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
Electricity Trickles from Vulnerable Solar Panels on Gaza Roofs
Will Todman in Forbes — November 22, 2023
To Meet Climate Goals, Gulf Countries Will Have to Overhaul Everything
Will Todman in Bloomberg — November 13, 2023
Devex Newswire: A multibillion-dollar climate fund hunts for a new chief
Will Todman in Devex — May 17, 2023
World Bank VP calls water scarcity the 'main agenda' for MENA region
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
All Will Todman Content
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Hydrogel: A Promising Solution for Water Scarcity in the Middle East?
Commentary by Will Todman and Lyse Mauvais — November 9, 2021
Robert Springborg: The Middle East’s Political Economies
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper — November 2, 2021
Chloe Cornish: Levantine Contrasts
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper — October 19, 2021
Monica Marks: Tunisia’s Popular Authoritarian
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper — September 21, 2021
Lebanon’s New Government
Critical Questions by Will Todman — September 10, 2021
Sen. Chris Murphy: U.S. Restraint in the Middle East
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper — August 10, 2021
A Coup in Tunisia?
Critical Questions by Will Todman — July 27, 2021
Peter Salisbury: Yemen’s Civil War
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Will Todman, and Daniel Sharp — July 27, 2021
Karim Sadjadpour: Iran's Future
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper — July 13, 2021
The UN Vote on Aid in Syria
Critical Questions by Natasha Hall and Will Todman — July 12, 2021