Welcome

I am Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution and Coexistence at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management where I teach  graduate students. My research interests include the localization of international aid, transitional justice (especially victim reparations), reconciliation and peacebuilding. In particular, I am interested in the study of the international accompaniment of local communities affected by mass violence. My specific focus is on the role of concept formation in the measurement and evaluation of external interventions and how local people can be included in these processes. Therefore, my work supports efforts that promote participatory numbers and mixed method research, such as the Everyday Peace Indicators for which I also serve as Founding Executive Director.

I earned my PhD in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.  I also hold an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and an MA in International Relations & Peace and Conflict Studies from the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I was a Rotary Peace Scholar. I have published extensively on peacebuilding, transitional justice and social science research methods. My most recent book, Reclaiming Everyday Peace: Local Voices in Measurement and Evaluation after War, won the Conflict Research Society Book of the Year Award in 2020.

I have received support for my research from the National Science Foundation, the United States Institute of Peace, the United States Agency for International Development, the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Humanity United, the Inter-American Foundation, the Rotary Foundation, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Geneva, among others.  I also serve as a consultant to international organizations such as International Alert, Conciliation Resources, the Inter-American Foundation and the United States Institute of Peace, where I was a Senior Jennings Randolph Fellow.

Prior to arriving at Brandeis, I was an assistant professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR). Previous to my position at GMU, I was a faculty member at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies where I taught undergraduate and graduate courses and served as the Associate Director of the PhD program in Peace Studies. Before entering academia, I worked for several NGOs on the worldwide campaign to stop the spread of illicit small arms and light weapons. This enabled me to work closely with civil society and international organizations to experience first hand the challenges confronting human security today. These experiences led me to my current scholarly work which is situated in villages and neighborhoods affected by conflict, mainly in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa where I have conducted extensive fieldwork in Colombia and Uganda.

“As a scholar and practitioner my work goes beyond the University, which means that my research goal is to impact policy, practice and people through academic inquiry.”