My name is Julie and I’m excited to be returning to Pfoho as a resident tutor for a third year with my husband, Jose, and our daughters, Maya and Elena. I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, and I defended my dissertation in Government here at Harvard in June 2020. The big question I try to answer in my research is how people can effectively engage in politics to hold their elected officials accountable and get their voices heard, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Before coming to Harvard for my PhD, I worked in the field of international development. I started out working on public health and HIV/AIDS programming in Rwanda, Mali and Zambia. My more recent work focused on Latin America, where I spent four years in Peru working on governance, politics and public sector capacity building. I have worked with international NGOS and been a consultant at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. I hold a B.A. in Sociology from Barnard College and an M.A. in International Development and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

I’m originally from Sarasota, FL, and desperately miss the sun and the beach. I am very lucky to have traveled and backpacked through 5 continents. I’m happy to give advice or just chat about any aspect of my professional experience, travel, etc. Looking forward to getting to know you all!