Jed Ober is the Senior Director of Programs at Democracy International. He is responsible for overseeing the implementation of DI’s overseas programs including management of headquarters-based program staff and providing technical and managerial guidance to DI’s overseas staff. In 2010, he served as DI’s Chief of Staff in Kabul for an election observation mission to Afghanistan’s last parliamentary elections. During 2009 he served as Logistics Coordinator based in Kabul for DI’s observation of the country’s presidential and provincial council elections and was principally responsible for preparing DI’s reports on the election process and related issues. He has been interviewed and quoted by numerous media organizations and has appeared on both radio and television commenting on democracy and governance developments in Afghanistan.

Before joining DI, Mr. Ober worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Project on Middle East Democracy and as a consultant for the Women’s Campaign Forum. As part of his graduate study, he conducted public opinion research in the West Bank that examined correlations between the political perceptions of Palestinians and support for armed resistance. In 2007, Mr. Ober worked in the public relations office at An-Najah National University in the West Bank city of Nablus. He also has extensive experience working on U.S. elections for Democratic candidates. He most recently worked on the delegate relations team for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and on the political floor team at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Mr. Ober received an M.P.P. in 2009 from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, where he focused on political strategy and the politics of the Middle East. He earned a B.A. from the University of Colorado, where he double majored in international affairs and economics. He is proficient in German.