Ash Center welcomes new fellows

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 postdoctoral 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 postdoctoral 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.