​​I am a professor of Political Science (and Chair) at Lehman College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). My research interests include Demography, Development & Democratization, Politics of Inequality, Social Justice, and Politics of Gender in addition to my continued interest in the nexus between education, work and social mobility. My regions/countries of expertise are the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and the United States. My publications have appeared in a variety of peer reviewed journals including Middle East Critique; American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences; Identities: Journal of Politics, Gender and Culture; Industrial Relations, A Journal of Economy and Society; International Review of Sociology/Revue Internationale de Sociologie, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, International Studies in Sociology of Education. My first book is titled, Women in the Middle East & North Africa: Change & Continuity (2010 & 2012, Palgrave-Macmillan).
I have held positions as a senior research scientist, consultant, policy and quantitative analyst for the U.S. Department of Labor, The World Bank, The Executive Office of Public Leadership of the ETS (all in Washington, D.C.) and published several reports and articles on politics of inequality, education, immigration, development topics and policies. I have also held visiting professorial positions at Bucknell University and Temple University prior to my positions at the City University of New York (CUNY).