Carmen Geha is recipient of the Maria Zambrano, Spanish government award, for international scholarly talent. She is a senior researcher on gender and migration at the Department of Political Studies at Pompeu Fabra University. Carmen is working on a trans-national research project on oppression, displacement, and gender equality in the Arab Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Carmen is also a senior advisor on women’s political representation and non-resident fellow at the Arab Reform Initiative. Carmen is a Co-PI on the “Support and Accelerate Workplace Inclusion” (SAWI) project operating across the MENA in leading markets to improve women’s economic participation by changing policies and practices.

Carmen is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Soltara Consulting, a Barcelona based international platform of experts working on social impact and gender reforms by partnering with leading institutions and businesses with a focus on MENA. Throughout her career she has consulted and advised UN agencies, international donors, philanthropic organizations, and universities on governance reforms and women’s representation. 

Prior to joining Pompeu Fabra University, she was tenured Associate Professor of Public Administration and Leadership at the American University of Beirut (AUB). 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 a Fullbright Scholar, and has been a visiting scholar at Harvard University, the Institute for Advanced Study, and the Watson Institute in Brown University. She has received as PI and Co-PI a total of $8 million in research funding from the US State Department, the European Commission, and the Norwegian Research Council. 

Carmen is widely interviewed by, and her research quoted in, local and international media including CNN, BBC, La Vanguardia, El Periodico, Al Jazeera, France 24, and TRT World.