Carmen is a scholar-activist and an expert in inclusive policies, women's political and economic participation, refugee policies, and collective action in the Middle East and North Africa. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews (2014). She was a Maria Zambrano Fellow at Pompeu Fabra University (2022-2024), tenured Associate Professor at the American University of Beirut (2020-22), and has held visiting positions including as a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard University (2021), research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study (2018), and the Watson Institute at Brown University (2015).
During her tenure at AUB, Carmen launched several initiatives at the nexus of academia and activism. She was also the first to develop and teach courses on gender and politics, state feminism, and gender and forced displacement, at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Most notably, she is co-founder of Khaddit Beirut (the shake-up) as an inter-professional network of academics and experts working on the recovery of Beirut following the port explosion. She is Founding Director of the Education for Leadership in Crisis scholarship program for Afghan women. She is Founding Director of “Supporting Arab Women on the Table" (SAWT) project for women, peace, and security in conflict ridden states. She is also a Founding Member of the Center for Inclusive Business and Leadership (CIBL) for Women and former Director of Communications. Her publications have appeared in journals of Social Movement Studies, Citizenship Studies, Middle East Journal, Journal of Refugee Studies, International Spectator, and the Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy. Her first book “Civil Society and Political Reform in Lebanon and Libya," is a seminal documentation and theoretical foundation for political activism in repressive contexts.
Carmen is also an international consultant with 15 years of practitioner experience in designing strategies and programs on gender equality, elections, civil society, and public sector reform. She is co-founder and Managing Director of Soltara Consulting, a growing network of consultants specializing in strategy design, leadership development, and knowledge mobilizing for inclusive policies and practices.