Amy Harris

Amy Harris is a lecturer at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Her research interests are in foreign aid, international development, public participation and public contracting. She examines the relationship between foreign aid contracting and on-the-ground international development work. Her current research in this area looks at how government contracts influence participatory development approaches that seek to engage project beneficiaries in decision-making about aid activities. She uses qualitative and mixed methods approaches in her research, including fieldwork in developing countries. Prior to starting her PhD, Amy worked as a project manager in foreign aid implementation with Chemonics International, managing both U.S. Agency for International Development and World Bank projects. Amy received her PhD from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance in 2020, where she also received an MS. She has an MA from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a BA from Middlebury College. She received an award for excellence in teaching from the Evans School in 2017, after which she was an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University’s Institute for Public Service.