Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication

About the Institute

The Institute for Public Policy and Global Communication engages in a variety of activities, including sponsoring major conferences as well as more intimate panels, research talks, and workshops; hosting leading scholars and practitioners including several Undersecretaries of State; and offering training for NGOs, embassies, and others.

IPDGC is generously supported by the Walter Roberts Endowment.

The Institute is a leader in research, practice, training, and innovative thinking in the areas of global communication and public diplomacy. Although IPDGC's interests include a wide array of issues related to the study and practice of global communication and public diplomacy, it has five core areas of focus:

New Media, Security, and Public Diplomacy
The Role of Women and Gender in Security, Communication, and Diplomacy
21st Century U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities, such as China, Iran, and Africa
"Whole of Government," Interagency Challenges, especially in the areas of Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communication
Global Perspectives and Approaches to Public Diplomacy

The Institute is supported by both the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and the Elliott School of International Affairs at GW. The Institute is also associated with the Global Communication Master's Program, a joint effort between CCAS's School of Media and Public Affairs and the Elliott School of International Affairs.

The Institute has been fortunate to have a close relationship with the U.S. State Department, embodied most directly in the appointment of a senior Foreign Service officer to serve as IPDGC's Senior Public Diplomacy Fellow.

Sean Aday, Director

Sean Aday joined The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs in 2000, after completing his Ph.D. and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. His work focuses on the intersection of the press, politics, and public opinion, especially in relation to war and foreign policy. He has published widely on subjects ranging from the effects of watching local television news to coverage of American politics to media coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been involved in media and government capacity training projects globally, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Aday currently serves as the Director of GW's Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication and directs the Global Communication Master's Program. As part of a National Science Foundation grant, he, along with two colleagues, conducted a series of surveys about Americans' attitudes about government and media following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Aday was also the principle investigator for DC Student Voices, a curriculum-based project in Washington DC high schools that aimed to get students more involved in politics. He has been a frequent commentator in the press on news coverage of elections, crime, and war.

Before entering academia, Aday served as a general assignment reporter for the Kansas City Star, Kansas City, MO, the Milwaukee Journal in Milwaukee, WI, and the Greenville News, Greenville, SC. He graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 1990.

Contact Sean Aday

email: seanaday@gwu.edu

phone: (202) 994-4220

office: 805 21st Streett NW, Rm 508a

office hours: 12pm - 2pm, Tues

Mary Jeffers, Senior Public Diplomacy Fellow

Mary Jeffers is a public diplomacy practitioner with over two decades of experience in the State Department and (former) U.S. Information Agency. Jeffers most recently served as Public Affairs Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, Morocco (2008 -11), where "Arab Spring" issues and the impact of social media took center stage. She previously served as Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa (2003-06) and at the U.S. Embassies in Kampala, Uganda (2000-03) and Khartoum, Sudan (1989-1991). As Cultural Affairs Officer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabic (1994-96), she gained unique experience in women-focused public diplomacy outreach and in public-private partnerships. Her overseas assignments have also included Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer for Exchanges in London, Assistant Public Affairs Officer in Algiers, and Junior Officer Trainee in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

In Washington, Jeffers directed diplomatic outreach within the State Department's Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, serving as interagency focal point for the U.S. delegation to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (2006-08). From 1996-2000, she worked for USIA as the Africa Branch Chief of the International Visitor Leadership Program and Country Affairs Officer for Central Africa.

Before joining the Foreign Service, Ms. Jeffers administered educational exchange programs at the non-profit organization AMIDEAST in Washington. She has an M.A. in Anthropology / Archeology from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and a B.A. in the same field from Duke University (it was her early experience as a field archeologist in Morocco that propelled Ms. Jeffers to refocus her career on contemporary international understanding.) Ms. Jeffers is fluent in French and can speak and read Arabic.

Mary welcomes all students to speak with her during office hours.

Contact Mary Jeffers

email: mJeffers1@email.gwu.edu

phone: (202) 994-5231

office: 805 21st Streett NW, Rm508c

office hours: 2pm - 4pm, Wed

Phillip J. Crowley, Senior Public Diplomacy Fellow

Philip J. (P.J.) Crowley is the Omar Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at Dickinson College, the Penn State Dickinson School of Law and School of International Affairs, and the Army War College. P.J. is also a fellow at the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication within the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University.

He appears frequently as a national security commentator on global television networks, including as a contributor to Al Jazeera English and the BBC. He is also a regular columnist for The Daily Beast.

P.J. was nominated by President Obama as the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs in 2009 and confirmed by the United States Senate. He served as the Assistant Secretary and Spokesman at the Department of State until March 2011. He was the primary U.S. government interlocutor with major media regarding the release of classified diplomatic cables by Wikileaks.

Before joining the Obama administration, P.J. was a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, with a particular focus on homeland security in the aftermath of 9/11. He authored several national security studies, including Safe at Home, a detailed homeland security strategy to protect the American homeland, improve national preparedness and rebuild U.S. standing in the world. He remains engaged on these issues as a participant in the Aspen Institute Homeland Security Group.

Contact PJ Crowley

email: pjcrowley@gwu.edu

phone: (202) 994-6365

office: 805 21st Streett NW, Rm 431

office hours: 1pm - 5pm, Mon + Wed

Abdul Hakim Asher, Visiting Fellow

Abdul Hakim Asher is one of the most influential spokespersons of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He was appointed by President Hamid Karzai to lead the Government Media and Information Center "GMIC" where he recenly served as Executive Director. A former journalist, Hakim Asher's articles have appeared throughout Afghanistan and he is widely quoted on complex public policy by national and international media. He graduated from Kabul University in 2000 where he studied medicine and holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Gulbarga University in India. He is fluent in several languages including Dari, Pashto, and English. During his time at IPDGC, Dr. Asher is working on a book on Afghan media.

Contact Dr. Asher
email: hakimasher@gwu.edu

Derek Gildea, Program Coordinator

Derek Gildea is a graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs with a Master's degree in Middle East Studies. Derek is the editor and a contributor for Take Five, the Institute's blog on Global Communication and Public Diplomacy. He is a web designer and founder of the startup game company, Send More People.