Master of Arts in Sustainable Development:
International Policy and Management, Washington, DC

Faculty

Senior Practitioner Faculty

Chris Foley
MA, California State University, Fullerton
BA, St. Michael’s College

Senior Practitioner Faculty
Master of Arts in Sustainable Development: International Policy and Management

Christopher T. Foley has worked for the National Democratic Institute (NDI)’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) team as the deputy regional director since 2004 and has managed field operations and program implementation throughout the region. He has developed expertise in local governance and administrative processes as well as election-day related policies and processes. Mr. Foley represents NDI’s MENA interests at a variety of venues and to a wide range of audiences and meets with senior level government officials in the US and around the MENA region. He is also responsible for the overall recruitment strategy for the MENA team in DC and its many field offices.
Prior to NDI, Mr. Foley was a senior analyst for Los Angeles County, California (1997 to 2003) and provided policy advice and support to the chief administrative officer and board of supervisors on matters relating to the decennial census and redistricting process, redevelopment and community development initiatives, and the provision of county services to citizens in unincorporated areas. Mr. Foley also held the position of governance and housing advisor to the USAID mission in Moscow, Russia from 1994 to 1996 and managed a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract providing support and financial management expertise to local governments throughout Russia.

Mr. Foley earned a master’s degree in public administration from the California State University, Fullerton in 2000 and a BA in American history from St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont in 1985.
Jennifer Collins-Foley
JD, Albany Law School of Union University
BA, St. Michael’s College

Senior Practitioner Faculty
Master of Arts in Sustainable Development: International Policy and Management

Jennifer Collins-Foley is a democracy, governance, and gender specialist with 22 years of experience in the US and around the world. She currently serves as senior practitioner faculty with World Learning/SIT Graduate Institute’s master’s in international sustainable development program in Washington, DC where she teaches “Issues in Sustainable Development” and “Gender and Human Rights”. Collins-Foley also serves as a senior advisor for women’s political empowerment with the Karama Arab Women’s Regional Network, based in Cairo.
Collins-Foley’s management, training, and consulting experience includes senior positions in international and US governance and technical assistance organizations. These organizations include the National Democratic Institute, the Center for National Policy, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters, the International Foundation for Election Systems, the Pew Charitable Trusts, World Learning, CEDPA, Vital Voices, and the United Nations. Jennifer has worked, lived, and observed elections in the US, Russia, Ukraine, Palestine, Mauritania, Egypt, Libya, and Azerbaijan.
Thomas H. Fox
BA, Williams College
Coursework, Columbia University
Coursework, University of Edinburgh

Senior Practitioner Faculty
Master of Arts in Sustainable Development: International Policy and Management

Tom Fox has forty-five years of experience working with and on behalf of developing countries. As a senior program manager and supervisor, his expertise includes organizational development, governance and management of NGOs, strategic planning, fundraising, knowledge management, evaluation, and performance measurement and monitoring. Programmatically, areas of expertise include French-speaking Africa, the role of NGOs, private philanthropy and corporate social responsibility/citizenship, appropriate technology, environment and natural resource management, sustainable development, and education.
Mr. Fox was assistant administrator of USAID for policy and program coordination during the Clinton Administration. He was vice president of the World Resources Institute from 1988-1997 and prior to that was vice president of international and public affairs at the Council on Foundations. Mr. Fox served as the (first) director of the Peace Corps program in Burkina Faso (then Upper Volta).

Mr. Fox currently teaches a graduate course on NGO management and international development at George Washington University and has been an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies. As a consultant, he has worked with the International Resources Group, the Centre for Development and Population Activities, the Council on Foundations, among others. His published work has addressed aspects of international grantmaking, the role of NGOs, sustainable development, and Africa. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops on Africa, international or sustainable development, USAID’s programs and priorities, the role of private philanthropy, and NGOs. Mr. Fox has given testimony before Congressional committees on numerous occasions. He is on the Board of Trustees for World Learning. He holds a BA from Williams College and also completed coursework at Columbia University and the University of Edinburgh.
Velina Petrova
PhD, Emory University

Senior Practitioner Faculty
Master of Arts in Sustainable Development: International Policy and Management

Velina Petrova teaches Program Monitoring and Evaluation and Quantitative Research Methods in SIT's Sustainable Development program in Washington, DC. She is the senior associate for program impact evaluation at Creative Associates International, where she is primarily responsible for the development of a comprehensive organizational design, monitoring, and evaluation strategy. Velina received her PhD in sociology (with specialization areas in comparative political economy and global development and social movements) from Emory University. Since then, she has done research for social policy advocacy and has been working on evaluation, systems for data collection and analysis, impact measurement, and program quality for various international development organizations. Her interests and experience focus mainly on civil society, governance, foreign aid and global social policy, and the methodological debates in the international development industry. A native of Bulgaria and a one-time student of the sociology of film and censorship under totalitarianism, she is interested in obscure films and the literature of the Diaspora.