Leila Kazemi joined Islands First as Acting Executive Director in 2008. Prior to that, Ms. Kazemi had extensive experience working with non-profit organizations, most recently conducting research on various aspects of the relationship between poverty and human rights for Amnesty International. She has also worked with the Foundation for the Global Compact and the International Peace Academy. While serving for over three years as Program Coordinator for the International Predissertation Fellowship Program at the Social Science Research Council, Ms. Kazemi worked on the promotion of interdisciplinary research on regions and problems throughout the developing world. She has also served on the boards of the Third Wave Foundation, a national organization focused on supporting young women, and Amend.org, whose focus is on the prevention of road traffic injuries among children in developing countries.
Ms. Kazemi is currently completing a doctoral degree in Political Science at Columbia University, where her research focuses on the governance of foreign investment into the developing world. She holds an M.Sc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a B.A. from Columbia University.