Around the globe, economies are shifting as human migration, energy transition, and numerous other challenges shape futures. Many nations are meeting these challenges with policies aimed at the next generation.
Join us on April 9 for an in-person lunchtime discussion on innovative policy proposals from Jordan and Mongolia.
April 9, 2025
12:00-1:00 PM
Brown School
Brown Hall, Brown Lounge
Washington University
Lunch provided to registrants
Dr. Rasha Istaiteyeh, PhD, associate professor of economics at the Hashemite University in Jordan and Fulbright Visiting Scholar, will discuss her research on Child Development Account policy and her proposal for such a policy in Jordan. Erdenechimeg Tserendorj, MSW, MSc, founding director of the Center for Social Work Excellence of Mongolia and visiting scholar at the Center for Social Development, will discuss her research on the history and background of the Child Allowance policy and its effect on poverty in Mongolia. Tammy Orahood, EdD, MA, director of Global Programs in the Brown School at Washington University, will serve as a respondent, and Li Zou, MBA, MSW, will moderate the discussion.
This event is sponsored by the Center for Social Development and the Brown School Global Programs Office.
Speakers
Associate Professor of Economics, The Hashemite University
Fulbright Scholar
Visiting Scholar,
Washington University
Faculty Associate,
Center for Social Development
Rasha Istaiteyeh is Associate Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the Hashemite University, Faculty Associate with the Center for Social Development (CSD), Affiliated Researcher with the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) at Georgetown University, and Fulbright Scholar with a visiting appointment at Washington University. An internationally recognized expert in economic development, human capital, refugee integration, and migration, and Girls in STEM, Dr. Istaiteyeh is a member of the Association of Jordanian Women Academics, the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration, Catalyst 2030, and the Western Economic Association International. She is the author of numerous journal articles and leading senior researcher of the EU-Horizon funded GAPs Return Migration Project. As a Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Dr. Istaiteyeh is conducting research on the design of a Child Development Account initiative for Jordan.
Dr. Istaiteyeh holds a PhD in economics from the University of Kassel, Germany, as well as MA and BS degrees in economics from the University of Jordan.
Founding Director,
Center for Social Work Excellence
of Mongolia
Visiting Scholar,
Center for Social Development
Erdenechimeg Tserendorj, MSW, MSc, is a Founding Director of the Center for Social Work Excellence of Mongolia. She has an MSW degree from Washington University in St. Louis and an MSc degree in Engineering from Saint Petersburg Electro-Technical University of Russia. As a pioneering social work expert in Mongolia, she has contributed to Mongolian social work higher education development and shaping social work services to children and families. She is an expert member of Higher Education Accreditation Committee, a board member of Mongolian Federation of Social Welfare Organizations, and a Chair for Gender Topical Interest Group for Mongolian Evaluation Association.
With a strong interest in participation and inclusion, gender equality, and equal opportunities for marginalized groups, she has led many national-level studies on gender equality and inclusion Examples include a national exploratory study on gender-based violence in Mongolia (2008) under the UN Joint Programme on Elimination of Violence against Women and Children; the UNICEF-funded qualitative research on “Understanding Menstrual Hygiene Management in Mongolia: Practice and Impact on Adolescent Schoolgirls’ Education and Health” (2016); a gender analysis for Mercy Corps’s Country Programs in Mongolia, with a focus on resilient communities and disaster risk management (2018); a gender assessment of the education sector of Mongolia (2019) for the Ministry of Education and Science; a country gender assessment for the agriculture and rural sector of Mongolia for FAO Mongolia (2022); and a gender assessment of the national power transmission grid (2024). In 2014, as background-paper writer for the Mongolian Human Development Report 2014 on Youth issues, she conducted a gender and disability analysis of the key economic sectors and of various groups of young people.
She is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Social Development and conducting research for her dissertation on the Child Money Programme of Mongolia’s effects on poverty and child development. Using her gender expertise, she wants to do differential gender-impact analysis of the child benefit program on boys and girls.
RESPONDENT
Director of Global Programs,
Brown School at Washington University
Tammy Orahood, MA, EdD, is the Director of Global Programs for the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, where she is responsible for developing and managing the overall strategic direction of global programs, partnership development, and outreach to international institutions and individuals to advance the research, teaching and service mission of the Brown School. She has over twenty five years’ experience in student services at three separate universities, and has written articles, taught courses, and presented at numerous conferences on topics such as study abroad and career development, globalization, global competency and comparative education policy.
MODERATOR
International Director,
Brown School at Washington University
Co-Director,
Next Age Institute at Washington University
Li Zou, MBA, MSW, is International Director at the Center for Social Development (CSD). She leads CSD’s international asset-building work and directed the five-year large-scale YouthSave Project in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal. She has contributed to CSD’s consulting and research efforts on asset-building policy and children’s savings accounts for governments in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and South Korea. Ms. Zou has coauthored articles on asset- building for, and guest-edited, several international academic journals, and publishes in both English and Mandarin. Also, she is the Co-Director of the Next Age Institute. Part of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, the institute is a partnership between Washington University and leading universities around the world. Ms. Zou holds a master’s in social work and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to her current appointment, she worked for CGAP housed at the World Bank on advancing financial access for the poor in China.
Sponsors
Center for Social Development
The Center for Social Development in the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis is a hub for implementing and testing applied social innovations that broaden well-being for individuals, families and communities. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, the center incubates ideas that can be scaled to reach millions and creates new fields of study to meet social needs. CSD also trains emerging scholars and practitioners in the effective conduct of engaged social-science research.
Brown School Global Programs Office
The Brown School Global Programs Office aims to improve the social well-being and health of the most vulnerable populations by conducting groundbreaking research, educating scholar-practitioners, building enduring partnerships, deploying emerging technologies, and influencing policy makers, in order to promote just, equitable, and healthy societies around the world.
This event is one of a series celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Center for Social Development and the centennial of the Brown School at Washington University.