & Child Society, USA
• Program Manager, Project Hope, Kyrgyzstan
• Grants and Partnership Manager, International
Rescue Committee, Burundi
• Policy Analyst, Disability Rights and Defense
Fund, USA
• Program Assistant, International Center for
Research on Women, USA
• International Project Assistant, Education
Development Center, USA
• Proposal Development Coordinator, Asian
Institute of Technology, Thailand
• Health Adviser, Irish Aid, Ethiopia
• Knowledge Management Program Specialist,
Catholic Relief Services, USA
• Administrative Coordinator, Management
Sciences for Health, USA
• Senior Program Officer, John Snow Inc., USA
• Program Associate, China Institute, USA
• Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Family
Health International, Nigeria
• Program Manager, International Foundation
for Education and Self-Help, Nigeria
• Regional Manager, Samaritan’s Purse, Ethiopia
• Regional Program Associate for the East Asia
Office, Oxfam, USA
• Youth Engagement and Action Coordinator,
Plan, USA
• Associate Director, Save the Children, USA
• Program Manager, CARE, Nepal
• East Asia Regional Program Manager,
Oxfam, UK
• Training Coordinator, Asian Disaster Preparedness
Center, Thailand
• Country Director, Mercy Corps, Zimbabwe
• Director, Deshpande Foundation, India
• Health Program Manager, Mercy Corps,
Tajikistan
• Deputy Chief of Party for the ECO-Asia
project, AECOM International, Thailand
• Executive Director, Oxfam, Japan
• Chief of Party, CARE, Benin
• Development Associate, Management Sciences
for Health, USA
• Emergency Coordinator, Catholic Relief
Services, Haiti
Intergovermental Organizations
• Community Manager for Africa, World
Economic Forum, Switzerland
• Administration Development Officer, United
Nations Relief & Works Agency, Lebanon
• Editor, UNDP, India
• Project Quality Assurance Expert, United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Myanmar
• Program Manager for Sustainable Development,
United Nations Foundation, USA
• Psycho-Social Officer, UNICEF, Malawi
• Consultant, World Bank, Rwanda
• Project Officer, UNICEF, Pakistan
• Livelihood Specialist, UNDP, India
• Consultant, UNDP, France
• Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Specialist, UNICEF, Philippines
• Assistant, Civil Society Organizations Division,
UNDP, USA
• Project Associate, UNDP, Afghanistan
• Special Assistant to the Commission for Social
Affairs, African Union Commission, Ethiopia
• Chief, Gender in Education Policy Unit,
UNICEF, Pakistan
• Environment Specialist, Asian Development
Bank, Philippines
Academia
• Faculty, University of Maryland, USA
• Faculty, Saint Louis University, USA
• Faculty, Brooklyn College, USA
• Faculty, American University of Armenia,
Armenia
• Faculty, Raffles College of Higher Education,
Singapore
• Faculty, Brandeis University, USA

About Brandeis
Brandeis University is a private, coeducational
institution of higher learning
and research that is consistently ranked
in the top tier of American universities.
Named for the late Justice Louis Brandeis
of the U.S. Supreme Court, the university
combines the faculty and resources of a
world-class research institution with the
intimacy and personal attention of a small
college. The park-like campus is home
to more than 3,400 undergraduates and
2,000 graduate students in three graduate
schools. Located in Waltham, Massachusetts,
nine miles west of Boston, Brandeis
University is part of a metropolitan area
that includes educational institutions,
museums, theaters and other attractions
of the city. Students are able to travel easily
into Cambridge or Boston via either the
commuter train or public bus, both of
which stop within steps of the campus.

Brandeis University
http://heller.brandeis.edu