Alexander Palmer Email & Phone Number

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

Research terrorism and irregular warfare with a focus on jihadist insurgencies and the asymmetric activities of Russia, China, and Iran.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

Research terrorism and irregular warfare with a focus on jihadist insurgencies and the asymmetric activities of Russia, China, and Iran.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

Research terrorism and irregular warfare with a focus on jihadist insurgencies and the hybrid activities of Russia, China, and Iran.

Wrote an internal methodological paper focused on studying protracted, asymmetric, ethnonationalist conflicts. Designed a negotiation simulation to teach students and mid-level professionals tri-sector negotiation skills.

Khost Province, Afghanistan

Managed a 23-person field office, including three direct reports, in providing 52 humanitarian NGOs in Khost, Paktia, Paktika, and Ghazni provinces and the regional United Nations office with conflict, political, and security analysis.I authored 267 written products focused on security threats to humanitarian organizations, including incident reports, biweekly trend analysis, and ad hoc updates in response to new developments or information. My analysis included both quantitative and qualitative components, and I regularly employed several structured analysis techniques including but not limited to Nominal Group Technique, Analysis of Competing Hypotheses, and Multiple Scenario Generation.As head of office, I conducted and directed outreach to humanitarian NGOs and relevant security actors in my area of responsibility in order to gather contextual information, benchmark security practices, and facilitate inter-NGO communication. After the fall of the Islamic Republic government, my office was the first INSO Afghanistan field office to resume full services, doing so less than two weeks after the events of 15 August 2021.I also took the initiative to design training materials for Afghan staff members under my supervision. I created a conflict and security analysis curriculum for the three analysts on the Southeast Operations Team, which I was asked to convert to a two-day training that I delivered to all Deputy Safety Advisors in Afghanistan in March 2022. I also organized the first training for Afghan field staff in my area of responsibility in more than two years, a three-day event with trainings covering basic analysis, source management, and counter-surveillance.

Kabul, Afghanistan

I served as technical lead for the Whole of Afghanistan Assessment 2020, a statistically representative survey of humanitarian needs in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan, from the end of data collection through the drafting of final outputs, serving as main author of the final report. I wrangled, analyzed, and visualized a 16,057-observation, 641-variable dataset in R. I also disseminated more than 100 outputs, which ranged in complexity from descriptive statistics to bespoke composite need indicators to in-person and virtual presentations.I was also entrusted with reviewing all 141 references to the Whole of Afghanistan Assessment in the UN's Humanitarian Needs Overview 2021, eliminating imprecise or inaccurate citations. During review, I discovered that longitudinal analysis of changes in debt burdens for Afghans displaced by conflict or natural disaster was systematically flawed due to an anomaly in a single line of R code written in 2019, preventing allocation of up to millions of dollars in humanitarian aid based on distorted longitudinal analysis.I was the organizational focal point for the Education in Emergencies and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) clusters at the country level, designing a new composite index for classifying WASH need in consultation with WASH cluster leadership. I also supported the inaugural WASH Severity Classification pilot workshop in October 2020 in this capacity. I facilitated virtual working groups of Afghan and international water security professionals and humanitarian aid providers during the week-long conference and provided technical review of the final output prior to publication.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Redesigned the MPP Core Curriculum's Fundamentals of Negotiation Analysis course, adapting it for online learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Built flexible information-management systems to coordinate and deliver weekly lectures and simulations for 248 students under the conditions of uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic.Hired and trained a team of six Master of Public Policy students in education-technology platforms, negotiation-analytic subject-matter, and small-group facilitation.

Cambridge, Massachussets

Collaborated with three other Fundamentals of Negotiation Analysis coaches to manage the human, material, and information flows required to administer 40-60 simultaneous negotiation simulations for 243 first-year students in the Kennedy School's Fundamentals of Negotiation Analysis course. I used Python to clean and visualize simulation results with an average turn-around time of four hours.Worked with six January Advanced Workshop on Multiparty Negotiation and Conflict Resolution coaches to multiple daily simulations, debriefs, and guest lectures for sixty students in an intensive, 12-hour per day workshop.

Kampala, Uganda

My main task was writing and editing promotional materials for Potential Energy, a small NGO devoted to market-driven uptake of clean cookstove use in Uganda. I wrote Potential Energy's monthly newsletter and edited the organization's annual reports from 2018-2020, contributing to resolving a backlog that had existed for years due to low staff capacity. I also interviewed stove users throughout Kampala to gain an indicative understanding of the benefits and downsides of Potential Energy's cookstove technology. I also synthesized qualitative and quantitative data to a report on organizational participation in the World Bank Ugandan Cookstove Supply Chain Expansion Project, which remains internal.I also mentored three national staff members ranging from eighteen to twenty years of age in preparing reporting materials for the World Bank Distribution Challenge Fund, a program reimbursing distribution costs for small NGOs in Uganda. We confronted two main challenges: lack of staff training in Microsoft Excel and misalignment between reporting requirements and Ugandan market practices. Through training and negotiation support to Managing Director Jessica De Clerck, I helped the team achieve an acceptance rate of more than 95% of submitted reimbursement claims.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Taught the basics of computer programming to more than 300 incoming, current, and graduating students using Slack and Zoom.

Greater New York City Area

Taught Algebra and Social Studies to refugees and asylees 10-18 years old in both English and Spanish.Adapted to teaching groups with diverse linguistic backgrounds and experience with formal education systems by structuring class time to empower students to teach one another and using technology to communicate with students with limited English skills.

Greater New York City Area

Wrote the autobiography of the former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Trade under President Carter.

New York, United States

Wrote more than 200 SAT questions and explanations, earning an acknowledgement in the line of workbooks.

Greater New York City Area

Developed reframing techniques to help ~300 low-income students in public schools and non-profit educational programs overcome unique challenges arising from cultural differences. Presented to audiences of 20-300 people regarding college admissions and financial aid and signed up more than 70 percent of attendees to receive more information on TPR products. Selected for a highly competitive opportunity to teach at an international summer program at Oxford University as a result of praise from students, parents, and colleagues.

Master Of Public Policy - Mpp, International And Global Affairs

Concentration in Science & Technology and Security Certificate in Management, Leadership, and Decision Science

Non-Degree

Quantitative Coursework: Micro Economics, Statistics

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba), Philosophy

Activities and Societies: Ultimate Frisbee Team

Education record

Activities and Societies: Speech and Debate Team, Cross Country and Track Teams