Emira Woods is Co-Director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF) is a think tank for research, analysis, and action that brings together 600 scholars, advocates, and activists who strive to make the United States a more responsible global partner. The Institute for Policy Studies is a multi-issue research center that has transformed ideas into action for peace, justice, and the environment for over four decades. Ms. Woods is an expert on U.S. foreign policy with a special emphasis on Africa and the developing world.
She has written on a range of issues from debt, trade and development to US military policy. Ms. Woods completed her undergraduate studies at Columbia University and her graduate studies at Harvard. Prior to joining IPS, Ms. Woods was Program Manager for the Committee on Development Policy and Practice at InterAction, serving as a principal staff contact for advocacy at the UN, the international financial institutions, USAID and Treasury. Previous to that, she served as Program Officer of Oxfam America's Africa program.
In 2007, Ms. Woods testified before Congress on international debt at hearings of the House Financial Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.
Ms. Woods is a regular commentator on NPR’s News and Notes. She is a frequent guest on broadcast media including BBC, CNN, VOA, CBC, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, the Diane Rehm Show, the Kojo Nnamdi Show and Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria on issues related to U.S. Foreign Policy. She has hosted a WashingtonPost.com online chat and has published articles and op-eds in the NAACP’s Crisis magazine as well as the Miami Herald, the Christian Science Monitor, New York Newsday, The Nation, the Baltimore Sun, and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Ms. Woods serves on the Board of Directors of Africa Action, Just Associates, Global Justice and the Financial Policy Forum. She is also on the Network Council of Jubilee USA.Emira holds a BA in International Relations from Columbia , a certificate in Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, a Master's in Government from Harvard, and is ABD in Political Economy and Government at Harvard. She recently was Program Manager for the Committee on Development Policy and Practice at InterAction, serving as a principal staff contact for advocacy at the UN, the international financial institutions, USAID and Treasury. She designed and implemented a strategic campaign around the Monterrey Financing for Development conference, working with both InterAction members and a broader coalition of Southern and Northern agencies. Prior to this position, she served as Program Officer of Oxfam America's Africa program, which involved outreach to the heads of major international institutions and grassroots groups in the most remote communities.
Ms. Woods has recently been interviewed on BBC, CNN, CBC, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer , the Diane Rehm Show, on Liberia and US-Africa Relations. She has hosted a WashingtonPost.com online chat and has published pieces in the Nation, the Baltimore Sun, and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Recent Work
Interview
Zimbabwe Elections, News from Somalia
April 1 - But on the presidential election side, we really don't have any official announcement three days after the election, you know, and it is appalling, really, that it is taking so long for the results on the presidential election to be announced. By Emira Woods, published in National Public Radio.
Interview
Mugabe's Role in Zimbabwe's Downfall
March 29 - Voters in Zimbabwe lined up before dawn to vote in elections that pose the biggest challenge to President Robert Mugabe in his 28 years of rule. To get a look behind the news, we're turning to Emira Woods of the Institute for Policy Studies. By Emira Woods, published in National Public Radio.
Op-Ed
Obama Race Speech Analysis
March 20 - bama skillfully tackles what is in many ways a "third rail" issue in U.S. politics - race. In a country that a few short years ago walked out of the U.N. Summit on racism, and later failed miserably in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it seemed like race and justice were too far from the mainstream discourse to be addressed openly and honestly. Like the high power third rail in the railway track, politicians and co-workers alike feared the consequences of touching issues of race. Obama's speech changes all that. By Emira Woods, published in The Black Commentator.
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