Project on Middle East Democracy

Staff


The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) is led by a diverse group of individuals brought together by their desire for change in American foreign policy that facilitates the growth of democracy in the Middle East.

Stephen McInerney (stephen.mcinerney@pomed.org) is Executive Director of the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED). He has more than six years experience in the Middle East, including graduate studies of Middle Eastern politics, history, and the Arabic language at the American University of Beirut and the American University in Cairo. His writing on Middle Eastern politics and U.S. foreign policy has been published by the Arab Reform BulletinThe Daily Star, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, andThe Washington Post. He has spoken on Middle East affairs with numerous media outlets including BBC, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, and CBS News. He received a Masters degree from Stanford University.

Cole Bockenfeld (cole.bockenfeld@pomed.org) is POMED’s Director of Advocacy and Editor of the POMED Wire blog and the Weekly Wire digest.  He has studied the Middle East for more than six years, with a focus on U.S. and Middle Eastern politics, history, and the Arabic language at the University of Arkansas, Georgetown University, and Al al-Bayt University in Mafraq, Jordan.  Prior to joining POMED, he worked for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) on electoral assistance programs in Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, and West Bank/Gaza, including fieldwork in Beirut and Baghdad.  He also conducted research with the Center for Islam and Democracy (CSID) in Amman.

Daphne McCurdy (daphne.mccurdy@pomed.org) is the Senior Research Associate and Editor of the Policy Brief Series for POMED. Previously, Daphne worked in the Middle East division at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) where she helped manage projects in Turkey and Iran. Prior to moving to DC, Daphne was on a Fulbright scholarship in Istanbul, Turkey conducting research on Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East as an affiliate of Sabanci University and working at the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV). She has also worked at the Committee for Economic Development and the Permanent Missions of Turkey to the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Daphne holds a B.A. in International Relations and Economics from Tufts University. She speaks Turkish, French, and is currently learning Persian.

Anna Newby, (anna.newby@pomed.org) is POMED’s Program Associate for dialogue programs. She received her Bachelors degree from Brown University in International Relations and Middle East Studies.  Prior to joining POMED, she worked on the Project on Nuclear Issues at the Center for International Studies (CSIS) in Washington and at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California.  She is proficient in Arabic, having supplemented her Arabic studies at Brown with Middlebury College’s program in Alexandria, Egypt.