Thomas Asher

Thomas Asher joined the SSRC in November 2007 as program officer for a grants program that promotes academic research on Islam as a public resource. In addition to his role in developing the grants program, he is working on a project titled "The Politics of Expertise," which includes a study of the ascendancy of think tanks in policy making, the ensuing displacement of academic expertise from the public domain, and recommendations for renewing its place in public argumentation. He holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Chicago and has conducted research and written on participatory politics, local and global governance, and changing economic conditions in South Asia. Prior to his doctoral work, Asher served as the acting Executive Director for Food Aid Management, where he monitored humanitarian relief programs and worked with USAID and others in the food aid community in documenting best practices and measurable indices for food security programs. He also worked as a researcher at Human Rights Watch, Africa in 1994.