Meet the 2024 Global Economic Governance Fellows
The Boston University Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center) is pleased to present the 2024-2025 cohort of Global Economic Governance Fellows. These six outstanding scholars join the GDP Center from various backgrounds and universities, including the University of Oxford, American University and Syracuse University. They have completed or are completing doctoral degrees in disciplines ranging from economics to political science.
The Global Economic Governance Fellows Program offers the opportunity for pre- and post-doctoral students to conduct independent research in line with the Global Economic Governance Initiative (GEGI)’s work, which includes the role of development banks in enhancing climate and development action, the intersection of the international trade regime with climate change and access to medicines, and global debt architecture reform to foster financial stability.
The majority of the Global Economic Governance Fellows started their program in September 2024, with three continuing from last year’s cohort. They will spend nine months in Boston conducting research as well as participating in GEGI’s research projects, policy engagement and Center-wide activities.
Meet the 2024 Global Economic Governance Initiative Fellows below:
Dr. Katerina Akestoridi is a Global Economic Governance Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. She is an international lawyer and researcher, specializing in international development and global economic governance with a particular focus on the role of international financial institutions and business in fostering sustainable development and the realization of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. She read law at the Democritus University of Thrace (LL.B (hons)), the University College London (LL.M (merit)) and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London (PhD).
Katerina has held various research and teaching appointments at the law faculties of the Université Catholique de Lille, the Università degli Studi di Cagliari, the University of Zurich, and University College London (UCL). Katerina is also an admitted member to the Athens Bar Association. She has practiced law in Athens, Greece and consulted in the non-governmental organization (NGO) sector on issues pertaining to democratic governance and the rule of law. Recent publications include: ‘The UN Sustainable Development Goals: A Commentary‘ (OUP 2023) edited with I.Bantekas and F.Seatzu; ‘Enhancing the Transformative Potential of the Sustainable Development Goals’ (Global Jurist 2020, with F Seatzu); ‘The Role of Business in International Development and the Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals’ in I Bantekas and M Stein (eds), The Cambridge Companion to Business and Human Rights Law (CUP 2021).
Praveena Bandara is a Global Economic Governance Post-doctoral Research Fellow. Her research focuses on development macroeconomics and international trade particularly on export re-specialization patterns and factors affecting export participation of developing countries.
Before joining the GDP Center, she was a Research Assistant at the Institute for Macroeconomic and Policy Analysis. She was a Sustainable Development Goals Research Assistant and Advocacy Fellow at the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area. She holds a PhD in Economics from American University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Farrah Brown a Global Economic Governance Pre-doctoral Fellow and is completing a PhD in Political Science at Syracuse University. She also leads the curriculum for the Vulnerable 20 Group (V20) Climate Prosperity Fellowship, collaboration with the V20 to advance cooperation and engagement of officials from V20 member countries to address the challenges posed by an unfit-for-purpose global financial architecture and catalyze ambitious development-positive climate action.
Her research is animated by questions at the intersection of foreign policy and development that concern global governance, diplomacy international political economy, international organizations, climate change and development finance. Previously she worked for 12 years as a Foreign Service Officer for the Government of Jamaica.
Kofi Gunu is an incoming Global Economic Governance Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center starting November 2024.
He is in the final stages of a DPhil in International Relations at the University of Oxford, where he is a Rhodes Scholar. His research focuses on the complex interplay between national policymaking, international organizations and the global financial system. He has an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford (2021), a master’s degree in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University (2018), and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Augustana University (2017). He has previously worked in the Office of the Vice President of Ghana.
Mausam Kumar is a Global Economic Governance Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. Before joining the GDP Center, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School. He received his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He has a master’s degree from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and was a visiting scholar at the University of Gottingen, Germany. Mausam is a recipient of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Fellowship. He has also previously worked as a researcher at the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.
His research interests include political economy, industrial policy and development finance. His current work with GEGI focuses on leveraging the institutional capacity of development finance institutions (DFIs) to address the goals of green transitions in developing countries.
Nathalie is a Global Economic Governance Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Campinas in Brazil, with a research period at Freie Universität Berlin. Her research concerns open economy macroeconomics, monetary policy and exchange rate dynamics in developing economies. She has experience with key macroeconomic variables forecasting, financial analysis and investment project valuation.
She was a Lecturer on macroeconomics and development at the International and Development Economics Master Program at HTW-Berlin in 2022 and taught courses on macroeconomics and international economics as a substitute teacher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She was also one of the Financial Stability Working Group coordinators from the Young Scholars Initiative (YSI) of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET).
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