Susan George (born June 29, 1934) is an American and French political and social scientist, activist and writer on global social justice, Third World poverty, underdevelopment and debt. She is the president of the Transnational Institute, a think-tank located in Amsterdam. She is a fierce critic of the present policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (IBRD) and what she calls their 'maldevelopment model'. She similarly criticizes the structural reform policies of the Washington Consensus on Third World development. She is of U.S. birth but now resides in France, and has had dual citizenship since 1994. Personal life Early life Born Susan Vance Akers on June 29, 1934 in Akron, Ohio, she was the only child of Edith and Walter Akers, Episcopalians who could trace their residency in the United States back to 1632. Her father was an insurance broker, and her mother was a homemaker and a member of the Junior League. Born during the Great Depression, she was raised in a privileged environment; she had a nursemaid and took dance classes, music lessons, and, at a YMCA, swimming lessons. After attending a public, co-educational primary school, she went on to enroll at all-girls private preparatory academy. She stated that single-sex schooling "made me not a feminist. It was normal that women do whatever anybody did. Women were the sports experts. Women were the brains. You weren't in competition with men. You weren't expected to shut up—on the contrary! Even in my era, I never felt that I was particularly put down as a woman ever." George's father encouraged all her interests, including those outside the realm of traditional femininity, such as science and baseball, and when he went to serve in World War II, George assisted in planting a victory garden. Academic career As a young student, George was an outstanding student who developed a strong interest in the French language and French culture. As a teenager she chose to attend Smith College, with the desire to study abroad in France. While studying abroad, she took courses at Sciences Po. She attained her bachelor's degree from Smith College in French and philosophy. George later attended the Sorbonne, attaining a license, a three-year degree, in philosophy. George also attained her doctorate in political science from the University of Paris. Personal life During her time abroad in France, she met French lawyer, Charles-Henry George, 12 years her senior,