Paul Fishstein

Independent analyst and Non-Resident Fellow at New York University’s Center
on International Cooperation (CIC)

Paul Fishstein is currently an independent analyst and Non-Resident Fellow
at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC). His
Afghanistan-related analytical interests include the humanitarian and
economic situation, opium poppy and rural livelihoods and effectiveness of
international aid.

From 2016 to 2020, Paul worked as a Team Lead at the U.S. Special Inspector
General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s Lessons Learned Program. Prior to
that, he was a Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the
Harvard Kennedy School and Visiting Fellow at the Feinstein International
Center at Tufts University.

From 2004 to 2008, Paul served as Deputy then Director of the Afghanistan
Research and Evaluation Unit, a Kabul-based policy research institution.

Prior to that, he worked on USAID-funded initiatives to strengthen
healthcare services in Afghanistan’s rural areas. From 1989 to 1993, he
managed refugee and cross-border assistance based in Pakistan. He first
worked in Afghanistan from 1977 to 1979 as a teacher trainer in Kabul and
northern Afghanistan.

Paul has also worked as an agricultural policy and food security analyst at
the World Bank, and as a senior program officer for a non-profit
organization providing technical assistance to health organizations in
developing countries.

He has an MS in Agricultural and Resource Economics and a BA in English
Literature.