
Will Todman is the deputy director and senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Since joining CSIS in 2016, his research has focused on aid, sustainability, and displacement in the Middle East, with an emphasis on the Levant. He has conducted field research in nine countries across the Middle East and North Africa, and his analysis has been published by peer-reviewed journals, think tanks, and major publications, including the Washington Post. Will has briefed officials from various U.S. government departments and agencies, the UN Security Council, and foreign governments. He has also commented in print and on live television to various outlets, including the BBC, CBS, and CNN. Will is also a 2022–23 Penn Kemble Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, a fellow at the Centre for Syrian Studies at St. Andrews University, and a former Global Diversity Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Will previously lived in Beirut, where he worked at the British embassy and for the office of the UN special envoy to Syria. He cofounded KAMA DC, a nonprofit that works with refugees and immigrants, and led the organization for seven years. Will holds a BA in Arabic and modern Hebrew from Oxford University and an MA in Arab studies with a certificate in refugee and humanitarian emergencies from Georgetown University, where he studied Persian intensively.
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In the News
Tunisia: President intensifies crackdown after low turnout
Will Todman in Deutsche Welle — December 23, 2023
World Bank VP calls water scarcity the 'main agenda' for MENA region
Will Todman in Devex — May 17, 2023
Devex Newswire: A multibillion-dollar climate fund hunts for a new chief
Will Todman in Devex — May 17, 2023
Devex Newswire: Could space be the final development frontier?
Will Todman in Devex — May 11, 2023
Iran may continue tanker seizures despite increased focus from US Navy, analysts say
Will Todman in Stars and Stripes — May 4, 2023
Interview on Delivery of Aid to Syria after Earthquake
Will Todman in BBC World News — February 16, 2023
Syria’s Assad regime sees opportunity in earthquake aftermath
Will Todman in The Washington Post — February 15, 2023
Did LGBTQ rights campaigns in Qatar help or hinder?
Will Todman in DW — December 30, 2022
All content by Will Todman
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Environmental Civil Society in the Middle East
Commentary by Will Todman — June 9, 2023
Support for Refugees Erodes in the Middle East
Commentary by Will Todman — June 5, 2023
How Renewables Fight Corruption in Conflict-Affected States
Commentary by Will Todman — May 16, 2023
Hafsa Halawa: Egypt's Economic Turmoil
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Lubna Yousef — May 16, 2023

Can Artists Shape Environmental Policy in the Middle East?
Blog Post by Will Todman — May 11, 2023
Bolstering Climate Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region
Commentary by Will Todman and Jamil Wyne — May 5, 2023
Libya’s Civil Society Crackdown Exacerbates Its Climate Woes
Commentary by Lubna Yousef and Will Todman — May 2, 2023
Ayham Kamel: The Gulf's Regional Diplomacy
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Daniel Sharp — April 18, 2023

Powering Recovery in the Middle East: Realities on the Ground
Event by Jon B. Alterman , Matthew D. Steinhelfer , Christina Abi Haidar , Paul Noumba Um , and Will Todman — March 22, 2023
Iraq 20 Years Later with Marsin Alshamary and Hamzeh Hadad
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Lubna Yousef — March 21, 2023
