Introducing myself and my journal

About Me:
Hello! I am a feminist environmentalist working for gender equality in international development. Though I worked for almost a decade in the U.S. as a lobbyist and organizer for women's organizations and then for development NGOs outside the U.S., currently, my main project is earning a PhD in comparative politics and international development at the School of International Service (SIS) at the American University in Washington, DC.

My research focuses on how \"post-conflict\" and other \"transitioning\" states hold themselves accountable to their commitments to gender equitable governance, examining gender mainstreaming in government ministries as my cases. Though my own work focuses on Cambodia and Rwanda, I am interested in how these processes are implemented and how civil servants perceive them in any country. Do government workers perceive gender equality efforts as an imposition of donors or other \"outsiders\"? Do civil servants feel a sense of accountability to citizens for gender equitable service provision? Do they feel they need to be accountable only to their bosses and higher levels of government? What kinds of accountability mechanisms work for ensuring follow-through on government commitments? Does NGO advocacy and monitoring make a difference?

I will be working on this project for several years to come, so I always have room for input and suggestions!

My Passions:
fashion, eating healthy tasty food, my family and friends

My Challenges:
limiting the scope of my research and writing

My Vision for the Future:
a world in which men are fully women's partners

My Areas of Expertise:
gender mainstreaming, gender assessments and evaluation