Dr. Jennifer N. Brass is an expert on service provision, governance, and state-society relationships, with a primary geographic focus on Africa. One line of her current research focuses on electricity service provision, primarily in Kenya. Her work in this area explores variation in what it means to “have access” to electricity, the citizen experience and effects of gaining access to electricity, and the local, national, and international politics of green transitions. Another line of research examines philanthropic responses to the closure of USAID in 2025. A third line of work examines civil society organizations (CSOs) in developing countries, with particular focus on how members of CSOs differ from non-members.
Dr. Brass teaches courses on NGO management, international development, scholarly writing and presenting, and client-based project implementation. She has recently led MPA student Global Capstone trips to Armenia and Ghana, and she has conducted research in Kenya, Uganda, and Djibouti.
