Education & Experience

 Positions​

• Chair, Department of Political Science, Lehman College, The City University of New York (first term: 2010-13), (second term: 2016-19), (third term: 2019-22), (fourth term: 2022-2025)
• Associate to Full Professor (since 2017), Department of Political Science, Lehman College, The City University of New York
• Associate Professor (2010-17), Department of Political Science, Lehman College, The City University of New York
• Faculty member/affiliate, The Graduate Center – The City University of New York (since 2015)
• Assistant to Associate Professor (tenure track), Department of Sociology (formerly Sociology & Social Work), 2001-10 - Lehman College, The City University of New York
• Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, 2000-01
• Senior Research Scientist, Quantitative & Policy Analyst (consultant to Vice President Dr. Anthony Carnevale), ETS, Executive Office of Public Leadership, Washington, DC, 1997-2000
• Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology & Affiliated Professor, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program,Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1996-97
• Graduate Teaching Fellow (on full scholarship) & Adjunct Lecturer, Maryland Population Research Center & Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park, 1989-96
• Research Associate/Project Consultant (consultant to Prof. Kurt Finsterbusch & Dr. Deepa Narayan), The World Bank, Division of Infrastructure & Urban Development, Washington, DC, 1992-94
• Research Associate & Quantitative Analyst (Consultant to Dr. B. Lindsay Lowell & Dr. Richard Fry), U.S. Department of Labor, Division of Immigration & Labor, Washington, DC, 1990-92

Education

• Ph.D. (with distinction) - University of Maryland, College Park - Maryland Population Research Center (MPRC)/Center for Population, Gender & Social Inequality; Specializations: Demography, Development, Gender, Work & Family, Comparative Politics, Quantitative Methodology
• M.A. (with distinction) - University of Texas at Arlington - Sociology with concentration in Political Sociology, Stratification
• B.A. - Rutgers College (Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey) - Sociology 
• B.A. - Rutgers College (Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey) - French, Concentration in French Philosophy & Politics

​​​​Selected Academic Honors & Awards

• Recipient of Faculty Recognition Award in Teaching, Lehman College, NSS, CUNY, 2010
• Nominated for Excellence in Teaching Awards, Lehman College, 2007 & 2008
• Nominated for the Annual Distinguished Teacher Award, Temple University, 1997 
• Alpha Kappa Delta, International Honor Society Inductee
• University of Maryland scholarship award for PhD program
• University of Texas scholarship award for MA program

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Language Proficiency

• ​English - Native fluency
• Persian/Farsi - Native speaker, proficiency in reading, writing, speaking & translating
• French - Limited proficiency
• Arabic - Limited proficiency
• Proficient in Social Science software programming languages (SAS & SPSS)

Professional Memberships

• International Studies Association
• Canadian Association for the Study of International Development
• Middle East Studies Association 
• Association for Middle East Women's Studies 
• British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES)
• Italian Political Science Association/Società Italiana di Scienza Politica
• American Sociological Association